About Me
Below you will find my brief history and how I came to be a yoga teacher. I hope you find the read interesting and that it will encourage you to come along to one of my many classes throughout York or indulge in my private yoga sessions or office yoga workout for your employees.
I have been a dancer all of my life, and after having a childhood filled with dance competitions and shows I went on to train as a professional dancer at The Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds. Here I studied dance technique, in-depth studies of anatomy and physiology, teaching skills for able bodied and special needs children and adults, nutrition and many other dance fitness related subjects. In 1996 and after 3 years of study, I left with a Bachelor of performing Arts (dance) degree. From here, I moved to London to do a final year of study at the London Contemporary dance school and went professional in 1997. I have spent almost eight years dancing in a variety of major contemporary dance companies and have taught dance extensively within the UK and Worldwide, to children as young as 7 to the elderly, beginners to professional.
I have always incorporated the disciplines of yoga within my own dance training and teaching. I understand the therapeutic values of the yoga technique and believe that yoga has really helped me to keep my body injury free when dancing at such an intense and on going level and really helps to calm my nerves and focus more effectively. I have personally experienced the values and benefits of yoga first hand and this was what guided me away from a successful dance career and to retrain as a yoga Teacher myself. It seemed like a natural progression.
I decided to take a Teacher Training Course at the Sivananda and Vedanta Centre in Austria, where I spent a month living within the ashram before graduating as a qualified yoga teacher. I was trained in asanas (still postures) by Swami Sivadasananda who teaches worldwide in the Sivananda centres. He has been teaching yoga for the past 25 years and is renowned for his expertise of teaching the asanas. Before taking the teacher training course I practiced regularly for 2 years under the guidance of Chandra who is a former student of Swami Vishnu Devananda.
I understand the principles of teaching clearly and safely and enjoy sharing my knowledge and experience of the body from my dance training and transferring these elements in to my yoga teaching. I love the challenge of adapting exercises to suit peoples individual needs in a productive, positive and most of all in a safe and correct way. The technique and correct form is very important to me and I work hard to emphasis this during my classes. My classes also focus on creating a natural flow of movement from position to position, while keeping a still and meditative mind state.
