It was in a dingy gym in Queens and I really wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about. I certainly didn’t hate it but it also wasn’t an ‘aha’ moment. I went to a smattering of classes in NY around that time and learned to enjoy the feeling of calm that I found.

I moved to LA in early 2001 and I really underestimated the strain and anxiety moving my whole life had put me under. I was really missing my community in NY and trying to figure out what I was doing with my life. When I look back, I was definitely a little depressed. I wasn’t making the best life choices and I had no centre. 

This incredible donation based studio in Santa Monica called Power Yoga ended up changing my life. It was run by this fantastic charismatic teacher called Bryan Kest, it was so popular that there would sometimes be 70 people in that room. It was a seriously sweaty initiation into yoga.

They say your teacher shows up just when you need them. So when I decided to check out an early morning class taught by Govind Das, it was a massive heart opening. I quickly became a devotee of yoga. I practiced with Govind Das three days a week at 7am religiously. It helped me feel like I wasn’t alone, that I didn’t need to have it all figured out. 

I was a regular practitioner at Exhale, Yoga Works and Power Yoga. I studied for years under Bryan Kest, Govind Das, Ashley Turner, Eric Schifman, Jo Tastula, Shiva Rea. I was introduced to so many wonderful tools during that time that I have kept and used both in my life and now as a teacher. 

My husband’s work brought us back to Ireland. It dawned on me that I could learn how to teach yoga to build a similar community. Since 2016 I travel back and forth to the States where I received my teacher training qualification and continue to train with some of the leading teachers in New York and Los Angeles. I also travel around Ireland and India and plan to bring more and more students with me on these journeys.

And I now love my home and community in Ireland. So, so much.