My yoga training
I studied yoga for several years with Nigel Gilderson at Brockwell Lido in south London and eventually enrolled at Amrita School of Yoga Teacher Training which Nigel runs with Christopher Gladwell. I qualified as a traditional Hatha Yoga teacher in 2008 and am registered with the Independent Yoga Network. Since then I have been developing a therapeutic approach to yoga, studying with with Susie Hately Aldous. Other inspirations include Antonia Pollock, Uma Dinsmore-Tuli, and Clare Calvert, who all teach at Brockwell Lido, and the Scaravelli-inspired yoga of Marc Woolford, Sophie Hoare and Diane Long.
Love and thanks to all my teachers.
About Yoga with Chris
I'm a mum of two young boys who has been practising yoga since 1995 and teaching it since 2008. Perhaps the best way to describe my approach to yoga is to tell you some of my experiences...
I've been lucky, growing up in a secure and artistic family in the Midlands and, as an adult, having some interesting jobs, mainly as a journalist and anti-poverty campaigner – but also as a barmaid and fruit picker.
But there is a dark side to everyone's life.
I've experienced loneliness, bereavement, insomnia and stress – not to mention a tendency to rely too much on booze to make my problems disappear. Physically, I've suffered neck and shoulder pain and chronic stiffness in my lower back.
The yoga I teach is the yoga that has helped - and still helps - me. It's about finding ways to relax and truly let go. It's about trying to accept myself for who I am and to stop competing or worrying what other people think.
In my yoga I am looking for balance in my body and my life and learning to love the true self inside me – not the ego that masquerades as me! By going along this journey I hope I am becoming more loving, open and able to love the people and world around me. It's usually a lot easier said than done - especially trying to get the kids ready and out to school and nursery on a damp winter morning, for example! But I've found yoga makes everyday things easier more of the time.
Yoga introduces a little space into a busy and sometimes
anxious life, and I've found it's possible in
that space to quieten down, reflect and find inspiration.
If you'd like to hear more, have a look at my blog, where I write about yoga, politicals, kids and other stuff that I come across I think you might find interesting.