VANESSA'S BIOGRAPHY

Please allow me to introduce my self!  I'm Vanessa and in my previous life I was as a PR Executive for a multinational IT company; my main role was event management. I took voluntary redundancy in 2000 and decided to use the opportunity to get away from the ‘rat race’ and retrain in a more fulfilling profession, in an area that I felt very passionate about, which was of course yoga!

I came late to yoga only starting when I was forty but if you happen to browse my gallery I'm doing pretty well for an 'oldie' like me'! Especially considering I started off with no core strength and hamstrings wound up tight from years of road running.  Those photos are not to 'show off' - well maybe a little ;) but seriously, I hope, to inspire that its never too late to start yoga,  and even if you're not flexible (because I definitely wasn't) you will ONLY get better as I'm more flexible now than I was twenty years ago so if I can do it - so can you!  

Yoga has not just helped me physically but emotionally too through a very acrimonious divorce.  I truly believe the yoga philosophy kept me from having a breakdown!  Now I know I said I'd never get married again, but I'm pleased to say I'm happily re-married now - see after a storm the sun will always shine. 

If you're interested, here's a synopsis of my yoga story.  For 21 years now I’ve have been teaching yoga since qualifying in 2003.  My studies have been  ongoing and varied, progressing from Kundalini Yoga to Advance Yoga Anatomy.  I qualified in Jivamukti Yoga, Anusara Yoga, Advanced Yoga Anatomy, Yogabugs, Postural Analysis and Correction Alignment and the British Wheel of Yoga (BWY) Foundation Course.  I’m also attuned in Reiki One, Reiki Two Advanced.  I have my Reiki Masters and recently qualified in Ariel Yoga with YogaBody.  

Through these studies I have developed various styles.  I started with a basic style and then from my studies in kundalini yoga I developed my own unique style.  An exciting fusion of kundalini yoga and hatha  which I named Hathalini Yoga.  However, this was a few years ago, and to be honest, I don’t think my hometown of Weybridge were ready for it!  

I’ve also had a passion for working with sportsmen/women incorporating yoga into their training programmes, working on the ethos of ‘prehab not rehab’.  I ran workshops for an established cricket team and a South London premiership football team.  Following on from the workshops a few of the players came to me for private sessions to evolve their yoga practice.

My next passion was power yoga, and this was my Yoga Junky phase. A dynamic, strong sequence for men and women who liked a more challenging practise.  But fast forward a few years and a couple of operations later - one for a ruptured slipped disc and last year I received a new hip (both injuries were caused before yoga and my yoga practice kept them at bay for a long time but after falling off a chair I ruptured my disc and then the only choice was surgery) and throw in the menopause and my style has naturally evolved and I’ve now arrived at my Simply Yoga stage.  

My focus is on beginners and still the flow that I love - but it’s not quite as vigorous as power yoga - it’s now a more considered practice with a focus on the benefits of yoga for women going through the menopause. 

Simply Yoga

For empowerment & Fun!