About Me

I began my journey in to restorative yoga soon after becoming ill. This offered me a path through the physical and emotional labyrinth of my illness.

I would normally look at a yoga timetable and look for the strongest, most active and dynamic yoga class to attend. I let go in my illness and was open to trying something new in order to help me on my healing journey.

Restorative yoga was slow, gentle and subtle in its approach however it had a deep impact on my body and mind.

Having practiced different styles of yoga for over a decade I tended to lean towards a stronger form in Ashtanga yoga until I developed chronic fatigue syndrome after a serious infection due to a compromised immune system.

Working in a stressful environment in a job I loved, proved to be conflicting on many levels. My energy began to deplete as I worked to a rhythm that was not my own, and where rest seemed a distant dream away. I was passionate about my job in interfaith and intercultural dialogue work and gave a lot of my energy to it but dealing with office politics on top of that was strenuous. I was very active and sporty, living on a park I would run, play tennis and do dynamic yoga in my spare time. I often went to the gym in my lunch breaks to recuperate from my  busy working life  and commute however this was far from what I needed to get the rest my body required for recharging and restoration.  A prolonged elevated stress response was overriding my body and weakening my immunity without my awareness.

A healthy lifestyle alongside restorative yoga ushered in healing and strengthening of my bodily systems. I began to override my mind and body with the relaxation response instead of the stress response through my practice. I know understand the processes of being a racialized woman and what stories my body is holding on my journey to healing.

It has been a blessing to discover the path of restorative yoga which I continue to learn from and explore internally. With gratitude through sharing this experience with others, I hope the liberating experience of restorative yoga helps to heal others, create greater awareness of the body and mind and enhance deeper relaxation and calm in an overly stimulating world.

With a curious, open and mindful approach, I am passionate about being a teacher who holds space to enable students to guide themselves.

I have gained my Restorative Teacher Training certification from training with Adelene Cheong, who runs regular restorative workshops at the Life Centre in London. Adelene opened up my path in to restorative yoga and holds extensive knowledge and experience in the field. She has developed her practice through learning and now as a senior assistant to the inspiring Judith Hanson Lasater. Judith was an early disciple of B.K.S Iyengar and helped to establish restorative yoga.

I am registered on the International Restorative Yoga Teacher Directory. I have also completed the Yoga Campus teacher training in London for burnout, stress and fatigue with Fiona Agombar who pioneered yoga for chronic fatigue. I completed further study with Sue Flamm in Restorative yoga with Assists in Valencia, Spain.

I have created and led workshops in London, Spain and online around themes of:-

Self-compassion; burnout & stress, anxiety & insomnia.

I have also founded Own Drum https://www.own-drum.com/ an embodied anti-racist not for profit organization that uses restorative yoga in workshops and in embodied racial dialogue and trainings. As Dr. Gail Parker has also found, restorative yoga can be a healing balm for race based stress and trauma. I use it in my work to support the sustained care needed to do anti-racism work also.

Faryal Iqbal