So who is ‘Yoga with Andrea’?

Fully qualified and insured with Yoga Alliance, I am a qualified fitness instructor, with a history of teaching in my teens as a sensei instructing in Shukokai karate, emphasising physical power and strength. It was here that I first discovered the benefits of self-discipline as one of life’s  attributes. In my late teens and early twenties, through some turbulent life experiences, including profound loss, a felt sense of losing ‘connection’, I began to traverse the ancient Eastern philosophies and passages from the Vedic texts in my search for answers to the vagaries of life.

In my search, I happened across the works of Swami Vivekananda whose teachings transformed my ideology relating to strength, that the greatest strength lies in gentleness and the tenderness of the heart. This message reached me at exactly the right time.

It is said that when the student is ready, the teacher shall appear. So it is perhaps no coincidence that you are here today.

As I began this search for a way to transform the mind, body and spirit towards this ideology, the search was over as the realisation dawned that the greatest teacher one can ever have is oneself. You. All of the wisdom is already there inside of you.

I have studied with a variety of gurus and teachers in the past, including martial artists and recently Swami Atma Gyanam Saraswati (of Norwich-based ‘The Yoga Tree’), who has been a great influence on me, my practice and opened my eyes to the idea of storytelling as a visual art and of physical expression. Completing my 200hr yoga qualification with the Swami – I went on to complete a 50hr qualification in Yin yoga (Daoist yoga) with Ram Jain (Indian and Netherlands Ashrams). I have a passionate interest in complementary therapies, massage and am a certified Ayurvedic specialist with a medical (nursing) and teaching background (Masters level).  As an Ayurvedic specialist, I utilise the methodologies to advise and guide students on dietary and lifestyle choices, as well as towards the ideal yoga programme to balance the doshas (energies).

Yoga is a beautiful discipline which is over 5000 years old, its origins in the oldest sacred texts of the Rig Veda practised by Vedic priests in Northern India. Yoga has propagated in the West and I thank my lucky stars that yoga found me when it did as I began the search for a way to transform the mind, body and spirit. I truly believe this is it! By working to unite the body, mind and spirit through yoga, I am discovering a much happier, healthier me and you can too with me as your guide!

With so many branches and styles; there is something for everyone. Some styles can be challenging, demanding even; others can be relaxing, meditative and utterly peaceful. All yoga styles can help to put the body, mind and spirit into balance achieving this in a variety of ways. In Yoga with Andrea, you will join me in a fusion of Bhava, Hatha, Ashtanga, Vinyasa flow, Kundalini, Iyengar and Yin-inspired styles with a regular diet of relaxation and meditation. 

I listen carefully to the wants and needs of my students, guiding you through your Yoga journey and back to yourself in your practice.

Yoga with Andrea is a practice for all levels, ages and abilities. Whether you have tried Yoga, never practised before or practise regularly, come and see us, we cannot wait to meet you! 

See the page for links to classes and do get in touch. There is no such thing as a silly question and I am always delighted to  hear from you.

Namaste Andrea xx

P.S: The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak that resists.