I have been practicing yoga since 1994 and teaching since 2002. I hold the teaching diploma of the British Wheel of Yoga, the governing body for yoga in the UK. In 2006 I completed the Yoga for Health Foundation’s Remedial Training Course and in 2010 undertook the BWY-accredited course “Teaching Yoga to People Living With Cancer”. The specialist training I received has allowed me to develop the confidence, knowledge, insight and professional skills that are needed in order to work with people who are dealing with the challenging experience of serious illness.

My interest in yoga as a path to holistic health has steered the type of yoga I teach, with the emphasis on body awareness and self-healing. I have taught local classes in Cavendish, Lavenham, Long Melford and Sudbury since 2005. I currently hold community classes in Long Melford both for beginners and intermediate. I have two specialist classes: Yoga for People Living with Cancer and Yoga50+, an approach designed to improve stability, core strength and muscle density to combat the ageing process.

I am a volunteer for the British Wheel of Yoga and hold the post of Regional Officer for the Eastern Region, managing the needs of a growing membership across East Anglia. I teach the BWY Foundation Course 1 in Bury St Edmunds and hope to train further as a Diploma Course Tutor.

I am currently expanding my yoga practice internationally with small-scale retreats to Sweden.

I attended my first yoga class 21 years ago and have loved teaching people from all walks of life for the last 10 years. I am indebted to many teachers. I am a Foundation Course Tutor, and have a particular interest in sustainable lifelong practice. Details of my training are on my website.

Although I have always been involved in some form of physical training since the age of 3, by nature I am drawn to stillness and quiet. Yoga magically brings together my interests, in peacefulness, movement, health, foreign cultures and languages and the perennial philosophy. Meditation has been an important part of my life for 13 years.

Since the birth of my son I have discovered a renewed interest in the therapeutic application of the yoga, and in sharing experiences with sports therapists, physiotherapists, osteopaths and movement educators in relation to working with structural balance.

I became Training Officer in 2012 and am responsible for facilitating training and continuing professional development in the region. I am a point of contact for the public and teachers relating to Foundation Courses, teacher training, specialist modules and in-service training days.

I have been practicing Yoga for over 9 years and have been a Teacher since 2008. My first real Yoga experience was on a Godfrey Devereux foundation course in Tuscany. I started a fairly regular practice, but it was through a back injury and a visit to the physio that I really found the benefits. My physiotherapist gave me some exercises to do that were based on yoga postures. I was performing these a couple of times a day and before long I was mobile again and free from pain. That helped me start a healthy self practice and from there I was hooked.

In 2007 I decided I wanted to learn more about Yoga than I could at a regular class and enrolled on a Simon Low Teacher training course. Simon's courses at the Yoga Academy are British Wheel of Yoga accredited and qualify for the Yoga Alliance 200 hour accreditation level. My teachers include Gary Carter, Julie Gudmestad, Sue Delf, Simona Hernandez, Andrea Hanagarth and Gill Lloyd.

I now enjoy teaching and sharing my knowledge with others. I teach Hatha Yoga with a focus on breath, alignment, safe practice and traditional yoga techniques blended with an up to date awareness of human anatomy and physiology.

I have been practising yoga for over thirty years with more and more enjoyment as time goes by. I treained with the BWY on the distance learning programme with Di Kendal and Pam Horton, attending teacher training weeks and congress, and started teaching in 2007. My style of yoga is an amalgamation of all my teachers and my reading and study over the years. I hope to be able to do as good a job as Jacequelyn, my predecessor, who is now my deputy, for Bedfordsshire and Eastern Region as I get to grips with being a Representative. Novermber 2012

I grew up watching my Anglo-Indian mother doing headstands and encouraging us to join in! I did not connect what she did with yoga until I started going to classes in the early nineties. The weekly class became a haven from my every day stresses. Since then I have practised many different styles of yoga including Iyengar, Ashtanga and Anusara.

I gained the British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) Teaching Diploma and have been teaching weekly adult classes, children’s classes and remedial one-to-one sessions in Bedford since 2002. I have regular private clients who are managing various health conditions including Parkinson’s, M.S., M.E. or coping with mental health issues.

My particular area of interest is meditation and the personal transformation which can result from regular practice. I have completed Level One of the BWY Meditation & Personal Development module with the much respected tutor Maarten Vermaase. I am currently embarking on Level Two of the module with a view to specialising in stress/anxiety management and personal development.

In 2008 I began working voluntarily for the BWY as County Representative of Bedfordshire, looking after the needs of members and teachers in my county as well as playing an active role in the development of the Eastern Region.

Hi I was deleted to take on the role of County Rep for West Essex and East London.
I would like to share a little about my journey with you.
I started my journey in Yoga with Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centers and with Swami Vishu-devananda, he was a student of Master Sivananda I trained with him as my teacher for four years and continued for another five years teaching Yoga in their Centers. That was in 1975.
I have been a member of the British Wheel Of yoga for many years though as far back as 1980.
I decided to take the British Wheel of Yoga Teacher Diploma, in 2000 passing in 2004.
I will always enjoy teaching and passing on all that I have learnt and know to my students at the same time living the yoga way of life and healing.
What does yoga mean to me
Yoga is practice that invites us to wake up... over and over again. We learn first, to pay attention. At first we can steady our attention for very brief periods on very gross objects like straightening our legs. Later we can watch the tide of our breath for minutes at a time. Much later we can watch the movements of our minds, eventually with wide open hearts --towards both ourselves and all living beings.

