Our yoga teachers....

Abhijeeta (Satyananda Yoga, Pregnancy & Post-Natal Yoga)...

I grew up in Australia and from a young age I had a strong interest in health, meditation and complementary therapies.

I read many books on spirituality in my teenage years with a strong feeling that there must be more to understand about life. I was curious to learn and understand what all this mysterious, esoteric stuff was about. I learnt Transcendental Meditation at the age of 19 and began practising meditation daily. Later, my path led me to yoga....

In 1995 I began practising yoga regularly - I began to know my Self and have a real understanding of my life purpose.

The close links Yoga has to traditional Thai yoga massage prompted me to learn this ancient form of massage and in 2001 I qualified in this art, having completed advanced training at the London School of Thai Yoga Massage. I have never experienced any massage that quite matches the powerful effects that Thai Yoga Massage brings, which is why am so passionate about it and why I choose to practice only this form of massage.

In October 2002 I began teaching yoga and completed the Bihar School of Yoga (Satyananda Yoga) Teaching Diploma in November 2003. I spent time studying yoga at the Bihar Yoga Bharati in Munger, India and regularly attend Satyananda Yoga programs for inspiration. I hold diplomas from the Bihar School of Yoga (India) and by the British Wheel of Yoga, the governing body for yoga in Britain.

I love teaching yoga and seeing the revitalizing, relaxing and transforming effects that yoga has on the students (and me!). I practice yoga daily and I believe that yoga is for everyone. It is my goal to pass on the ancient knowledge of yoga to my students, so they can experience the true spirit of yoga and begin to integrate some of this wisdom into their lives.

In 2004 I started Shiva Health in order to make yoga and Thai yoga massage more available to all.

In 2005 I was given the spiritual name 'Abhijeeta' by my guru, Swami Niranjanananda. A spiritual name represents the nature of spirit with which we can identify with. It brings to the surface the connection of an individual with the inner higher nature and recognises their potential. Every time we are called by our spiritual name, more power is invested in it.

For years I have held the vision of creating a space where people could come and reconnect, nurture themselves and rediscover the inner-balance that can be lost in our busy lives. I wanted a place that would be open and warm and would attract people with the same vision.

In 2006, this vision became a reality with the opening of Shiva Rooms in September 2006. Shiva Rooms is a space where these values aimed at promoting health and wellbeing, are harnessed by bringing together a community of like minded individuals. As well as offering all aspects of yoga practice: asanas (postures); pranayama (breathwork); Yoga Nidra (deep relaxation), meditation, shatkarmas (cleansing practices) and kirtan (mantra chanting), there are a host of holistic therapies, to include various workshops and courses to nurture mind, body and soul.

I look forward to sharing this space with you. Read testimonials here....

OM TAT SAT

About Anjana (Integral Vinyasa Hatha Flow & Pregnancy Yoga)...

Originally from South Africa, I have been living in London since 1998. My practice of yoga started at a young age of 8 years when my sister and I accompanied my mother in her classes at the local temple. With the increase of other school activities I stopped yoga after a few years to return to it more than 15 years later. In 2001 I resumed regular practice of yoga and rediscovered my joy and passion for this ancient and wonderful science.

Having grown up in a Hindu family with a mother of strong spiritual nature, we were exposed to teachings from many different gurus. At the age of 15 I learnt Transcendental Meditation and have been practising this form of meditation regularly. My interest in people and culture has always been strong, and I believe there is much to be learnt by the sharing of beliefs and philosophies. I have practised Shambala Buddhist meditation, completed a Reiki I healing course, and also learnt Sudarshan Kriya through Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living course.

In January 2007 I realised the time had come to consolidate and further my yoga knowledge with teacher training. I’d enjoyed teaching family members and friends on an informal basis and felt a keen desire to take this further. In March 2007 I completed an intensive Yoga Teacher Training course at the Ananda Sanga Institute in Somerset-West, South Africa. The style of yoga is a flowing form of Hatha yoga called Integral Vinyasa which combines mind, body and spiritual aspects of yoga in a carefully arranged sequence of postures with the active use of breath. It is a powerful technique which steadily strengthens the body and encourages a continual greater sense of awareness.

In February 2009 I decided to deepen my yoga knowledge in the area of pregnancy and completed my pregnancy yoga teacher training with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli of the Sitaram Yoga Centre. Pregnancy is a wonderful time in which to experience yoga. The practice can be incredibly beneficial to both mother and baby during pregnancy and birth from a physical and emotional point of view. I am delighted to be able to offer one-to-one pregnancy yoga sessions as well as group classes, and work with mothers during this special time in their lives.

The practice of yoga has transformed my life in so many ways from physical to mental and emotional. From increasing feelings of well-being in my body to peace of mind, strength, calmness and a deeper sense of being connected to other people. I love teaching and sharing this simple goodness with others. I wish to make a positive difference in people’s lives.

OM SHANTI

About Mahadevi (Sivananda / Pregnancy / Post-natal)...

