My passion for yoga developed during a time when my life was a blur of crazy-hecticness. My marketing career plus intensive marathon and Ironman® training programmes equalled stress and complete exhaustion.
I'd always been intrigued by yoga and one day I decided to go on a yoga retreat. I didn’t know it at the time, but that weekend would change my life. I discovered what it felt like to let go, to relax, to actually take time to listen to my body and I came away feeling relaxed and restored. Following that weekend I found a yoga studio local to me and I would go to class pretty much every day. Yoga became my release. As it became more and more part of my world, I began to realise that life didn’t need to be about pushing myself to the extreme.
After several years of practice, I did my teacher training in Hatha Yoga with Laura Gilmore at the Bristol School of Yoga and qualified as a Yoga Alliance 200-hour certified teacher in 2014. During the training, big things shifted and upon its completion I quit my advertising job, said goodbye to suits and high heels and bought myself an 85 litre backpack. My next 6 months were spent canoeing down the Yukon River, hiking in the Rockies, climbing mountains in Bhutan and Nepal and perfecting my headstand whilst chanting Sanskrit at 5am in an Ashram in India. I returned to the UK full of energy, focus and determination and that’s when everything fell into place. Quitting my corporate career in order to do what I really loved was the best decision I've ever made.
I started teaching Hatha Yoga in 2014 and since then I have trained further and become qualified to teach Pregnancy Yoga, Postnatal Yoga, Children's Yoga and Restorative Yoga. In 2018, I completed the triyoga 300-hour Advanced Teacher Training Programme with senior teachers Anna Ashby and Jean Hall. I then went on to complete an additional 300 hours of training in Vinyasa Flow Yoga with Jason Crandell, which I completed in April 2020. In 2021, I completed over 40 hours of Breathing teacher training, including a course specifically for Covid and Long Covid. I'm now qualified as a Yoga Alliance 500-hour certified teacher, although in total I have completed over 1000 hours of training since I first embarked on this journey.
I've taught thousands of classes both in-person and online over the years. Having experienced the impact that yoga has had on my own wellbeing, my mission has always been to make yoga feel less intimidating and more accessible to everyone, regardless of whether or not they can touch their toes, so that the benefits of yoga can be felt by all. I won the Muddy Stilettos award for best yoga teacher in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire in 2019, which I'm still so chuffed about because it's judged based on votes from the public.
I launched my on-demand class platform and app in 2020 and I now teach through a combination of live and on-demand classes and courses. I know that yoga works best when it's done regularly, so I help people to become confident and skilful at doing yoga so that they can make it part of their everyday life in a way that works for them. It's through having a consistent home practice that my students are transforming their wellbeing and thriving in everyday life. I can help you to do the same.
Read on, if you’d like to find out more, or move on to explore my yoga page.
A: Doing yoga regularly is a way of taking care of your body and mind. It gives you time to slow down and relax, which can be valuable for your mental wellbeing. We all have busy heads thinking about the past and the future, whereas when you are doing yoga, your attention is focused purely on the present moment through awareness of your body and your breath. This can slow down your racing mind and create mental space, which is a useful tool when you have feelings of anxiety or when you're faced with stressful situations off your mat. Yoga also builds flexibility, range of motion and strength, which can help combat the effects of modern-day sedentary lifestyles, keeping your body mobile and strong, and your spine healthy. This all comes together to give a more balanced state of mind and confidence in your body, a combination that can be empowering psychologically. With an able body and a balanced mind, we can live a full life, doing all the things we love to do.
A: There is a huge variety of styles of yoga, ranging from gentle chair-based yoga through to dynamic flow, so my advice would be to try out lots of different classes and teachers until you find what feels right for you. Sometimes people feel intimated and put off by the way yoga is portrayed because they think that they need to be really flexible and strong to start (this isn't true!). So, try to ignore all of the images and videos on social media - you don't need to be able to touch your toes - everyone has to start somewhere. My mission is to make yoga feel less intimidating and more available to people who perhaps don't see themselves as someone who does yoga, which is why I have created my online class membership, which is suitable for a range of abilities and experience levels. Please get in touch if you have any questions or if I can help at all.
