Bio: A Yoga Teacher in Banbridge

My interest in Yoga began in my teens, snippets of information about it filtered in from many sources, books, magazines, TV and all fired my curiosity and connection with this age old practice. However it was the mid 90’s before I began a regular Hatha Yoga practice, around the same time I bought a copy of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras in a second hand book shop, so the practical and philosophical aspects of Yoga became intertwined and accompanied me as my earnest study and exploration of Yoga began.

Within a couple of years, I was drawn to the idea of teaching and In 2001 I undertook my first teacher training with the YTTC, with its founder Marie Quail and other highly knowledgeable and inspirational local teachers such as Michael McCann, and subsequently began teaching in 2002. This was soon followed by Pranayama teacher training with Philip Xerri, Ashtanga Vinyasa Teacher training with David Swenson, as well as several courses of study with Colleen Thompson investigating the more subtle anatomy of Yoga.

An exposure to Vinyasa Krama radically changed my practice, and this led to many years of intensive study and training in this intelligent style of Yoga, with Debbie Mills and Sri Srivatsa Ramaswami. Vinyasa Krama led me to study with direct students of TKV Krishnamacharya, recognised as the father of modern yoga, the first being Ramaswami, who studied with Krishnamacharya for over 30 years, This indicated to me the importance of the transmission of Yoga directly from a teacher in such a lineage. Over recent years, I have also studied with Mark Whitwell, Ag Mohan and Indra Mohan, all long term students of Krishnamacharya.

I have also studied Tantra with a number of teachers, most significantly with Dr Jonn Mumford, a practitioner and teacher of Tantra for over 60 years, who’s knowledge and experience is truly vast. In 2014 I completed year one of the Kailash centre’s, OM Kara Kriya, training in Yoga and Tantra and graduated from the second year in 2015, my studies with Dr Mumford continued beyond this. In recent years, I have studied the key Hatha Yoga texts with eminent scholars such as Dr Jim Mallinson, as well as deepening my study of Sanskrit and mantra.

Although based in Banbridge, I have travelled extensively to enhance my yoga practice and teaching. During this time I have also had the privilege of studying and attending workshops with a great number of other teachers and practitioners of Yoga,Tantra and Ayurveda, both local and international. I have also had a continual personal study of the many texts and philosophical treatise upon these arts and sciences. I feel grateful and much indebted to the teachers, lineages and traditions whom have allowed this to be conveyed into the present day. Likewise, all those who have attended classes, workshops and studied with me over the years have also allowed my practice and teaching of Yoga to evolve.

I am therefore passionate about teaching Yoga in such a way so as to clearly convey this great practice to others.