I started practising yoga in my mid-twenties and soon found myself wanting to go just for the feeling I would get at the end – a rare opportunity for me to feel peaceful and comfortable being still, before leaving the class in a feel-good bubble - this would get me there even on the days when I really didn’t feel up to it!
I dipped in and out of classes over the next few years, and it wasn’t until I moved to New Zealand that I started to build a more regular practice and love for yoga. I have suffered with anxiety and panic attacks through most of my adult life, and during a particularly difficult time with this when I was first living in Auckland, I remembered that yoga classes would often help bring me a bit of calm when I was extremely anxious. I struggled through my first couple classes with my anxiety, but soon found that I was able to relax more quickly each time I got on the mat.
From then on I made yoga a more frequent part of my life. Because for me, yoga brings me out of my head and into my body (something I desperately need!), and it guides me to tune in to myself and listen to what my body is telling me. By focusing on my body, movement, and my breath I am able to connect in with my body and let go of a busy mind – at least while I’m on the mat!
I completed my yoga teacher training in 2016 and have been teaching ever since. Since then, I have welcomed yogis from a diversity of backgrounds, ages and experience in my classes. When I was pregnant I undertook further pre and post natal yoga training so that I could better understand how my practice could adapt to my changing body, and have loved being able to share this knowledge and understanding with pregnant women and new mamas since then. I have also undertaken trainings in restorative yoga, Yoga Medicine, and with Donna Fahri - who has had a huge influence on my teaching style.
The more I practice and the more I learn, the more I grow to love about yoga. I am really passionate about being able to share this with others, and to see (and hear) what benefits it has brought to all those who come to my classes.
What is most important is not how the practice, or any pose, looks – but instead how it makes you feel.