I have been practicing and teaching yoga for 20 years. My first taste of yoga was on the cliff tops of Vakala in Kerala, India.
I had a wonderfully inspiring teacher whose classes I attended in a tent on the edge of the cliff religiously at 6am every morning! When I returned to London I discovered the wonderful oasis of what was once The Innergy Yoga Center run by Faustomaria. It was here I studied with Fausto in Hatha Yoga and developed a greater understanding of Raja Yoga (Yoga of the Mind) and found my passion and voice in Bhakti Yoga (Chanting).

I originally trained with the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Center in Canada and have since gone on to train with Erich Schiffmann (Los Angeles, USA), The Krishnamacharya Mandiram (Chennai, India), Tias Little (Sante Fe, New Mexico) and John Stirk (London, UK) who is both my teacher and mentor.

Professionally I am classified as a Hatha Yoga Teacher but over the last 15 years my teaching journey has organically grown into something so much more deep, expansive and intelligent. Through my self practice, the softness and grace of Scaravelli Inspired Yoga, dance, mindful movement, cranio sacral work, therapeutic yoga, yin yoga and the knowledge and experience i have gained with my teacher John…all of which have allowed for a deeper, inner and more mediative exploration of body and mind. Working from the inside out, moving away from rigid external postures and movement and allowing the body to unfold organically without force has allowed me to gain a deeper insight in how to heal mind, body and soul. I have developed a fluid and gently powerful style with special attention placed on breath, the wave, alignment and ‘letting go’ to help soften and heal the body from the inside out.

I put my sensitivity as a teacher down to a strong one-to-one approach. My teaching philosophy is – ‘adapt yoga to the individual rather than the individual to yoga’. This enables students to explore postures in greater depth and work on individual areas of resistance, alignment and practice. I place a strong emphasis on right and skillful action during postures.

I aim to provide a safe and nurturing environment, allowing my students to develop their own understanding of yoga and to facilitate positive change. I believe one of yoga’s greatest gifts is to work and heal from the inside, helping our minds to become more calm and opening our hearts to compassion and a positive attitude. As in all physical yoga, the student will increase strength and flexibility and by uniting body and breath, will learn to move from moment to moment with absolute awareness.

I put a huge amount of emphasis and focus on BREATH when I teach. ‘Without the breath we don’t exist, yet so many of us are totally unaware of our breath or how it moves and feels within our bodies’. I have noticed the incredible effect through pranayama, specific breathing techniques and most profoundly allowing the breath TO BE, how the body can heal, unfold and open in such a profound way. The breath oxygenates the brain, if gives us energy, it allows cells in the body to repair and grow, it releases toxins and stagnant energy. Breathing is the essence of yoga.

The following extracts are taken from Sandra Sabatini’s book ‘Breath the essence of Yoga – a guide to inner stillness’

Breathing
Breathe naturally, without forcing.
No pressure
No disturbance
Nothing should interfere with the tide-like movement of our lungs as we breath in and out

Through the Breath
A constant exchange takes place between your body and the outer world through the breath.
Have a very deep respect for the breath
If the breath becomes uneven and rough we have lost the most beautiful thing we have – it’s roundness.

Reverse the process
During the day we shrink from lack of breathing, lack of time, lack of attention, lack of love
As you get into contact with the breath you are able to reverse the process and obtain more space, more roots into the ground
Then the body can go back to opening, lengthening, extending
In a way you are able to change direction completely.