I began practising Hatha Yoga in 2000 and have been teaching since 2006. In that same year I discovered Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga which, after many years of trying many different types of yoga practice, seemed to make an incredible amount of sense to me. I have been a devotee ever since, being drawn to the grace, strength and fluidity the practice fosters, as well as being profoundly affected by the philosophical impact of the practice that continues to evolve, unfold and deepen year after year.
I bring with me my experience of my training in and practicing of psychotherapy – I have worked with individuals affected by drug or alcohol misuse since 2004. This experience, particularly in Gestalt Therapy that emphasises the idea of our biography becoming our biology, has given me a valuable insight into the delicate human condition and provided a deep understanding of how the mind can play itself out on the yoga mat. I believe that we do not simply bring our bodies onto the yoga mat but bring our life histories, experiences, core belief systems, and emotional baggage which manifest themselves as ingrained patterns that exist in our bodies (for instance our posture) and our minds. As in the goal of therapy being to bring what is unconscious into our conscious awareness so that we can effect change, so is the case with yoga, physically, emotionally and psychologically. I integrate this approach into my teaching, aiming to help my students understand the patterns that connect the practice to their lives and the metaphors that can be taken from their mats and out into their worlds.
I completed my teacher training in India and continue to practice and study with yoga teachers both in the UK and internationally. I have studied Thai Yoga and Indian Head Massage on a ‘physical’ level, as well as various forms of psychotherapy (Gestalt, Schema, Solution Brief Focused and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). I teach classes in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Dynamic Flow and Hatha Yoga but my preference and passion is for the Ashtanga system, and I am also available for private tuition for one-to-one or small groups. In London I practice with Eileen Gauthier and have assisted her since 2010.