Classes

I teach a strong Vinyasa Flow where postures flow fluidly from one to another, seamlessly using the breath. I balance dynamic strength building through energetic Warrior sequences & invigorating sun salutations with the search for space and openness in the body. It is a heart-centred practice, so we incorporate many postures that open up and soften the chest area. The heart can be visualised as a lotus flower with its roots deep in the mud, teaching us that even in the darkest of times, so long as we keep tapping into the heart space, we will continue to find the nutrients to grow and bloom on the surface of the water with remarkable beauty like the lotus flower.

My Hatha Flow is an alchemy class in bringing your body and mind back into balance. We achieve this through working with the physical body in order to release tensions and stored traumas, creating greater space within yourself. The polarities in the world and in ourselves meet one another in this practice; ‘ha’ literally means ‘sun’ and ‘tha’ means ‘moon’, so we integrate the masculine and feminine aspects by combining a dynamic heat-generating practice with gentler lunar restorative poses. I place a strong emphasis on the breath as a support for the movement and alignment in holding the light and dark in each of us, as ultimately that’s the wholeness of who we are. We close the practice with the meeting of the sun and moon at sunset as we fold the body forward, creating a metaphorical sunset on our own practice.

My Therapeutic Yoga class meets you exactly where you are, allowing you to begin inhabiting your body with courage and compassion. I cultivate a supported space where emotional regulation skills can be developed through connection to breath and increased body awareness. I teach poses, meditation and breathing techniques that are gentle, slow and encourage calmness, so that your body is encouraged out of “fight or flight” and into “rest and digest” - all taught with inclusive language and intelligent sequencing. Over time you will increase your window of tolerance which is the space where you meet discomfort and challenge this with compassion. My teaching combines ancient mind-body practices with modern scientific insight.

My pregnancy class is designed to create a space where you can slow down and truly connect to yourself, your body and your baby. I guide each class with ease, intention and the highest regard for you as a mother. Yoga is an incredible preparation for labour in encouraging the baby into the optimal position for the birth; certain poses help this in opening up the hips and getting the body into a more primal space. Yoga also helps purify the body like water does, cleansing out elements that have accumulated internally and need to be filtered out.

Buddha was asked what have you gained from meditation? He replied, “Nothing. However let me tell you what I lost: Anger, anxiety, depression, insecurity, fear of old age and death.” 

I believe that everyone has the capacity to learn from this extraordinary practice, and that the secret to joyful meditation is to approach it playfully, as an experiment and exploration into your own being. I see our body as a prism through which a rainbow of colours should be reflected and the practice of meditation merely illuminates the clarity of these colours for us. Meditation is way of controlling the mind, moving from a state of thinking, to a state of being. I integrate aspects of Vipassana, mantra, visualisation and mindfulness into my yoga classes and also offer purely meditation classes.

Breathing is something we all know how to do, yet most of us have long let go of our natural ability to breathe fully. We are simply conditioned from a young age to control our feelings and emotions which tightens the muscles and restricts our breathing patterns. I have a deep reverence for the traditional knowledge of “pranayama” which quite literally means “controlling one’s life force”. I incorporate many of these ancient exercises into my teaching such as alternate nostril breathing, abdominal breathing, three part-yogic breath. By learning how to connect to our breath and encourage its natural rhythm, we can easily harmonise the body and mind. Around 70% of our toxins are released from our body through breath, so these exercises detoxify and strengthen the immune system. Deep breathing also activates the parasympathetic nervous system, shifting us out of “fight or flight” and into “rest and digest”.