Could a qualification in Yoga lead to a better way of living?
3 Leading Yoga teachers and experts in the Yoga world, each of them experienced and knowledgeable in their own area of expertise share their personal insights into how they have successfully created a solid career in the yoga industry from sheer hard work, passion and dedication.
Susan Church – With a personal practice of 30 years and with many years of extensive teaching practice, Susan brings a wealth of knowledge to her students. After a decade of dance training, Susan Church studied Theatre at TCD in the late 1980s and dance with the National Theatre Institute in Connecticut U.S.A. It was during this time that she received her first yoga training, along with Laban, Alexander method and many other forms of dance and movement. Although she eventually left the arts, she remained committed to yoga and Pilates. In 1999 she completed her first yoga teacher training and one year later she qualified as a Pilates Instructor and massage therapist. She has completed teacher training courses and equipment certificates along with hundreds of masterclasses and workshops in Pilates and Yoga. Some schools attended are YTTC, Body firm, Body Control, Stott, Balanced Body and Powerhouse. Most recently she completed her Myofascial Movement training with Art of Motion Training, Anatomy Trains.
Q. We know you have relocated to a warmer climate in the last 5 years, can you share how you have witnessed changes in yoga trends and how you have developed in your career in response to these changes over the last 5 amount of years.?
A. Wow. There have been so many. I am super excited by the advances in Science in this area. Research on Yoga and movement in general, and its effects on the tissues of the body. The evidence of these tissues as a second, and maybe more sensitive nervous system, and most exciting evidence that our body condition and the fascial system DO influence the Nervous system and not just the other way round. Evidence that mental health is not just a Top-down experience- “I think therefore I feel”. But rather than how we move, can alter how we feel. I get shivers just writing about this. It is what the Yogis have been saying for thousands of years and now have the technology to monitor nerve endings and responses form a corporal perspective. Not just a psychological one. See you on the mat.
Bev Porrino – With more than 30 years of experience in the wellness sector, Bev combines yoga with the latest techniques in Neuroscience and Neuromuscular Therapies. She is passionate about helping people to understand how amazing their bodies are and, with a few tools, how quickly they can change emotional states and override muscle tension and stress in their own body and mind.
Bev trained as a nurse, before holding several positions in local government, from Operations Manager, Social Work Practice Teacher & Emergency Duty Team Support. She was also part of a 2 year UK Nationwide, Stress management focus team looking into the effects of stress and aggression in the workplace. She went on to develop stress management and health & wellness courses for organisations in the UK and in The Netherlands. A career break gave her the time to combine two of her favourite activities, yoga and food. She went on to open a small boutique yoga & food space in Amsterdam, where she lived for 12 years with her partner. In 2012 she relocated to Ireland and has since been busy delivering workshops, seminars, and retreats to the gorgeous population of Ireland.
Q. Bev, you have gained a lot of knowledge and skills over the past 30 years working in the health and wellness industry as a nurse, yoga teacher and Neuromuscular Therapist, how do you think understanding anatomy and physiology from a functional perspective makes Yoga more relatable or beneficial to those practising or teaching Yoga?
A. That’s a great question. In the early days of practicing and teaching yoga, anatomy wasn’t considered important, it was much more about energy systems and awakening yourself to a higher consciousness but to get to the higher consciousness you need to work with the physical body so these can not be separated. Understanding anatomy helps both practitioner and teacher to connect with the body on a nuts and bolts level. The Yoga of today reaches a wider population and with that comes a wonderful array of anatomical differences. Just having even a little awareness of why your hamstrings are tight, or what happens to your knees when you deepen a warrior pose can make all the difference in how someone connects with themselves.
Paula Flood – Paula is a registered Senior Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance Professionals UK. Paula has been practising yoga since the mid-nineties and teaching for over 20 years. She has completed various training including in Hatha and prenatal yoga, yoga therapy, yoga anatomy, anti-gravity yoga and mindfulness.
‘I have been involved in yoga training for over 15 years and am grateful to share my love of yoga with students. Training to be a yoga teacher will transform and enrich your life. It is a journey of self-discovery, at times intense but always rewarding,’ writes Paula. Paula shares her deep knowledge of yoga and varied teaching experience in a way that is both engaging and practical. Her training days are grounding, interactive and uplifting. Paula meditates regularly and also teaches meditation at the Dublin Sri Chinmoy centre. Paula is the founder of Om Yoga, a boutique studio in Dublin 7.
Q. Paula, you would be considered a senior Yoga teacher. Given your many years as a student and a teacher of all things Yoga, What would your advice to a student starting out in the industry or thinking of making a career change into the wonderful world of yoga?
A. The desire to deepen your experience of yoga is the best reason to do a yoga teacher training course. If you start and continue with this motivation, then opportunities will present themselves in a natural way. Starting out, I had no intention of becoming a yoga teacher. I just wanted to learn more about every aspect of yoga. At the end of our training, two things convinced me to teach. Firstly I felt that by teaching I would continue to practice and learn about yoga. Secondly, I found the experience of teaching deeply rewarding and satisfying. I’m not a particularly selfless person but to change someone’s day for the better, to lighten their load, that makes me feel good!
Even if you never teach, training to be a yoga teacher will transform and enrich your life. It is a journey of self-discovery, at times intense but always rewarding. In your teaching, be sincere. Strengthen your patience muscle. Offer your humility breath. Love your students but have clear professional boundaries. Smile. Be.
To find out more about how these three amazing teachers are combining their skills to create this unique 200 hr Yoga teacher training opportunity this summer join this FREE ONLINE Open day –