My story
From school teacher to yoga teacher...
Half English/Half Sri-Lankan, I was born in Watford, England and moved to Hong Kong in 2007.
I have always loved children and teaching others has always been my passion, even when I myself was a child.
After University I went on to complete my Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) with a specialism in music.
Upon moving to Hong Kong, I was fortunate to find a teaching position at an International Primary School, where I would happily stay for 11 years.
In 2008, as a very shy and physically awkward 20-something, I started practising yoga simply as a new hobby. I liked the idea of bending myself into a variety of pretzel shapes. Yoga was not very popular back then and my new hobby felt very exotic to me although I found yoga hard to begin with and did not really understand much about what I was doing or why.
During this time, my father was ill with terminal cancer and sitting still and being confronted with my thoughts and feelings in yoga classes was rather terrifying. Over time, I began to understand that there was a whole lot more to yoga than making pretzel shapes.
Yoga was also a key component in helping me to make peace with my body after a decade of struggling with an eating disorder. Sitting with myself on a yoga mat, realising how strong and amazing my body is and feeling a mind-body connection, helped to transform my relationship with food.
Yoga for children?
With a love of teaching others, I wanted to find a way to share my new hobby with my students at school.
I soon realised that my adult practise was not suitable for children. I started to wonder whether yoga for children was even a real concept.
Turns out that yes, it is! A quick Google led me to find Gecko Yoga and in 2016 I completed my Yoga for Children Teacher Training with Gecko.
I was going through a divorce at the time of my training and Jenny, the founder of Gecko Yoga, provided me with the inspiration and encouragement I needed during that difficult time. It is no understatement to say that this experience changed my life!
I remember the feeling after teaching my first kids' yoga class, it was a new sense of purpose for me. It was so magical to watch my students connect with their bodies and practise mindfulness.
I continued to teach full-time as a primary school teacher while teaching a few yoga classes during the week. I went on to complete my Yoga Teacher Training for adults in 2016 and every Summer completed a specialised yoga training course (see My Training page). On top of being an avid marathon runner and with a passion to travel the world, I soon realised that my busy lifestyle-although amazing- was unsustainable. I was exhausted and headed towards burn-out.
Omskool Yoga
So, in 2018 I chose to leave primary school teaching and follow my new passion of sharing yoga and mindfulness with children. It felt like one of the most natural transitions of my life. I absolutely loved being a primary school teacher but I could not continue knowing in my heart that I had a different role to play in the lives of children.
I now spend my days travelling around Hong Kong teaching in a variety of private homes, schools, corporate spaces and outside. Sharing what I have learnt and continue to learn about yoga and mindfulness with children and adults brings me so much joy.
Off the mat you can find me happily running up and down the Hong Kong waterfront with friends or at home playing my piano.
It is my dream that one day, yoga and mindfulness will be included on school curriculums so that all children have access to tools to navigate their emotional and physical wellbeing.
Alison
