Encouraging your mind into stillness, your body into balance and your soul to smile
Kind Thought | Kind Word | Kind Action
Caroline is a Trauma Informed Breathwork practitioner, yoga teacher & therapist with over 1000 hours of training. SHE GUIDES Inclusive classes in London, Edinburgh and online for adults and has special interests in trauma, menopause, chronic fatigue and long covid
My first experience of yoga was when my dear friend, the nutritionist Toral Shah, invited me to a weekend of yoga with Suzy Bolt in the late 1990`s. After experiencing an innate sense of calm on a yoga mat that weekend, I sought out Iyengar yoga classes in London and latterly at the Edinburgh Iyengar Yoga Centre.
I completed both the one year foundation and 500hr Teacher Training courses with Yoga Scotland. I furthered my training by completing an Advanced Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Norman Blair, the TeenYoga course to support young people as well as a Menopause Yoga Teacher Training. I have also had the privilege of studying with Donna Farhi in person, fascia alongside anatomy and physiology with Tom Myers, breathwork with Dr Richard P. Brown, inclusive practices with Dianne Bondy, fascia and the spiral syllabus with Dr Karen Kirkness and Body by Breath author, Jill Miller. I regularly attend yoga workshops and ongoing teacher trainings to further my learning and understanding in anatomy, physiology, yoga philosophy as well as other disciplines to compliment my yoga teaching.
Supporting my personal perimenopause symptoms through yoga, led me to guiding others in yoga classes and establishing The Menopause Sisters with my sister, a doctor and Advanced Menopause Specialist. Together we facilitate workshops in London, Edinburgh and online as well as hosting a podcast called The Menopause Sisters show. In 2021, I was invited to be part of series of videos NHS Inform were creating on menopause, Living with Menopause tells the menopause journey from the perspective of four women.
Over the last few years I have been striving towards using trauma aware language in all my classes, and in April 2021 completed a 100hr Yoga Teacher Training in Trauma-Informed Yoga & Embodied Social Change training with Yoga for Humankind. I am part of the Edinburgh Community Yoga teaching team, have created trauma informed menopause yoga and breathing videos for the National Wellbeing Hub and am currently delivering breathwork and yoga sessions at HMP Edinburgh.
Yoga is a way of life for me and supports me everyday, whether it's taking a moment to breathe amidst the busy-ness of parenting, an asana practice on my mat, meditation or yoga nidra. I look back now and wonder if that first experience of yoga on a mat, spoke to my Southern Indian heritage and whether my Sri Lankan grandfather had an insight into the path I would eventually follow, when at 18 months old, he gave me a necklace with the Tamil script for ‘om’. I endeavour to live my yoga practice with the acceptance of myself and all beings, in that moment, and the serenity it brings. Yoga teaches us to accept life as it is right now, a reminder that everything is impermanent and encourages us to find self compassion and kindness.
All my classes are trauma aware and whilst my initial training was in Hatha yoga, the way I guide and teach classes encompasses all I have learnt over on the years. From my foundations in Iyengar, I emphasise the use of yoga props, to ensure asana are adapted to suit each individual body in the class. I also enjoy incorporating restorative and yin yoga, as well as somatic movement drawn from Feldenkrais alongside yoga philosophy from the ancient texts into my classes. The first yama in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is ahimsa (non-violence, compassion, kindness) and this begins with ourselves whilst accepting others without judgement, bias, prejudice or discrimination.
And why The Yoga Crow? Bakasana (crow) is a humbling asana to practice, there are a lot of nose dives to begin with and it challenges the ego. For me, it is a reminder of the importance of a daily practice, a focused mind, building inner strength, connection and an acceptance of myself.
And the other reason for the name The Yoga Crow…...my nickname at primary school was Crowline :-)
Caroline holds insurance for teaching with Balens & is a member of the Protecting VuLnerable groups (PVG) scheme in Scotland.
