YOGA

My first experience practicing yoga was not long after graduating from Trinity Laban as a dancer where I attended an Astanga class. As a contemporary dancer, my body enjoyed moving into lots of different shapes and balances. It was a great way to maintain my physical fitness during a busy performing career in the arts where I was pushing my body to its limits. Fast forward 15 years and my yoga practice has been on quite a journey.  

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In 2019 I was diagnosed with tongue cancer and subsequently went through a complex and invasive surgery which resulted in several areas of my body in need of intense rehabilitation. The only thing I could physically do was Yin Yoga (with the incredible Dolores Kavanagh). I realised then the power yoga had. I found a space in which I could really be with this trauma, and it enabled me to process what was happening physically and emotionally during my healing process. 

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Through breathwork, meditation and āsana (postures) I went on a deeper journey with my yoga practice and practiced more than just the movement of the body. I practiced self-compassion, gratitude and tried to stay present during a time where the future was very uncertain and my body was in extreme pain and discomfort. 

I learned to move and speak again as well as inhabit this new, patchwork body of mine with more kindness and acceptance.

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As a dancer, I wanted to 'get back' to my 'old self' but yoga taught me about accepting what is, even in the most difficult circumstances. Yoga allowed me to let go of things that were no longer serving me. Yoga enabled me to see the 'self' as an ever-changing, transient thing and that the human organism is continuously adapting, growing and transforming to be a home for the essence of who I am.

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As a yoga student, I wanted to learn more about this powerful practice that had helped me through the most challenging periods of my life which led me towards embarking on my first 200-hour Teacher Training. I discovered yoga was more than just movement, breathwork and meditation. The practice of yoga is a life long commitment to live more presently in the world and to teach yoga is a privilege. 

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Now as a yoga teacher I want to encourage my students to be with themselves fully. To be present with the body we have on the mat that day. To approach our practice with kindness and compassion for ourselves. To move mindfully with our breath. To find the space to just be.