I am a Registered Senior Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance Professionals which is the highest accolade in professional yoga teaching.
I’ve been practising yoga on and off for most of my adult life. After a 19 year career in the Civil Service and having my three children I was looking for a new direction.
I had started Pilates classes which were fairly new to the UK and explored the possibility of teaching it. At that time you had to train in “exercise to music” (aerobics) first to understand the anatomy and physiology of the body so I did, then after my Pilates training came Step, Les Mills BodyBalance, Body Pump, Body Jam (it wasn’t for me!) and Yoga. After 15 years and when my children were more grown up I had time on my hands to fully immerse myself in 200 hours of Yoga teacher training.
Yoga gradually took over and eventually I stopped teaching the Les Mills programmes; aerobics, step and Pilates had gone a long time before that! The practice of yoga; the repetition of the asana (poses), the meditation and mindfulness has become a massive part of my life. Not just a job, it really is a way of life and I believe most of my students would agree.
To be able to take a group of students away for a weekend, a week or longer to practice together on retreat is such a privilege and so rewarding.
In 2020 when we first went into lockdown due to Covid, I was one of the first yoga teachers to go online. I practised with up to 25 students in their own homes four times weekly for almost two years. I think for many this consolidated a place for yoga in their lives (and hearts.)
I live in Aspley Guise a village in the Bedfordshire countryside with my husband and chocolate lab, Milo. I look after my two young grandchildren two days a week so I see a lot my daughter and see my boys, who both live in London, when I can.
My other love is baking. In April ‘21 I baked for a month raising just over £1542 for Cancer Research UK (making 83 bakes) and more recently in March ‘22 I raised £2,775 (95 bakes) for Alzheimer’s Research UK in honour of my lovely mum who sadly passed away with Alzheimer’s several years ago. Both of these incredible donations due to the massive support and generosity of family, friends and those who found out what I was trying to achieve through Facebook.
I combine my loves of yoga and baking from October to March when I hold the space once a month for a relaxing Restorative Yoga practice, followed by cake!