Yoga by Nature
Roll out your mat with me!
One thousand welcomes! Céad míle fáilte!
I am so glad you are here. In these days of endless demands on our attention I don't underestimate what's required for you to pause and read a website. So thank you for stopping by! I hope that by doing so you will discover a bit more about me, what matters to me and what I can offer you. On this page you can read about my own journey, how Yoga by Nature came into being and the amazing training that has supported me along the way. I have been teaching yoga for almost 10 years now and practicing for 20 (I first began when I was pregnant with my son and now he is 19!) and I can honestly say it has been my guiding light for this whole time. I could never have envisaged back then the journey my yoga mat would take me on and I'm so excited to share what I have learned with you.
Finding My Soul
My story is a familiar one and one that only really becomes clear when I look back retrospectively. It began in Dublin, although undoubtedly before then, around 2002. I was in my mid-twenties and we had moved there, my husband and I, for an adventure after getting married in 2001. Looking back now I know I was running from something and seeking something but I didn't really know then what those "somethings" were. I now know that I was seeking a spiritual connection to my Irish roots, a way home to health and belonging, but I had to get there the hard way, some may call it a dark night of the soul. It was boom time in Ireland then, the Celtic Tiger was roaring, and we lived a work-hard, play-hard culture for a few years. I worked in financial services and my husband in construction. Much of it was fun but the pace and the rat-race broke me. My periods stopped, I lost weight, found myself having panic attacks on train platforms or in concert halls. Eventually my anxiety tipped me into depression and I was diagnosed with severe Graves Disease, my thyroid was spiralling out of control. But by hitting rock bottom, as brutal as it was, I knew things had to change. While lucrative, I knew my heart was not in the corporate world and was instead calling me towards healing though a more gentle and natural way of life. I instinctively knew that a natural approach to healing was for me and found solace in hypnotherapy, herbal medicine, music and exercise in those early days, alongside my essential thyroid medication. A new door had opened for me.
However, it wasn’t until I fell pregnant with my son that I found the courage to try a massage and join a yoga class, persuaded by the chance that others would be beginning too. This is such a powerful reminder to me of how hard it can be to begin and sometimes we just have to wait until the conditions are right. Our body often knows before our mind can make sense of it. Returning to Edinburgh that year I continued pregnancy yoga and massage and only through experiencing the benefits of these myself did I find the strength to leave my career behind and commence training in natural health. I spent many years working and learning about bodywork and building a successful niche massage practice supporting expectant and post-natal mums and their families. Some say that the average work-span of a massage therapist is 8 years and that certainly was the case for me. Whilst I was and still am hugely passionate about the benefits of positive touch, my body knew otherwise and it was time for a break from treating bodies in such a hands-on way. This realisation coincided with an opportunity to step back into employment for a while and I spent 3 fantastic years working for Secret Garden Outdoor Nursery. The chance to step into such a fabulous social enterprise was a true gift and allowed my deep love of nature, which had been lost along the way, to resurface. I had the privilege to take part in a deep nature connection program called Art of Mentoring in 2014 and went on to train as a Forest Schools Practitioner and support young children in their free explorations of natural world.
At that time, along with nature, yoga was the biggest source of support in my life, emotionally, mentally and physically. I returned time and time again to the refuge of my mat to ease the physical and emotional stresses of parenting and life. In 2013, I had the privilege of doing my Foundation Training with Acquaviva Yoga. This year of training based around the teachings of Vanda Scaravelli really laid the foundations of my daily yoga practice and greatly influenced the style of my teaching which is gentle yet deep, somatic and very mindful. In 2015 the conditions finally felt right for me to progress onto a full Teacher Training Program with Yoga Scotland, one of the most thorough and diverse qualifications in the UK. The loss of a dear friend that year and the deep grieving that unleashed became a transformational stage for me and gave me the push that I needed to step up and allow the yoga teachings that had supported me so much over the years to be passed through to others. My local classes now flourish in-person in Milnathort and Fife, as well as on Zoom and I dream of having my own yoga studio one day.
As a life long learner the journey continues. I have trained in Mindfulness and Compassion with the Mindfulness Association and co-facilitated a Zen meditation group for over 10 years. I am so proud to be qualified now as Certified Somatic Movement Teacher and I undertook a years mentoring in Qi Gong with Mimi Kuo Deemer in 2023. Both incredible experiences! And following my initiation into menopause and the awakening that has unleashed, I am finally returning to my sacred roots and exploring the world of Celtic spirituality and myth with many wonderful teachers. Coming full circle and finding my way home to my Celtic soul as I reach the ripe age of 50 feels like the most precious gift. There is a resurgence of interest in our own indigenous sacred ways and I'm so excited to infuse this wisdom into my work offerings overs the coming years.
The winding path continues and I am so excited to see what will unfold. Will you join me? I hope so!
I'm Always Learning ...
2024 Celtic Woman's Voyage with Jen Murphy at Celtic Embodiment
2023 One year QiGong Mentoring with Mimi Kuo Deemer
2023 Level 3 Training with the Mindfulness Association in Insight (Sept 23-Feb24)
2022 200hr Well Woman Yoga Therapy training with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli
2021 Level 2 Training with the Mindfulness Association in Compassion (Feb-Aug 21)
2021 Essential Somatics Movement Teacher Training - Level 2 (now a certified teacher)
2020 Qigong Immersion for Yoga Teachers with Mimi Kuo Deemer (August 20)
2020 Essential Somatics Movement Teacher Training - Level 1 (March 20)
2019 Level 1 Training with the Mindfulness Association in Mindfulness (April - Nov 19)
2019 Winterlight - 12 Week course in Mindfulness with Orlaith O'Sullivan
2019 Fundamentals of Essential Somatics with Martha Petersen (2 Day workshop)
2018 Mental Health First Aid (12 Hour - SMHFA)
2018 CPD - Yvonne Austen "Adjustment & Observation"
2018 CPD - Brenda Louw "Anatomy & Scaravelli Yoga"
2018 CPD - Somatics Workshops with Jahna Clark (Shoulders & Hips)
2017 CPD - Rona Main "Creating Space/ Sutras"
2015-17 2 Year (500 HR) Yoga Teacher Diploma with Yoga Scotland
2016 Youth Mindfulness Kids Teacher Training
2015 Certificate in Jikiden Reiki
2015 First Degree in Usui Reiki
2015 Forest Schools Practitioner (Level 2)
2014 Art of Mentoring (Ring 1)
2013 1 Year Foundation in Yoga with Acquaviva Yoga
2013 Baby Massage Instructors Certificate (SSCBM)
2011 Diploma in Remedial & Sports Massage (AMTS)
2010 Wellmother Diploma in Massage & Pregnancy
2010 Certificate in Massage for People Living with Cancer
