I started to practice yoga because I was stressed and stiff. So stiff that I couldn’t even see my toes in a forward bend never mind touch them! I found that yoga helped me to feel better physically. I felt less stiff and more energetic. I also felt less stressed and often had a really good night’s sleep after I had been to a yoga class.
The busier my life became the more yoga I did. I went to yoga classes regularly for 10 years. I explored lots of different types and styles of yoga and felt real benefit from all classes that I attended.
In 2009 I decided to train as a yoga teacher at Mandala Yoga Ashram in Wales. It is an authentic yoga and meditation retreat centre that specialises in teaching classical yoga. I discovered the huge expanse of yoga and its potential to have a profound effect on all aspects of my being. I completed the two year training course in 2011 and obtained a British Wheel of Yoga teaching Diploma.
As part of a visit to India in 2013 I completed a Sivananda Yoga teacher training course at the Sivananda Ashram in Kerala, Southern India. It was wonderful to spend time in an Indian ashram and to be immersed in the culture and context of yoga. When I was stressed and stiff I found that a gentle, deep yoga practice was a good antidote to the pushing and shoving of my everyday life. So, that is the style of yoga that I offer. The classes include physical practices (asana), breathing practices (pranayama) and Yoga Nidra (meditation). I provide space for students to explore their own body and to find a level of yoga practice that feels right to them.
I feel great benefits from meditation – but sometimes I don’t want to sit still or to be inside. I want to move and enjoy being out in the fresh air.
Walking meditation is perfect for me as it gives me the benefits of mediation with the pleasure of spending time in nature.
I teach silent walking meditation. The practice has its roots in Yogic/Buddhist traditions. I developed my practice while doing the pilgrimage walk on the Camino de Santiago in Spain. The meditation is done by walking with awareness and being present in the moment. The conscious walking creates space and calms my mind.
I find that being in nature while meditating gives me a deeper connection and appreciation of the natural world. So I aim to teach walking meditation in places of natural beauty or with a strong spiritual connection.
To me, connecting to the energy of the nature allows me to feel part of something more profound than the everyday.
Walking Meditation is a good practice to share in a group as there is a special feeling when we walk together in silence. At the end of the walk there is time to share and talk.
The first time I experienced Reiki I was feeling slightly under the weather following a big night out. I was visiting my aunt and she offered to give me a Reiki treatment. I was amazed. My aunt put her hands on the energy centres in my body. I fell asleep. At the end of the treatment I felt very well and much brighter.
The rest is history! I was so impressed that I decided to do Reiki training myself. It is great, I can give myself healing whenever I feel like it (most days) as well as offer healing to others.
I was initiated into the healing technique of Reiki in 2004. I am now a Reiki Master in the Usui Shiki Ryoho (Western linage) and the Usui Reiki Ryoho (Eastern linage). This means that I have learned about the development and use of the Reiki healing techniques that are used in Japan and in the West. As a Reiki Master I'm able to give healings, to initiate people and to teach Reiki.