About Debby
I run White Horse Yoga Centre and have been practising yoga for the last 25 years and teaching it for 16 years. I am a British Wheel of Yoga teacher, and a course tutor and assessor for the British Wheel of Yoga Teacher Training Diploma. I am a Founder Member of the South West Yoga Academy. I am also a qualified Pilates and Nia Dance teacher but I no longer teach these disciplines, and before this period of my life began I worked as a professional actress and secondary school drama teacher.
I have experience in many different forms of yoga but I like to teach an eclectic style drawing inspiration from many different sources. My teaching places considerable emphasis on good anatomical alignment ensuring that students are safe in their practice. At the same time I emphasise the use of breath in posture allowing my students to work in a meditative fashion connecting with subtle aspects of themselves – for this is the very heart of Yoga. I like to think that I teach with humour and laughter for although Yoga is a serious practice, it is life and life must be fun! I am committed to ensuring that my students work at a level that is appropriate for their individual needs, be they physical or subtle in nature.
My own studies have led me through many ‘faces’ of Yoga from the very physical Ashtanga and Iyengar type practice that is found in many classes in the UK, to the more Vedantic approach within which I was given my spiritual name, Akasha, by Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati from the Bihar School of Yoga. Yoga is a life journey and I continue to study with teachers across the U.K. and as a result both my personal practice and teaching style continue to evolve. However, the biggest influence on my practice, and therefore on my teaching, has been John Stirk. John has helped me find real depth in my Yoga practice and I am deeply grateful to him