A: Yoga works best when you do it regularly, and so it's most beneficial if you do it every day. Prior to the pandemic, the norm was to go to a class once a week at best, but now doing yoga at home is so accessible. This can only be a good thing as yoga can now be part of everyday life, so you can get the benefits every day of the week. However, this doesn't mean you need to do an hour a day. Little and often is key to making yoga a daily habit. I always say to my students that ten minutes of yoga a day is better than zero minutes. If you have time to do longer sessions then that's great, but don't overlook the value of regular short yoga breaks, especially if you are working at a desk or sitting a lot, and if you do other forms exercise like running or cycling.
A: Buy a mat and find a place that will be your yoga space. You don't need acres of space, just enough room around your mat so that you won't bash into things. Have your equipment handy so that it's not an effort to dig out each day. Find a time of day that works for you and stack your yoga time before or after an existing habit so that yoga becomes an automatic part of your day. Good time slots are: as soon as you get up, before lunch, immediately after work, or before bed. Follow a programme so that you have a set class to do each day (check out my online class membership). Start with short classes - just 5-10 minutes a day is great to help to form a habit - and then increase the length of time if you can. You could also attend in-person classes, workshops or retreats from time to time so that you have some face-to-face connection with a teacher. I've written blogs about how to practise yoga at home and how to establish habits so they might be useful to read.
A: Yoga has changed my life in so many ways. I used to push myself to the extreme both physically and with work. Through yoga I have learnt to be kinder to myself. My yoga time gives me daily space to check in with how I am feeling and to take care of myself. My body feels stronger, more mobile and balanced. And I'm able to manage stress and anxiety better now, thanks to the self-awareness that yoga cultivates. And I have a career that I am truly passionate about. It brings me joy.
A: My yoga practice and teaching is deeply rooted in Hatha Yoga with a focus on building strength and stability in the body. I think because of my interest in sport and fitness, I’ve always approached my practice with a strong awareness of alignment and precision. That’s evident in my teaching. I focus on giving clear precise instructions with attention to detail. The pace of my classes is steady and I encourage mindful movement; for me it’s more important to give people time to find the right position and feel what is happening in their body, rather than moving super-fast and losing the connection and alignment. A steady practice is still challenging though; holding postures requires endurance and strength. I’m highly aware of each individual’s physical and mental needs and remain attentive to this throughout the class. Everyone has a story and something they are working with; injury, pain, illness or stress. It’s about creating a safe and supported environment where people can explore what’s happening in their body and mind so they can continue to learn and grow.
A: It’s wonderful to see the impact that yoga has over time. Physically, people see an improvement their in strength, flexibility and range of motion but it has a much wider impact. As people start to take better care of themself and as they notice changes in their body, their confidence grows and it can be empowering. It’s also wonderful to see the mental space that yoga brings. We all have busy heads thinking about the past and the future, whereas when we are doing yoga, our attention is purely focused on the present moment through awareness of our body and our breath. This all leads to a greater sense of overall wellbeing. With an able body and a balanced mind, we can live a full life, doing all the things we love to do. I also love the sense of community that yoga creates, even when we are not in the same room. It brings like-minded people together, no matter what stage of life they’re at. There’s a wonderful bond between everyone that comes to my classes; it has been lovely to watch that grow and evolve. I’d like to think we’ve created a trusting, nurturing environment that everyone can feel safe and supported in, and also inspired and motivated by.
A: I’m privileged to have had the opportunity to have learnt from and been inspired by some of the world’s best teachers. Right from when I first discovered yoga, I was lucky to meet the beautifully wise and experienced Laura Gilmore who later inspired me to become a teacher; I went on all her retreats and workshops (some may call it stalking!) and then later did my 200-hour teaching qualification with her. I did my first 300-hour teacher training with Anna Ashby and Jean Hall at triyoga in London and went on to do a second 300-hour training with Jason Crandell. I have also done trainings and workshops with Seane Corn, Richard Rosen, Kathryn Budig, Bridget Woods-Kramer, Leslie Caminoff and Jeff Phenix. My experience of their teachings all comes together to make me the teacher that I am.
