Meet Gemma
I left Ireland to travel around New Zealand for one year. That was 8 years ago! My partner and I love Christchurch, we set roots down last year with our first home. Next step…fur baby!
Yoga philosophy has been very influential in my approach to life, yoga asana (poses) have helped me recover from injuries and both have aided in my recovery from depression. At the moment it is helping me get through a career change as I work towards a masters in psychology. My goal is to integrate yoga and psychology to help individuals use both body and mind to flow through life’s ups and downs.
In 2006 I had the privilege of studying under Shivanand Singh in India and gained my yoga alliance qualification through Trimurti yoga in 2014. Those teachers, my physio and Yin yoga teacher, Paul Grilley, heavily influence my approach to teaching. They have taught me that everyone’s body and lifestyle is unique and should to be treated as such, while in the safety of community.
Your class always begins with breathing exercises to help you relax and be present on the mat. In each class, we focus on a specific set of poses. One of my aims is to enable you to discover the correct version of each pose for your body type. This is done using props or altering a pose. As my style is a little more traditional the poses are held longer. I will gently encourage you to push through the urge to give up! Usually, the class ends with Yoga Nidra which helps both the body and nervous system relax. The goal is to help you gain strength and flexibility while teaching you to understand your bodies unique limitations and abilities.
Besides being obsessed with yoga and psychology I have fallen for downhill mountain biking. It’s a thrill! However, my true love is food. I’m obsessed with food! I wish I could try new restaurants and cafes around Chch every day! AND NZ coffee is the best in the world!
