My path of Yoga and movement has been a long one, spanning 50 years, 25 of which I have been blessed to be a Teacher. I have had the immense privilege of learning from incredible, wise and humble teachers, who only wanted to empower their students and to hold integrity to the teachings of Yoga and classical tantra. As I grow in my practice and understanding of Yoga, I see more clearly how the given means of Yoga as offered by the ancients brings us a multi dimensional practice that I believe can uplift every individual to live their fullest lives with grace, joy and courage.
My personal journey through Yoga took me into literally 1000’s of hours of Teacher training over the last 25 years. Having always had a deep interest and love for Yoga as a path of the feminine, I studied as a birth Doula, and was apprencticed to a local midwife for several years, supporting women and their families through the great initiation of birth. I trained in Yoga therapy for Women’s health and as a teacher of Yoga Nidra with Uma Dinsmore Tuli in 2012 and have deepened this study over the years since then, through consistent practice and holding healing space for women. I continue in ongoing study of classical Tantra and Structural and Ayurvedic Yoga therapy with my spiritual mentor Chinnamasta Stiles that I have been engaged in since 2016. I am currently in ongoing study of Vedic counselling with Dr David Frawley. I have taught and been taught by people from all walks and ages and stages of life and am deeply grateful to my experiences working in refugee communities in the Middle east, where I learned about dignity, compassion and Grace. Those experiences led me to establish the Yoga Mandala Project, dedicated to supporting refugee populations through trauma informed Yoga.
Tantra has been the missing piece for me. In 2012 my personal life opened up in new and unexpected ways, propelling me into a period of intense spiritual growth and transformation that is ongoing. Tantra entered my awareness and experience and my whole practice changed and deepened beyond what I could imagine previously. There are some things that we cannot explain. Tantra for me is like that. It is a path of exquisite subtlety. Of devotion and heart, body and breath.. Where every experience can be a direct conversation with the Divine.
My approach to teaching is trauma informed, sensitive and devotional.
“Yoga is a path of Tantric awareness. A nondual view. The word “yoga” has its roots in the sanskrit word ”yug” which means ‘to yoke together” or unite. There are many beautiful stories in the ancient scriptures that illustrate this union, but at its most simple we could say that Yoga happens when we come home to ourselves- When we experience union within.
Yoga is about relationship. It is about relationship with our own minds, hearts and bodies. It is about our relationship to others, and to the world we live in. Doing a daily practice with humility, devotion and self love, will help us to deepen our relationships, to meet ourselves and others with kindness, and will ultimately make the world a kinder place.” - Saraswati
I bow to my teachers and the teachers of my teachers:
Bhagavan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri
My Mother and Father
My Children
My Beloveds
Charlie Stevens
Marianne Gabriel
Uma Dinsmore Tuli
Mukunda Stiles
Chinnamasta Stiles
Yumma Mudra
Betty O’Toole
All the Great Yogins that I have had the privilege to come across over the years. There are many.
To the Great Sages and beings that passed on the eternal wisdom teachings for the benefit of all beings
Deepest Pranams
Sat Gurunath Maharaj Ki Jai
Jagadambe Mata Ki Jai
Jai Maa
