About Nancy
I've been practicing yoga since my teens, where I immediately noticed the calming effect of integrating yoga into my life. I've been hooked ever since and now, 30 years or so later, with teen children of my own, it's more important to me than ever before. Yoga is my bedrock, it creates a beautiful sense of tranquility, even during the toughest of times and I couldn't be without it.
Training and Background
I trained as a Rajadhiraja yoga instructor with the Himalayan Yoga Institute, studying under Ganga Devi and am indebted to her for her amazing breadth of experience, and beautiful teaching style. I have continued my studies by training to teach somatic yoga, I'm a qualified somatic mindfulness coach and have taken further studies in teaching yoga through a trauma informed lens.
While not teaching yoga, I am a professional wildlife gardener, with a background in ecology and environmental science. I am really passionate about this beautiful Earth and am ever in awe at both the science and practice of how it all fits together into a coherent, integrated and interconnected whole.
For me, both yoga and gardening are practices for experiencing this interconnective nature of the world and through doing so, finding a sense of peace and ease. This is what it's all about here at Yoga Connects.
My Approach
Somatic Yoga
In somatic yoga and through the practice of somatic mindfulness, we tune in to the patterns of sensation and tension in our body, that we naturally build up as we go through our lives. By holding these sensations with warmth and compassion, they're able to loosen their grip on us and we emerge restored and refreshed. Bringing this practice to a yoga class, we can move in a deeply embodied way, cradling our felt sense of ourselves and allowing a gentle opening into movement in a way that is deeply nurturing, settling our nervous system down and creating space for great parasympathetic tone and lasting calm.
Rajadhiraja Tradition
I am trained in the Rajadhiraja yoga tradition, which draws together traditional and less known, classic yoga poses, along with breathwork and meditation. With this blend of exercises, you'll experience a class that is specifically focused on settling the emotional and nervous system, balancing hormones and bringing the body's subtle energy system into balance, with renewed vitality. These practices help to create a clear foundation for you, from which you can find inner peace and a connection to your wise inner Self.
Trauma Informed Practice
While I’m not a psychotherapist or psychologist, my teaching is grounded in trauma-informed principles that honour each person’s unique experience. The gentle, sensitive practices I offer are designed to support people in finding their own steady centre, at a pace that feels right for them. There’s always space for choice, for curiosity, and for stepping in or out of a pose depending on what feels safe. Many of the movements I offer become an opportunity to explore themes such as grounding, connection, boundaries, courage, and coming home to yourself. These embodied practices can be deeply supportive for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed, unsettled, or out of sync. I weave them into my classes as a way of helping us move toward more ease, resilience, and a softer response to life’s challenges.