Kirsty Somerville
- B.Sc., PGCE, BWYQ, Professional Yoga Therapist
I am a fully qualified yoga therapist (550hrs), accredited through Yoga Focus, a British Council of Yoga Therapy accredited provider. I am also a qualified British Wheel of Yoga teacher (500hrs).
Background
My experience includes teaching yoga for the general public in community classes and one-to -one; teaching classes for older adults via South Oxfordshire District Council, and teaching children’s classes at local schools.
I first discovered yoga in my mid-twenties when I attended an Iyengar class and became aware that the physical postures had more depth to them than just the alignment of the body, they had layers of meaning. I went on to explore different modern styles of yoga such such Bikram ‘hot’ yoga, yin yoga and ashtanga vinyasa flow, as well as other traditional pathways of yoga such as Raja Yoga. Throughout this period of experimentation, I realised the path of Hatha Yoga, which comprises of the body and breath practices, meant the most to me. I became interested in the origins of hatha yoga and the philosophical texts at its foundation, including Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra’s and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. But it was only when I read the book ‘Health, Healing and Beyond’ about yoga and the living tradition of the renowned yoga guru, T. Krishnamacharya, that I realised how yoga could positively transform people and their outlook on life. This became the starting point of my own personal pathway to training as a teacher and then as a yoga therapist.
Yoga has been an integral part of my life for over twenty years and has given me personal strength and flexibility during times of change, including through divorce and mid-life career changes. But most of all has given me a sense of deep peace, balance and unending joy for life. It is my hope that I can help support others on their path to happiness and health.
Pathways Yoga 