Biography

My passion for Ashtanga yoga began when I was a student of Drama at RSAMD in Glasgow in 1997. I found that yoga helped me to develop focus and concentration as an actor and that it improved co-ordination and stamina in dance and movement classes. Not just that – it made me fully alive and energised in a way I had never been before. Enthused and curious to learn more I travelled to Mysore in India in 1999 to study more deeply the Ashtanga system with its founder Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath. This was to be the first of many subsequent journeys to train with my teachers.

Back in the UK from 2000 I assisted Alexander Medin at the ‘Yoga Place’ in east London. This gave me the opportunity to develop my understanding of Ashtanga practice and to explore physical adjusting skills.

In 2001 I travelled again to India and then on to Bali where I undertook an intensive teacher training with Louisa Sear at Yoga Arts. On that journey I also explored Vipassana meditation at the Blue Mountains Centre in Australia. I also studied at that time with Tim Miller in the USA and John Scott in the UK. Both of these courses led to teaching certification.

Feeling confident and strong in my practice I returned to my home town, Edinburgh, in 2002 where I set up my first Ashtanga classes. In 2006 I received certification from my teacher Patthabhi Jois. I am currently the only teacher in Scotland authorised by Patthabi Jois to teach the Ashtanga method.

Each year I return to Mysore to further my understanding of yoga with the help of my teachers – Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath. This annual trip is imperative to my ongoing training and in order to deepen my understanding of the practice.

I am based in Edinburgh where I offer classes to all levels of yoga practitioner. My style of teaching is disciplined and informal, sincere and joyful. Whilst Ashtanga could be described as a dynamic and perhaps quite masculine form of yoga I believe that this style of yoga can also be feminine and my practise and teaching mirror this.