About Yoga Teacher Mentors Lauren and Ashley

Who we are & why we started the Yoga Mentor Academy

“Having a supportive community and continued guidance from an experienced teacher has truly transformed how I have developed my own way of teaching and the ability to have career longevity - I would not be where I am without the support I’ve received after my teacher trainings, this path would have felt very lonely!.”

— Ashley

About Ashley

I started taking Yoga classes in 2010 at the Sattva School of Yoga in Edmonton, Canada. After experiencing several devastating family losses, a friend recommended I try yoga to deal with my grief. I agreed to give yoga a try, and was completely shocked by the profound effects the practice had on my mental & physical well-being, something I completely neglected until my mid-20s! My fascination surrounding yoga was set and I continue to be amazed by everything this healing practice has to offer.

This is exactly what drew me to teaching, I had to share the practice that changed my life so positively in countless ways. I started teaching yoga in 2012 after my first 200 hour TTC.

I teach a few different styles of yoga, all based on the Ashtanga tradition: Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Sattva, Rocket & Hatha.

My yoga teachers over the years have been truly inspirational and have helped me to develop into the well rounded, compassionate, humorous, no-nonsense and confident teacher that I am today. They include: Rameen Peyrow & Jade Ponech (Sattva Yoga and Meditation), Keshava Murthy (Philosophy), Hamish Hendry, Louise Newton, Corrie Ananda Preece, David Swenson & David Williams (Ashtanga Yoga), Emi Tull, Mark Kan & Ambra Vallo (Dharma Yoga), David Kyle (Rocket)

I have a background steeped in science: a Genetics degree specialising in Cancer, with a minor in Psychology and Anatomy. I am currently studying Naturopathic Nutrition and am really enjoying building a more holistic understanding and approach to my offerings in healing.

I have studied Business/Tech online (self-study) and Yoga Business/Tech with Digital Yoga Academy (Kelly McHugh), both have truly transformed the way that I operate the business side of being a yoga teacher (because its' part of the job too!!!) and have shown me new skills that I found out I actually really enjoy!!

You can find me teaching at triyoga, Third Space, and online!

About Lauren

I’ve been a student of Ashtanga yoga for more than 15 years and have been teaching since 2011. I followed the traditional route to becoming an Ashtanga teacher and have travelled to Mysore, India to study at what the Ashtanga Yoga Institute (Now SYC) many times.

Since 2007 I’ve been a student and later an apprentice of Hamish Hendry at Astanga Yoga London. Hamish has always been extremely generous with his support and guidance. I’m forever grateful for the knowledge he’s shared (and continues to share) with me and hope to extend that same support to new teachers through the Yoga Mentor Academy.

I have a Diploma in Yoga Therapy and am a facilitator of Trauma Centre Trauma Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY-F) which is an evidence-based adjunctive yoga intervention for complex PTSD.

As well as teaching the evening Mysore program at Astanga Yoga London with my colleague Tom, I specialise in teaching private clients and offer trauma-sensitive yoga in groups and one-to-one. I work with the charity OURMALA teaching yoga to people from refugee and asylum seeker backgrounds and with the NHS teaching vulnerable adults.

I’ve also studied marketing with the Digital Yoga Academy and have fully trained a number of Mysore assistants over the years.

In addition, I organise and host Ashtanga yoga retreats in the UK and Europe.

For many years I didn’t feel like I deserved to take up space as a yoga teacher. I felt like if I only did X training our gained Y experience then I’d be enough. Of course, it wasn’t really about how many trainings I’d done but more about trusting myself and having confidence in my abilities.

The Yoga Mentor Academy is about helping new teachers find their voice so they don’t struggle with confidence in the way that I did.

“The Yoga Mentor Academy is a place for new teachers to grow and build confidence whilst gaining new skills in a supportive environment.”

— Lauren