About
My love affair with yoga began after a move to New York in 2013. Initially, like so many of us, I was more interested in the physical practice of yoga and its immediate health benefits. As such, I felt very at home in the ‘alignment based Vinyasa’ style of yoga I encountered here and its balanced flow, with an emphasis on form, remains integral to my own practice and teaching. Physical training has opened a door to yoga’s philosophy and teachings and I'm convinced that a dedicated yoga practice can lead to wonderful and sometimes quite unexpected discoveries and changes.
At the end of 2016, after three years putting my Marketing degree to work in the travel industry in London and New York, I realized that my yoga practice meant more to me than an occasional break from my desk job. I took the leap and completed my 200-hour teacher training with YogaWorks at a retreat in Nicaragua. This incredible experience has only strengthened my resolve to build my life around yoga and turn my passion into a career. I am particularly interested in adopting yoga for athletes of various disciplines and teach a sequencing tailored to equestrians, having competed as a three-day-eventer for Ireland into my early twenties.
I currently teach at yoga centres around London, privately and at corporates. I continue to expand my knowledge by attending workshops and teacher trainings and am grateful for the continued guidance of my teachers.
I have been working with the Tschuggen Hotel Group for the past few years curating bespoke yoga retreats at their beautiful mountain locations in the Swiss Alps along with consulting on their yoga offerings. I am very excited to have helped put together one of their latest wellness programmes Moving Mountains.
I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the wonderful inspiration I can draw from yoga every day and am excited to share my experiences and discoveries with you.
Q&A
Favourite place to practice? In the mountains.
Favourite pose? Supported headstand. It’s strengthening, energizing and meditative.
What’s the best advice a teacher has ever given you? Learn the lessons of your own soul through Svadhyaya(self-study).
Do you have a motto or favourite quote? “To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest. To live fully is to be always in no-man's-land, to experience each moment as completely new and fresh. To live is to be willing to die over and over again. ”― Pema Chödrön
Follow me on Instagram @alidaoconnor
