Hello! I am a Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist and a yoga teacher trained in the teachings of Vanda Scaravelli. I love that these ways of working are deeply rooted in allowing the whole of us, body, mind and spirit, to express itself and align with a more comfortable and natural way of being.
I had been practising yoga on and off for much of my adult life but it was the weekly classes with Bridget Thornborrow that hooked me into this way of approaching yoga and slowly it became transformational in my approach to life.
‘With family life and a busy job I discovered that yoga was a way of finding space and sense in amongst the joys of everyday chaos. The weekly classes, and subsequently regular practice, gave me time and space for myself. By exploring movement and taking time to breath, my yoga practice helped me become re-connected with my body and gain perspective in my life.’
After many years in the classical concert world and subsequently as director of the restoration of Christ Church Spitalfields, I decided I needed to take a different path, enrolling on the two-year London Yoga Teacher Training course graduating in 2015. This course was founded on the teachings and yoga of Vanda Scaravelli (author of Awakening the Spine) and Mary Stewart: two teachers whose approach to yoga emphasises the relationship between gravity, breath and the spine.
There were many wonderful and inspirational teachers on this course including Chloe Fremantle, Anne-Marie Zulkahari, Lisa McRory, Giovanni Felicione, Pete Blackaby and Neville Cregan. I continue to study with Gary Carter and Giovanni Felicioni.
Similarly, with Craniosacral therapy, my interest took some time to come to fruition. I first came across Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) when my children were small and I was suffering from a very painful back. The gentle approach to BCST belied its powerful effects. Within a few sessions, my back was better and I could confidently manage the demands of working and being a mother of five small children. The practicality was important, but what remained with me and encouraged me later to train as a therapist was the deep sense of calm and nurturing received in those treatments. It was as if my body was being listened to rather than just being fixed.
What I like about both biodynamic CST and Scaravelli yoga is the quality of unfolding and how they both encourage a deep sense of awareness within the body.
I was fortunate to have trained in biodynamic craniosacral therapy with Circle Cranio on their two-year diploma practitioner training (2022-24). Subsequently I’ve taken a post graduate BCST training with Sarah Nesling for pregnant women and mothers and babies. The practical experience I have had with five children has principally taught me that there is not just one way to becoming a parent! My approach is very much one of non-judgemental presence and hopefully being able to provide a source of gentle support.
The light touch of CST and the non-pushy non-striving approach of Scaravelli yoga have powerful and deep effects. Both relate to the body’s natural inclination towards health and homeostasis.
When I am not teaching yoga or doing CST you might find me out on my bike in London or among the hills and woods of Somerset on the edge of Exmoor.
Associations
Teacher Member, British Wheel of Yoga.
Registered Teacher, Yoga for Healthy Lower Backs
Registered Practitioner, The Craniosacral Therapy Association
Enhanced DBS certificate