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CAROL

Carol is a highly experienced educator
whose vocation evolved into leading individualised yoga
and walking groups

Carol

Educator In Schools

As teacher of primary aged children for 30 plus years, Carol worked at Yew Chung International School and with the English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong. She led curriculum initiatives including Personal and Social Education for the enhancement of students’ wellbeing. In 2014 she was invited to train with the Academy for Mindful Teaching and started leading regular sessions with students.

Yoga For Children

Carol has been practicing yoga since 2005. In 2014 she began the 95-Hour Children’s Teacher Training with Gecko Yoga and subsequently led exceedingly popular yoga classes for children at school. She also ran yoga workshops for teachers, helping them to understand the positive value of yoga and mindfulness for the holistic growth of students. 

Yoga For Adults

The gradual transformations of enhanced awareness Carol observed through children's experience of yoga inspired her to lead yoga with adults. She extended her understanding through teacher trainings such as YogaWorks 200-Hour Diploma, Pranayama & Breathwork, Vinyasa, the Theory & Practice of Yin Yoga including Functional Anatomy and Chinese Medicine Theory, and also Yin/Yang Yoga & Mindfulness Meditation with Sarah Powers of the Insight Yoga Institute.

 

Yoga Therapy

Skilful teachers can empower individuals towards improved wellbeing through experiential awareness of the interconnections between the body, the cognitive and emotional mind. Such is the essence of Carol's teaching and also of Yoga Therapy. This inclusive, individually orientated yoga practice connects perfectly to Carol’s professional experience of nurturing the “whole” person. In 2023 she successfully completed the 850-Hour Yoga Therapy Diploma with The Yoga Therapy Institute, Amsterdam.


Hiking and the Gentle Weekly Walking Group

Hiking has always been a passion for Carol. It gives us time to pause, slow down and breathe within nature, thus enhancing connection to oneself and our world. In September 2022 Carol started the Gentle Weekly Walking Group to provide weekly hiking on paths that are as gentle as one can find in HK.

Zhangjiajie Breathing

Calm in Breath​

Sit still in a quiet place, inhale for 2 seconds, slowly breathe out for 4 seconds.

Repeat this for about 3 minutes.

How do you feel?

Practices of slowing the breath improve our concentration by balancing our energy and regulating the nervous system. When we are calm, and consequently distanced from stress, anxiety, irritation and the need to fulfil others’ expectations, we become more open to understanding our self. This self-understanding and clarity of mind foster confidence and empower us to reach our potential.

 

Research has shown that diaphragmatic breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system and thereby is very effective for reducing stress.

Diaphragmatic breathing integrated with physical activity boosts the production of oxytocin and endorphins, cultivating happiness and calmness.

Calm in Nature

Being in nature cultivates calmness within us: The sound of a stream, light playing on leaves, clouds forming and transforming, are naturally therapeutic. The stillness gently energises our awareness. The spaciousness and slow rhythms of the natural environment can free our minds and open our imagination. After the challenge of hiking up a hill, or rambling far, there is a simultaneous sense of calm, of achievement and self-knowing.

 

An extensive study showed that children’s self-esteem increased when they were exposed to the natural world, and that, for some, it significantly calms and improves the concentration of those with ADHD.

Sai Wan Ho
Yin Yoga Upavistha Konasana

Connections Through Movement

Stand upright, your arms stretched wide to the sky, raise your head to look upwards.

Take some breaths, expanding your chest and lungs.

How do feel?

When we tune into ourselves through mindful movement we become aware of the connection between our physical body, emotions and thoughts, The more we practice, the more we notice this co-dependence. Our awareness can then gradually extend into daily life, our interactions with others and our responses to life situations. This experiential awareness shows us that we do not have to be reactive, but we can choose how we respond. And within response, there is even more clarity for choice, acceptance, action, harmony and balance.

 

Emotional states positively and negatively affect every cell in our bodies, including blood chemistry, the organs and the immune system.

Connections Through Nature

The open expansiveness of a natural vista can reconnect us to the world and balance our perspectives on life. It grounds us, and at the same time enhances our appreciation and energises us. The physical and mental accomplishment of a hike can connect us to ourselves, and the space in which we achieve this cultivates calmness. When we connect we discern. In calm focused awareness there can be connection to everything.

Studies have shown that the experience of being in nature reduces blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and the body’s production of the stress hormone, cortisol.

Hong Kong tree

EDUCATION AND CERTIFICATION

850-Hour Yoga Therapy Diploma 
The Yoga Therapy Institute
Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2023

 

Bachelor of Education (Honours)

London University UK, 1980

 

40-Hour Inner Retreat: Pranayama & Breathwork

Wendy Wyvill, Pure Yoga

Hong Kong, 2022

 

100-Hour Theory & Practice of Yin Yoga

Functional Anatomy, Chinese Medicine Theory

Nicky Hadjithoma, Pure Yoga

Hong Kong, 2019

 

16-Hour Functional Anatomy Workshop for

Yoga Teachers

Bryan Lau, Pure Yoga

Hong Kong, 2019

 

70-Hour Yin/Yang Yoga & Mindfulness Meditation

Level 1 Teacher Training

Sarah Powers, Insight Yoga Institute

London, 2018

 

50-Hour Vinyasa Immersion Teacher Training

Wendy Wyvill, Pure Yoga

Hong Kong, 2018

 

200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Diploma

David Kim, Yoga Works

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2017

 

95-Hour Children’s Yoga Teacher Training

Jenny Smith, Gecko Yoga

Children age 0 to18

Hong Kong, 2015

 

Paws b - trained to teach

Mindfulness in Schools Project

Children age 5 to 11

United Kingdom, 2016

 

Mindfulness Matters - trained to teach

Academy for Mindful Teaching (Netherlands)

Children age 5 to 18, 2015/16​

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