About Tanya

I have been practicing Iyengar yoga since 1995.   It started out just as a class to go and try with a friend who was doing it and very quickly became something I loved and wouldn’t miss each week. I have always found my yoga practice the one time where I can leave all my worries outside the door, focus completely on what I am doing and leave feeling rejuvenated, energized, calmer and more focused. 

From a personal perspective, I used to need to see a chiropractor regularly from an early age with issues with my lower back and since becoming involved with Iyengar yoga, my back is so much stronger and I am often able to use some routines at home to gently calm and restore my back when I do get pain.

For many years, I really only managed to attend one class per week due to the many other things in my life. At the time, I was a full-time computer programmer and was also studying part-time to become an aromatherapist. My aim then was to reduce the programming side and increase working with people which is really my passion. I subsequently went on to study a BA in Psychology part-time and had my daughter in 2001.

In 2007 we made a decision as a family to relocate to the UK and shortly before we left South Africa, I was a volunteer student in a yoga student’s exam. I had a eureka moment during that class  - I wanted to become an Iyengar yoga teacher! I asked for a referral from my teacher and have never looked back! We changed countries and I changed career. I studied at YogaWest in Bristol and qualified as a teacher in 2009. 

I attend a teacher's class each week on Friday and this informs my yoga session planning and ensures I continue to learn and challenge myself. I have completed my  Iyengar Level 3 qualification.

As Iyengar teachers we are expected to attend CPD sessions and each year, there is an Iyengar Yoga convention over three days, which I attend every year. A guest teacher from the Iyengar Institute in Pune India comes to teach us and it is always such an informative challenging immersion in Iyengar yoga.