What impact has yoga had on my life?
So many things!! If I had to choose one thing it'd be the importance of steadiness, which of course leads to acceptance. Because if you are really steady over time, you see that everything is always changing for better or worse. If you want peace, you'll let go of the "for better or worse" part and accept change.
I've been practicing over 4 decades now and what I do each day looks different now from my twenties, thirties, forties, etc.! Show up, teach pay attention and keep going with patience and love.
What drew me to teach the particular style(s) of yoga that I teach now?
Time. I've done the rigorous physical stuff, the sweet quiet stuff and almost everything in between. I've studied Anatomy, Reflexology, Aromatherapy, psychology, philosophy and meditation with great teachers. My trainings synthesize all my years of study and practice with my devotion to each and every student's evolution. I do hope that we all live in peace and love in Yoga.

Om shanti

Angela.

I began practicing yoga in the 1990’s and was inspired and encouraged by my very first teacher to deepen and further my studies.
After completing the British Wheel of Yoga Foundation course I went straight on to teacher training and gained the British Wheel of Yoga Teaching Diploma.
Margeret Woodley was my diploma course tutor and first introduced me to the teachings of Paul Harvey and T.K.V. Desikachar. I am strongly influenced by this tradition and I am currently furthering my studies with Ranju Roy and Dave Charlton in Taunton.
I have always been very interested in the therapeutic value of yoga and have completed Julie Friedeberger’s BWY cancer module and Wendy Teasdill’s pregnancy module.
Yoga is a very improtant part of my life, and I am keen to share my enthuisiasm, knowledge and love of yoga with you.

I have been practising yoga since I was 18 and teaching for 5 years. My yoga is inspired by many wonderful teachers and continues to evolve (as I do!). Before being a yoga teacher I worked originally as a dietitian for the NHS and then in the food industry. I always have been interested in health and health education - so being a yoga teacher suits me perfectly.

As I now work for myself, I like to keep things interesting and challenging. Last year I branched out and ran my first ever yoga holiday - staying in vintage American Airstream caravans on the Isle of Wight. Why there? because the site is run by my oldest friend and we all had a fabulous time. Next year I am going abroad to work with my sister-in-law who is Czech. I will be running a retreat in a spa town somewhere near Prague - I am excited already!

Qualifications: The British Wheel of Yoga Teachers Diploma
Insurance : The British Wheel of Yoga
First Aid and CRB (Enhanced Disclosure)
Classes taught: Scaravelli Flow, Post Natal, Ante Natal,
Introductory Beginners Courses, Teens, Schools
Day job: Owner & Director of the self centre
What makes a good yoga teacher?
My background is varied – Restaurant/Bars Manager, Cafe chain Area Manager, Advertising Rep and Pharmaceutical Rep but all the jobs I’ve had have shaped me and led me into what I do now, plus the experience of high pressured sales roles has let me appreciate the benefits of yoga and preventative healthcare – this is what the self centre is all about.
My journey into yoga began when my mother persuaded me to try a local village hall class as I was a slightly overweight and very stressed mother of two small people! I rejected the suggestion stating that “yoga is just for grannies” but as I look back now, that first class was a turning point in my life!
For me yoga is about developing your own understanding of how you and your body and mind interact with the world. Yes it’s about regaining flexibility, building strength and tone in muscles and joints but it’s actually a lot more than that too if you are open to it. Yoga will not only open a stiff, tired body but it will expand your mind and allow you to do things you never thought you could. It will also strengthen your focus, resolve and improve your concentration levels. Perhaps one of the main reasons people come to yoga though is to try and reduce their stress levels. Even our GP’s now are beginning to slowly make the connection between mind and body and understand that a stressed mind causes the body to react in some way. We should be healthy, unstressed and in a state of “ease” but what happens to us as we live in our busy heads all day, ignoring our bodies and what we put them through or feed them, is that we find we become “dis-eased”.
I love teaching, everyone from the very young to the very old, there is never a reason that someone can’t do yoga, and even a little movement will make a difference. I find teaching children and teenagers really rewarding and enjoy the challenge of persuading adults to come out of their comfort zones more, something kids find a lot easier!
I work in schools, colleges and the workplace and regularly take myself on teacher training weekends to keep myself updated and have a fresh enthusiastic approach. The BWY is the gold standard in yoga teaching, it is the governing body for yoga and I am the local rep for Suffolk.
I don’t teach one particular style – all my classes are geared towards the individuals needs and I modify/tweak and adjust accordingly. I am never serious and I believe that life should be fun. Yoga is a way of learning to connect with and understand your own body – discover your stressful spots and how to release them and then choose to prevent that stress happening in the first place!
My claim to fame is I once texted Chris Evans and offered to sort out his wonky bits and the next day found myself live in the Studio at BBC Radio 2 being interviewed about yoga and putting Johnny Saunders through his paces. I can face any challenge life throws my way now after that experience!