About Me
Hello!
Welcome to my page, I'm so happy that you found me. I hope my story resonates with you and hopefully brings more yoga into your life. Here's my favourite quote on yoga by the inspiring Bernie Clark: "We don't use the body to get into a pose - we use the pose to get into the body" This perfectly sums up what my philosophy of teaching is at it's core, a way to get into our bodies to enhance our personal wellbeing no matter what shape, flexibility or "experience" one may have. In today's competitive yoga world, it is rare to find classes that offer yoga for EveryBODY and I hope that this, yoga for you, is what you will find in one of mine.
My journey with yoga started quite early in life. I remember my first Yoga teacher, coming to our home every day and practicing simple poses such as padakonasana, sukhasana and childs pose to help me find my balance and better my walking after being born with hip dysplasia. I must have been around 7 years old at the time, fascinated with the practice and it's ties to exotic India.
In my later teens I found a Hatha Yogini who inspired a more regular practice for a while, set in nature on my Island home of Cyprus.
My restless spirit took me traveling around Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, finding a quieter practice during my pregnancy in Japan and finally taking the leap to deepen my connection in October 2015, when I embarked on the journey of an Ashtanga/Vinyasa TTC in Goa, India.
Since then I have been teaching Vinyasa Flow classes to beginners and Intermediate students through the YoYa initiative (Yoga In the Yard) A community-based practice, outside the studio environment.
Hanoi/Vietnam (2015 -2017)
During my time as a certified Yoga instructor in Vietnam, I taught Hatha Yoga Flow classes at the "Fitness Village" in Tay Ho, Vinyasa Flow to teen students at the United Nations Int'l School of Hanoi as part of their movement units and regularly taught kids yoga in a collaboration with "CrossFit Tay Ho". In 2016 I began teaching weekly Aqua Yoga classes in a collaboration with the Lotte Hotel at the evian Spa in Hanoi until our relocation to Europe.
Bucharest/Romania (2017-2019) In Romania, I taught at the American International School of Bucharest (AISB) twice weekly. Vinyasa and Yin Yoga for parents in the morning after drop off and Teen Yoga for Grades 7 and 8 as part of their movement units. Amongst other offerings, I held several yoga classes for faculty at AISB. In 2018 I began a collaboration with "Phil's", an event space in northern Bucharest, teaching two - mummy and me - yoga classes weekly. I joined the "Yoga Hub", a renowned, contemporary yoga studio in the heart of Bucharest, in April 2018, offering two Vinyasa flow and Yin Yoga evening classes weekly.
Manila/Philippines (2019 - ) My current roster includes private Yin and Vinyasa Yoga classes, private Aqua Yoga classes for seniors and kids yoga games as an after school activity at the International School of Manila (ISM). I was also invited to conduct Aqua Yoga Classes for the faculty at ISM as part of their Wellness hour.
Limassol, Cyprus - March 2020
Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, I am now in Limassol, Cyprus. Since the lifting of restrictions I am available for private yoga classes, meditation and aqua yoga offerings.
Swimming: My teaching journey with swimming begun in Japan in 2010. As part of the curricular program at the Osaka YMCA International School in Japan, I instructed children between the ages of 4 to 12, for 2 academic years. Moving t Hanoi in 2012, I began teaching swimming ASA's at the United Nations International School for K1 and K2 students. Swim Hanoi was founded in 2013 and I am proud to have instructed several hundred students from the age of 6 months old to 70 years old during the 5 years I was lucky to run the program.
Aqua Yoga: Tying together my love of Water and movement, I began teaching Aqua Yoga at the evian Spa in Hanoi in early 2016. I was amazed at the healing that can occur from the element of water itself, but also the ability to make yoga available to people with lower mobility or chronic pain who would otherwise find it difficult to participate in a land based yoga class. Making the body weightless and light in the water has opened up yoga's benefits truly to everyone, even those with mobility issues.
My teachers: My most influential teachers are Sebastian Pucelle and Murielle Burellier whom I began my Yin Yoga journey with. Sebastian and Murielle are the founders of With-Yin Yoga, both students of Paul & Suzee Grilley who are the Initiators of Yin-Yoga and have brought skeletal variation into the mainstream. Finding stillness in my personal practice and a balance between the yang and yin aspects of yoga, has been a transformational experience which has shaped my personal practice as well as my teaching. My most recent yoga training was with Charlotta Martinus of Teen Yoga Foundation UK. I aspire to widen the reach of Teen Yoga within the International school community in a collaboration with school counsellors, yoga teachers as well as school teachers to facilitate healthy and balanced transitions across school grades and international school moves.
Appreciation: Gratitude goes to the inspirational Ella Jaranova Healy who lead the Aquatics Academy at UNIS Hanoi for over a decade and who empowered me to take my teaching into the wider community during our time in Hanoi.
I'm inspired daily by my teachers, who are the light that keeps me on my path of learning, as well as my own students, who bless me with the infinite joy there is in sharing the practice.
CERTIFICATIONS
Registered Yoga Teacher:
Yoga Alliance World Wide
Registered Teen Yoga Teacher: Teen Yoga Foundation UK
200 Hr Ashtanga/Vinyasa TTC
Sampoorna Yoga, Goa/India
October 2015
Aqua Yoga Teacher
White Crow Yoga, Nashville/USA
January 2016
Kids Yoga Teacher
Jiva Yoga International
Hanoi/Vietnam
March 2016
Yin Yoga Teacher M1
With-Yin Yoga,
Bangkok/Thailand
January 2017
Biomatic Anatomy
Pelvis and Sacrum
APapadamaki,
Limassol/Cyprus
February 2018
Mindfulness-Based
Stress Reduction
Palouse Mindfulness
February 2018 - present
Teen Yoga Teacher Training
Teen Yoga Foundation UK
Andalusia/Spain
April 2019
TEACHING
Aqua Yoga
Evian Spa, Lotte Hotel, Hanoi(2015-2017)
YoYa - Vinyasa Flow (2015-)
Various
Yin Yoga
Ciputra, Hanoi (2016-2017)
Teen Yoga
United Nations Int'l School, Hanoi (2016-2017)
American Int'l School, Bucharest(2017 - 2019)
Kids Yoga
Crossfit Tay Ho, Hanoi(2016-2017)
Hatha Yoga Flow
The Fitness Village, Hanoi (2015-2017)
Yang and Yin Yoga
American Int'l School, Bucharest
(2017-2019)
Yin Yoga,
Vinyasa Flow
The Yoga Hub, Bucharest(2018-2019)
Aqua Yoga private sessions
Yin Yoga private sessions
Vinyasa Flow private sessions
BGC, Makati (2019-)
Kids Yoga Games
Aqua Yoga
International School Manila (2019-)