I first started to practice hatha yoga in the Sivananda tradition in 2000. It was a revelation to me to experience how tuning into my breath and my body collected my mind back into the present moment. Worries and busy thoughts dissolved and as my practice deepened I started to have a new experience of my Self. I continued to study yoga both in the Sivananda tradition and also Ashtanga and Vinyasa yoga. I completed my teacher training at the Sivananda ashram in the Bahamas.

I also practiced Vipassana meditation under the teachings of S.N.Goenka, Zen Buddhist meditation under Thich Nhat Hanh and Tibetan Buddhism under Sogyal Rinpoche. I am deeply grateful to all my teachers for transmitting the wisdom of the teachings at this time when we need them so much.

In my twenties I studied theatre and dance. I felt there was so much healing and transformative potential in arts, especially mime and dance as they enter the space beyond words. I found the same quality as yoga asana in these practices, uniting breath, movement and awareness but with room for spontaneity (sahaja) and creativity.

In 2008 I found a special teacher, Didier Danthois, who works with sacred art as a tool for healing using the ‘sacred clown’ (or ‘heyokah’ that dates back to native American tradition) and Indian raga singing, or nada yoga (the yoga of sound). I have been deeply involved with this work for the last two and a half years. The focus is opening to our vulnerability and innocence and returning to the wisdom of the child and the qualities of the feminine. This work has touched my heart very deeply and enhanced my yoga and meditation practice and my teaching.

My spiritual name ‘Mahadevi’ pays homage to the divine feminine. In teaching pregnancy and post natal yoga I hope to honour and nourish women in this beautiful time of their lives when they are embodying the divine creative principle.

I practice yoga and meditation daily and feel it can bring benefit to everyone. My deepest wish is to deepen my study and practice and to share this from my heart with all who would like to learn.
With blessings and love.

Om shanti

About Onkarprit (Kundalini Yoga & Meditation)...

to follow...

About Alison (Body Control Pilates)...

to follow...

About Mahala (Qi Yoga / Sivananda / Sun Power Yoga)...

I first came across yoga in Sydney Australia in 2004, in the form of Bikram yoga. I instantly fell in love and from the very first class I could feel the powerful healing affect that yoga has on the body. I knew from day one that I wanted to teach this ancient tradition to others, so I embarked on my journey of self discovery through yoga.

I came back to the UK later that same year, where I continued my daily practice of Bikram, this is a series of 26 Hatha yoga postures and two breathing exercises performed in a room that is heated, this led me to experience other styles of yoga such as Ashtanga and Sivananda, from here I went on to complete my first teachers training certification with Anne Marie Newland at the UK centre for Sun power yoga, this is a modern contemporary school of yoga that specialises in deep intensive training. Sun power yoga is a blend of three distinct forms and traditions, Iyengar for alignment, Sivananda for breath, the yin element, and Ashtanga for strength, the yang element. A year later, after my first year of teaching, I felt that I needed to deepen my knowledge once more, I spent some time at the International Sivananda Vedanta Centre in Madurai India, studying in-depth the philosophy and the history that is behind yoga, and how we can incorporate this into our everyday lives today.

I returned to London in 2007, and once moor continued to teach and pass this knowledge on. I am currently studying with the London based School of Qi yoga, this is a unique union of two ancient sciences, Qi gong from China and Hatha yoga from India. Qi yoga maintains its roots in the east yet specially formulated for life styles in the west. Both Hatha yoga and Qi gong are self healing arts that combine physical postures and breathing techniques with meditation. This style has a powerful healing affect on the body, Qi yoga rejuvenates the body and gets the energy flowing. The postures are simple yet affective, hence this is available to any ability.

I look forward to meeting and working with everybody.

Namaste

About Patrik (Kundalini Yoga & Meditation)

My name is Patrik and I grew up In Sweden with deaf parents and that helped me to develop my awareness of energy. In 2002 I went through a rite of passage. This opened up the door to my personal awakening. The calling has led me into a journey within the field of shamanic healing, the tradition of Kundalini yoga and NLP.

My vision and work is about assisting and helping you to bring about the change you wish to achieve in your life, your work, your organisation or at home with NLP, Yoga and healing.

I can work with you individually in private 1-2-1 sessions. I also teach regular classes and private groups and yoga at work.

NLP provides a fast track to change lifelong patterns and opens the door to unique resources within the self. “Thoughts and behaviours have a structure, and all structures can be re-programmed or ‘modelled’ "

Experience how Yoga can help you to open the door to change. Strengthen and balance the body, mind and soul using breath as the tool for transformation. Find out how the use of Meditation can help you to change the accustomed patterns and beliefs of the psyche, so that you can start to control your thoughts instead of having them control you!

Spiritual healing work is used to bring peace to your inner world and to heal the wounds of the soul. It helps to release the inner stress, to remove heavy and negative blockages from your life and your past. This means that the scars of old can finally heal.

I work from my practice, over the phone or @ SKYPE.

I arrange long weekend workshops, full day and half day workshops to help you deepen you awareness and skills to heal, grow and bring about meaningful change in life.

Thanks for listening and many blessings from my heart.

© 2006 Shiva Health | Phone 020 8549 8637 | info@shivarooms.co.uk | Another Divine-Creation