Teaching Assistants/Therapy Dogs, Fred (left) and Dana (right) who attend many of the London trainings. Fred, at the age of 14, has mastered significant lengths of uninterrupted meditation (or it could be an open-eyed nap, who knows?). Dana, 3, has achieved the art of receiving uninterrupted scratches and cuddles.

Key Teachers

Elodie

Osteopath, lecturer and yoga teacher Elodie leads the anatomy hours of our foundation course.

Elodie wasn’t always a mover: it took the whole of 18 months before she decided it might be interesting to see what happened on the other side of the room, and therefore get up and walk! Since then, however, there has been no looking back. Moving to the UK from her native France to train as a contemporary dancer, she discovered yoga for its physical benefits, and eventually fell in love with the wider practice in all its variety, adaptability, physicality and spirituality.

Elodie is the Exercise and Rehabilitation Lead for the M.Ost at the UCO School of Osteopathy, part of HSU. She also lectures technique to the part time students on this course, and tutors in the student clinic.

Fiona

Lawyer, disability advocate and bionic yoga teacher, Fiona leads sessions on accessibility and the history of yoga.

Fiona discovered Yoga back in 2014 on a sweltering hot day in Hong Kong when she was on maternity leave from her job as a litigation lawyer after having had her second baby in as many years. When she struggled not to pick up her phone as it started ringing during the class (to her now horror when she looks back on it!), Fiona started to realise that Yoga might be beneficial for her in more than just a physical way.

Fiona got addicted to her Yoga practice fairly fast in true Type A lawyer style and went on to complete her first teacher training in Hong Kong in 2018. Since then Fiona has done advanced trainings with Patrick Creelman, Jason Crandell, Marcus Veda and Hannah Whittingham. She teaches Rocket Inspired 4 Beat Vinyasa to music and her classes focus on finding stillness and focus through the breath and proper alignment in the poses for every body. Fiona also teaches Yin, which has taught her to soften a lot in her practice over the years and to sit still with herself more.

Fiona is a right below the knee amputee, having lost her leg in the Asian Tsunami of 2004. Her Yoga practice has had a huge impact on her physically, showing her directly through her body every day that her limitations are always much more mental than physical. It has also gradually helped her over the years to recognise and then deal with the trauma that she suffered as a result of her injuries. Fiona aims in her classes to teach her students to understand how to apply their Yoga practice to their lives to empower themselves to challenge any perceived limitations that they might have and invoke a sense of possibility, joy, and fun, so that both they and those around them can benefit from their practice.

Cecilia

Yoga teacher and nervous system expert, Cecilia leads lectures on the nervous system on our foundation course and on the Yin & Mindfulness course.

Coming from a background in psychology and mental health, Cecilia is passionate about the healing and transformative effects of yoga on mind, body, nervous system and individual as a whole being.

Cecilia's journey with yoga began at university as a part time stress relief through the simple joy of movement with mindfulness. Cecilia was quickly captivated by the rich philosophical and spiritual roots of the practice and became enamored with the energy of ashtanga and rocket yoga; finding moments of peaceful silence in her ashtanga practice, while falling in love with the freedom and creativity she found within the rebellious spirit of the rocket. Yoga allowed her to reconnect with her body and mind with an attitude of loving-kindness and begin the work of breaking down mental patterns.

Since her first 200hr training in Hatha & Vinyasa flow, she has trained in Yin Yoga, Yoga Nidra, pranayama, meditation and Rocket Yoga.

Shamita

Yoga teacher, Sanskrit and Philosophy teacher, Shamita Ray leads sessions on the history and meaning of Sanskrit on the 200-hour training.

Shamita started life as a dancer and choreographer, specialising in contemporary dance and Bharatanatyam (Indian classical dance). She started practising Iyengar yoga to increase flexibility and complement dance training. A chance wandering into an Ashtanga class one day turned what was, until then, a mere hobby, into a lifelong passion, rivalling her love for dance. She subsequently completed 500 hour Vinyasa teacher training, and ever curious to explore the many facets of yoga, also completed trainings in Ashtanga, Yin, meditation, Forrest Yoga, and Gong Master Training. Thirsty to delve deep into the history, philosophy and language of yoga, in 2023 she completed an MA in the Traditions of Yoga and Meditation from SOAS. Her dissertation, titled ‘Origins, Evolution and Meaning’ was subsequently published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Yoga Studies.

She has taught yoga since 2010, delivering classes, workshops, and retreats all over the world. She also teaches Sanskrit and yoga philosophy on 200 and 300 hour teacher trainings, and leads in-depth CPD trainings focussing on philosophical texts and historical practices. Her sessions are engaging, inspiring and playful, driven by enthusiasm and the desire to share the discoveries she has made through researching, practicing and teaching yoga for over 20 years. 

Find out more at www.shamitaray.com

Dan

Dan teaches the voice module (and its link to nervous system and identity) on the 200-hour training.

Dan has been teaching Yoga, Qigong and Mindfulness for over a decade, alongside a varied (and sporadic) career in TV, Theatre and Film.

 Initially training in Theatre (diploma at LSMT) he fled the acting world to become a Yoga teacher, only to rediscover his confidence 7 years later and enrolling in a pos-grad (MA Musical Theatre) at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.  During his Masters his curiosity led him to research the early influences of Eastern principles and practices over the development of theatrical training, and more specifically the interconnectivity between the body, presence/ awareness, voice and movement (sometimes referred to as the psycho-physical connection.)

 Over the past 4 years he has relished the opportunity to bring these worlds together in the form of his Voice for Yoga teachers offerings on various Yoga teacher trainings. Through combining yoga, qigong, mindfulness and Somatics, Dan hopes to encourage students to foster a more playful and enjoyable relationship with their own unique voice and encourage a functional understanding of some of the personal vocal hurdles we can can come across when facilitating, leading or just living life in general.