ADULT QUALIFICATIONS & ONGOING TRAINING
Yoga Scotland 500hr YTT 2017-19
Advanced nine day Yin Yoga Training with Norman Blair 60hr - September 2022
Trauma-Informed Yoga & Embodied Social Change with Yoga for Humankind 100hr - November 2020 - April 2021
Menopause Yoga 40hr YTT - September 2020
Trauma Conference, The Master Series Oxford University - September 2023 with Stephen Porges, Bessel van der Kolk, Deb Dana, Peter Levine & Richard Schwartz
The Fascial Breath with John Wilks, The Fascia Hub - February 2024
Essentials of Myofascial Release with Yoga International - February 2024
Sequencing for the nervous system with Kristine Weber - April 2022
Vagus voyage: an embodied tour of the vagus nerve and its influence with Jill Miller - March 2022
Every Breath You Take Dissection Livestream Speciality Course with Tom Myers and Todd Garcia - February 2022
TRE course - Tension Stress Trauma Release - November 2021
Confidence in the Menopause Education Programme with Newson Health Research & Fourteen Fish - May 2021
Yin Yoga 30hr YTT with Eva Maxine Hamilton - February 2021
Essentials of Yin Yoga with Bernie Clark - January 2012
Menopause: What do women want? Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists webinar - October 2021
Introduction to Trauma Informed Practice, Edinburgh Community Yoga - October 2020
Foundations of Ayurveda Level 1 online with Gillian Grant, Transformational Yoga - July 2020
Five Flows Anatomy for Yoga with Karen Kirkness, Meadowlark, Edinburgh - June 2020
COVID-19 Psychological Impact, Wellbeing & Mental Health online with SLaM & The Tavistock & Portman NHS Foundation - June 2020
Engineering Health: Introduction to Yoga and Physiology online with New York University 50hrs - June 2020
Psychological First Aid online with John Hopkins University - April 2020
Mind Control: Managing Your Mental Health During COVID-19 online with Steve Joordens, University of Toronto - April 2020
6 Critical Problems in Modern Yoga & How To Work With Them with Matthew Remski - March 2020
Coming to our senses with Christine Purves, Edinburgh - January 2020
Yoga Scotland: What is an Ayurvedic lifestyle? Elizabeth Roberts, The Yoga Mill Galashiels - November 2019
Masterclass with Gary Carter workshop at The London Yoga Festival - October 2019
Mantra In Action: How sound can transform your practice with Miranda Taylor at The London Yoga Festival - October 2019
A Brief History of Yoga with Daniel Simpson: tracing yogic traditions & their development through early Upanishads, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, and their systematisation in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, Yoga Newcastle - September 2019
An Introduction to yoga, diversity and body image with Dianne Bondy at TriYoga, London - August 2019
Yoga In Healthcare Conference, London - 15th-17th February 2019
Tara Fraser one day workshop at Yoga Junction, London - January 2019
Befriending the Body, Befriending the Self: A 5 day yoga intensive with Donna Farhi, Edinburgh - May 2018
Ancient Classical Yoga Techniques with Yogacharya Venkatesh & Hema, Union Yoga Edinburgh - May 2017
Yoga Scotland Foundation Course 60hr 2016/17
Yoga Weekend with Firooza Ali Razvi, Edinburgh - June 2016
Iyengar weekend with Rajiv and Swati Chanchani from the Yog-Ganga centre, Edinburgh - June 2016
CHILDREN & TEEN QUALIFICATIONS & ONGOING TRAINING
Y is for yoga children’s 40hr RYT qualification, Edinburgh - July 2017
Teen Yoga 100hr RYT qualification, Edinburgh - July 2019
Connected Kids Teaching Children Meditation Foundation with Lorraine Murray, Edinburgh - August 2014
Youth Mental Health First Aid with The National Council For Behavioural Health & Mental Health First Aid - August 2020
Child Protection in Scotland with NSPCC - August 2020
Trauma & transitions: supporting children & young people with transitions of Covid-19/lockdown with Dr Karen Treisman, Children In Scotland - August 2020
Therapeutic Life Story Work with Richard Rose, online TLSWi & Children In Scotland - July 2020
Suicide & Self Harm In Young People lecture with Dr Trudie Roussow, Judy Dunn National Conference, London - November 2019
Yoga in Youth: Contexts to Thrive and Nurture workshop with Charlotta Martinus founder of Teen Yoga, London - February 2019
Yoga for Children with Autism & Social/Emotional Needs workshop with Jyoti Manuel founder of Special Yoga, London - February 2019
Practising yoga with children and young people with ASD course with Children In Scotland, Edinburgh - December 2018