Ashtanga Yoga Cornwall

It is said that we all come to healing in our own time and this was true for me when in 2000, I fell down a mountain snowboarding, breaking my back in four places and shattering my collarbone. After numerous unsuccessful operations, I decided to take matters into my own hands so that I might stand a chance of being mobile by the time I hit forty.

I began a regular yoga practice and as the ancient saying goes, ‘When the student is ready the teacher will appear.’ I moved back to Cornwall at the same time as Bridget Woods-Kramer, a world renowned Anusara teacher.  I did my first two teacher trainings with no intention of ever teaching yoga, I just wanted to further my knowledge for my own practice. It was Bridget who dropped the bombshell on me that she needed cover for a Saturday class that forced me into teaching my first class. I was completely terrified………but I loved it!

I spent six years studying and teaching with Bridget and have developed a style that is physically challenging with attention to posture and alignment and above all, playful. My experience has taught me to cherish the physical practice of yoga, but it is the connection between mind, body and soul that inspires my practice.  Over the last decade, my personal practice has moved towards Ashtanga and I have undertaken Ashtanga teacher trainings with David Swenson, Manju Jois and John Scott.

I have been teaching for 20 years and over this time I feel deeply privileged to have been taught by some of the worlds best teachers from a range of different schools of yoga, including Richard Freeman, David Williams, Sianna Shermann, Rod Stryker, Doug Keller, Bruce Bowditch, John Friend, Nancy Gilgoff, and Doug Swenson. In my classes I call upon the teachings of all of my teachers to best serve my own students, with a blend of the styles, techniques and adjustments I’ve learnt along my yoga journey. I am also co-founder and director of Lime House Yoga with my partner Emma and a dad to two wonderful children who constantly inspire and challenge me to be more present in the world and on my mat.

Join Jock’s classes at Lime House on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and Thursday and Saturday mornings.

Like most things in life, my path in learning, practicing, and teaching yoga has not been linear. It’s been steeped and nurtured in traditional teachings, and derailed, dismantled, and rebuilt by injury, alternative movement practices, and incredible teachers from a variety of backgrounds, histories, and lineages.  

I found yoga with my best friend in Canada when I was struggling with anxiety and stress from my work as a social worker/therapist. As many can attest, from that class forward I was in love. That first class planted a seed that grew into a deep passion for learning all things movement and yoga-related. It took me across countries and continents to keep learning, teaching, and growing. It provided me the privilege of facilitating, leading, and coordinating Ashtanga-based teacher trainings and retreats for more than 7+ years in India, Vietnam, Bali, New Zealand, Canada, and the USA. 

In 2012 I had the luck of spending time with John Scott while I was living in New Zealand and practicing at Te Aro Astanga in Wellington. I am forever changed by that experience. John was the first teacher that brought something indescribably different to the way he taught. He “broke the rules” and encouraged people to explore down uncharted paths, and to deeply embody the practice.

Towards the end of 2016, after experiencing some big and incredibly challenging times in my life, as well as a severe lower back injury my practice and teaching took a very different turn. When even a sun salutation was wreaking havoc on my body, my attention turned to my breath, towards loving accepting, and recognizing it (practice) wasn’t about what I couldn’t do or what I thought I’d never be able to do again but how I could support myself in healing (a life long journey in my opinion). I began to welcome a multitude of other practices from teachers like Ido Portal, weight training, Kinstretch and FRC. I broke free from the Ashtanga mold, I was traveling down, what felt at the time like an uncharted path.

But my passion and love for Ashtanga was once again renewed with the loving and gentle support of two incredible teachers- Emma O’Neill & Harmony Slater and in time, that circle of guiding hands also included Kino MacGregor. These three women held a strong, and loving space for me to learn and heal in ways that extend far beyond the edges of any yoga mat.

