About Holistic Treatments

From Dancer to Yoga Teacher and Hypnotherapist

My Journey as a Professional Dancer
I have been a dancer for most of my life, and after a childhood filled with dance competitions and shows I went on to train as a professional dancer at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds. Here I studied dance technique, anatomy, physiology, nutrition, fitness techniques and teaching skills for able-bodied and special needs children and adults. After 3 years of study, I left with a Bachelor of Performing Arts degree. From here, I moved to London to do a final year of study at the London Contemporary Dance School and went professional in 1997. I spent eight years dancing in a variety of major contemporary dance companies, touring around the world. I also taught dance extensively to children and adults of all ages and abilities.

I had always incorporated the discipline of yoga within my own dance training and teaching. I understand the therapeutic values of the yoga technique and believe that yoga has really helped me to keep my body injury free when dancing at an intense level. On a mental level, yoga has always helped to calm my nerves, improving my focus and performance. I have personally experienced the values and benefits of yoga first hand and this was what guided me away from a successful dance career to retrain as a yoga teacher myself. It seemed like a natural progression.

From Professional Dancer to Yoga Teacher
I decided to take a Teacher Training Course at the Sivananda Yoga and Vedanta Centre in Austria. I was trained in asanas (still postures) and yoga techniques by Swami Sivadasananda, who teaches worldwide in the Sivananda centres. He has been teaching yoga for the past 25 years and is renowned for his expertise and knowledge of asanas. Before taking the teacher training course I practiced regularly for 2 years under the guidance of Chandra, a former student of Swami Vishnu Devananda (who founded the Sivananda organisation).

Natural Progression to Hypnotherapist
My yoga teaching was one of the main reasons why I initially decided to become a hypnotherapist. From my teaching experience I had noticed that a lot of people who came to my yoga classes were attracted to the therapeutic side of yoga, and were searching for therapy work at some level. At times I wished I could offer my clients more to help them with their personal development. Training as a hypnotherapist has allowed me to help my clients in a variety of ways, and also allows me to work with people who wouldn't be interested in practicing yoga. I now feel that I can offer a more well-rounded service to all of my clients.

To book your FREE 30 minute hypnotherapy consultation, please contact me via the 'Contact Me' page.
Offer excludes Yoga Classes and smoking cessation therapy