CAROL
Carol is a very experienced schoolteacher whose vocation evolved into teaching yoga to adults, teens and children.
Educator In Schools
As teacher of primary aged children for 30 plus years, Carol worked at Yew Chung International School and with the E.S.F. in Hong Kong. She led curriculum initiatives including developing Personal and Social Education empowering staff to enhance students’ wellbeing. In 2014 she was invited to train with the Academy for Mindful Teaching and so began to regularly lead sessions with the students.
Teaching Yoga To Children
Carol has been practicing yoga since 2005. In 2015 she began Gecko Yoga’s 95-Hour Children’s Teacher Training and from then led exceedingly popular yoga classes for children at school. Carol also ran yoga workshops for teachers, helping them to understand the positive value of yoga and mindfulness for holistic growth.
Yoga For Adults
Carol's love of giving children the experience of yoga inspired her along the path of teaching yoga to adults. She extended her understanding through teacher trainings with YogaWorks (200-Hour Diploma), Wendy Wyvill (Vinyasa Immersion), Bryan Lau (Functional Anatomy), Sarah Powers of the Insight Yoga Institute (Yin/Yang Yoga & Mindfulness Meditation, Level 1) and Nicky Hadjithoma (Theory & Practice of Yin Yoga, Functional Anatomy, Chinese Medicine Theory). So she began bringing to adults greater awareness and self-understanding.
Yoga Therapy Trainee
Skilful teachers lead to empower individuals towards improved wellbeing through experiential awareness of the interconnections between the body, the cognitive and emotional mind. This is the essence of Carol's teaching and also of Yoga Therapy. Individually orientated yoga practice connects perfectly to Carol’s professional experience of nurturing the “whole” person, regardless of age. She is currently a trainee student for the 550-Hour Yoga Therapy Diploma with The Yoga Therapy Institute, Amsterdam.
Hiking & Hiking Yoga
Hiking has always been a passion for Carol. Combining the deepening awareness of Yin and the energy of Yang yoga with the natural environment was an intuitively natural step to take. Hiking Yoga gives us time to pause, slow down and breathe within nature, truly enhancing connection to oneself and to our lives.
Calm in Yoga
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?
Self-awareness grows through yoga, creating an inner calm, and thereby increases our ability for focus and attention. Yogic practices of slowing the breath improve our concentration by balancing our energy and regulating the nervous system. So the positive environment of a calm yoga session enhances our neuromuscular and skeletal development, fine-tuning our coordination and motor skills. 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 true self. This self-understanding and clarity of mind foster confidence and empower us to reach our potential.
Research has shown that diaphragmatic breathing, as practiced in yoga, activates the parasympathetic nervous system and thereby is very effective for reducing stress.
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, or clouds forming and transforming, is naturally therapeutic; the stillness sharpens our focus and gently energises our awareness. The spaciousness and slow rhythms of the natural environment can free our minds and open our imagination. They connect us to our creative nature. There is calmness too, after the challenge of hiking up a hill, or rambling far, a sense of achievement and greater 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.
Connections Through Yoga
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?
We become aware of the connection between our physical body, emotions and thoughts, and there is integration of body and mind when we tune into ourselves through mindful yoga. The more we practice yoga, the more we notice this co-dependence and the changes that occur to them. Our awareness can then gradually extend into daily life, into learning at school, our interactions with others and our responses to life situations. This experiential awareness shows us that we do not have to be reactive, but that 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 reconnects us to the world and balances our perspectives on life. It grounds us and at the same time enhances our appreciation and energises us. The physical and mental accomplishment of persevering a challenging hike connects us to ourselves, yet the space in which we achieve that 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.