From 2018 until now I have more or less taken a hiatus from teaching, not knowing if or when I’d return. Between living in Canada and relocating to the UK with my husband, permanently as of 2021, a lot of things (in my life and in the world) have happened. Teaching, let alone finding an in-person yoga community, didn’t seem like it was going to happen anytime soon. Enter Limehouse Yoga. Between Jock & Amy’s open ears, heart, and incredible teaching, my love of yoga and community has been renewed yet again. But this time in a different way. They too were breaking the mold and traveling down paths fueled by curiosity, exploration, and wanting to offer something a little bit different. It’s felt like a wonderful place to land.

All along this zig zag-filled journey, one thing has been ever present- my practice. It’s taken many forms over the years, but it was always there for me, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I only hope that I can offer and share what it and many other forms of both movement and stillness have brought to my life. 

I truly love the comfort and structure the Ashtanga system offers, and the familiarity that you develop, along with all the surprises it provides as our bodies inevitably change throughout our lifetime. But at the end of the day, I LOVE to move and I love to share the practice of movement in all its amazing forms. 

Having danced since I was three, movement and finding expression and release through the body feels like an intrinsic part of my life. In my teens I developed a painful knee condition that stopped me dancing for a year. A period of crisis ensued and an interest in Psychology blossomed. Therapeutic support at this time offered great solace and steered me towards pursuing a Psychology degree. However a Psychology degree turned out to be more theoretical and academic than I had hoped. On finishing university I again felt lost, but fortunately at this point stumbled into a yoga class, 20 years ago, back when yoga was low key and found in the local community hall. The fusion of body and mind and the underpinning philosophy captured my interest, as did it’s existence outside the mainstream. I decided to go on a yoga retreat in the summer of 2004 to Yoga Plus in Crete.

I arrived keen and green with no specific knowledge of Ashtanga Yoga. The first week I attended the beginners guided class and yet was mesmerised by the small room next door where students self practiced ‘mysore style’. My previous dancing experience afforded me the ability to retain sequences in my memory with ease and so with some serious studying that week I joined the mysore class for the second week. I was captivated and on my return adopted a daily Ashtanga practice.

This was the beginning of walking a devoted yogic path involving many trips to India, including a couple of years working at Purple Valley Yoga retreat in Goa. Whilst there in 2008 I was fortunate to meet Dena Kingsberg. I instantly resonated with her way and being closer to her was a strong incentive in moving to Australia. Having now studied with her for many years, Dena’s poetic, devotional and heartfelt teachings are a great influence on my teaching style.

In 2011 and 2013 I was also incredibly blessed to spend time in London apprenticing and assisting at Ashtanga Yoga London with Hamish Hendry.   I have completed the third series under both Dena and Hamish’s guidance and am also a Level II authorised KPJAYI teacher, deeply committed to sharing Ashtanga Yoga with authenticity and sincerity in accordance with the teachings of the late Shri. K Pattabhi Jois and his grandson the current lineage holder Sharath Jois. The list of authorised/certified teachers can be found at-   https://sharathyogacentre.com/europe/

Teaching yoga internationally since 2007 in Australia, Bali, South Africa, Dubai, New York and in London for Ashtanga Yoga London and Triyoga, I decided to relocate to Cornwall in mid 2021, yearning to be back near the sea. I currently teach on Mondays at Limehouse Yoga near Perranporth, a monthly sutras class online and offer intensives and retreats.

Throughout my life in moments of crisis and transition I have also benefitted significantly from counselling and psychotherapy. Although yoga practice encourages a great self exploration and offers daily practical tools for physical, mental and emotional well-being, I feel this is enhanced through being in therapeutic relationship with another, be that a professional counselling/therapy relationship or a well boundaried teacher/student relationship. This steered me back towards further study and in-depth personal work. I am now a qualified Psychosynthesis counsellor registered with the BACP and see clients in Truro and Falmouth.

Moving forward I hope to bridge both worlds and offer an integrative approach that blends the best of eastern and western perspectives.