I discovered Ashtanga yoga, after searching for a while, whilst in Rishikesh, North India in 1999. I'd tried other forms of yoga over the years but as soon as I watched a class I knew this was for me. For the next 18 months I practised where and when I could, I was travelling a lot and didn't have a mat but the practice came with me. Once I discovered David Swenson's Practice Manual it became my bible.

It was after doing a weekend workshop with John Scott that I decided to find a regular yoga teacher, Ashtanga teachers in Yorkshire were a rarity, so I headed to London where Hamish Hendry at Astanga Yoga London became my mentor, teacher and friend. 

I attended Mysore style self practice five mornings a week and found a job on reception at Triyoga in Primrose Hill where I had access to all sorts of other teachers and workshops. Yoga very quickly became my life. After a three month stint of working at Yoga Plus in Crete Hamish asked me to become an assistant where he taught me to teach and hold the space in the traditional Mysore style.

At the end of 2002 I made my first of many trips to Mysore, I stayed for 4 months. I have returned as regularly as possible, it's been amazing to see how much the popularity of the practice has grown in the time that I have been doing it. When I first went the shala in Gokulum had just opened and you sent a letter to ask for a place, now it's virtually impossible to get in.

I started teaching full time in 2003 after first being asked to cover a class. This led to more covers and eventually being asked to take over classes. I decided to take the plunge and become a full time yoga teacher when I had so much work that I couldn't manage my day job as well. All along, though, I was still assisting, and more importantly, practising with Hamish. My practice has always taken priority over my teaching.

Over the years of pregnancies and having young children my practice adapted and I became much more involved in pregnancy and post natal yoga teaching but Ashtanga yoga has always been part of my journey. I learnt so much more about the practice and how to adapt it through these life changes.

Since moving up to the North West in 2009 my teaching has grown and grown. I run regular classes, teach on both the Yoga Campus and Evolve teacher training courses, run workshops and teach yoga retreats in the UK and abroad, My latest venture is taking over the Calderdale Yoga Centre in Hebden Bridge where I hope to host lots of great inspirational teachers who can help you to deepen your yoga practice.

My main goal in teaching is to help people take their practice that little bit further and help them to integrate it into their lives. Essentially I just want people to practise. My classes and retreats are about community, about connecting with others, connecting with yourself and connecting with nature. On my weekends in the UK and weeks abroad we get out and explore this amazing world around us, whatever the weather. We take ourselves out of our comfort zones - whether rock climbing, wild swimming, climbing mountains, trying out that scary posture or just by coming on the retreats themselves - we embrace the elements, we laugh and cry, breathe, share, support each other and make new friends. For me this is a big part of what yoga is all about!