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. Just ask my 3 siblings!
After University I completed my Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) with a specialism in Music, due to my love of playing piano.
Upon moving to Hong Kong, I was fortunate to find a teaching position at an International Primary School. I stayed there for 11 years and loved it.
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. 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. Being confronted with stillness in yoga classes helped me become aware of the importance of not running away from my emotions. Over time, I began to understand that there was a whole lot more to yoga than making pretzel shapes.
Yoga, along with running, was also a key component in helping me to make peace with my body after a decade of struggling with an eating disorder and refusing treatment. Sitting with myself on a yoga mat and feeling a mind-body connection was pretty transformational for me.
Yoga for children?
With a love of teaching others, I wanted to find a way to share yoga 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 had no idea that Yoga for Children would be so magical and science-based! I honestly thought I would just be learning how to share yoga poses with children, after all that's all yoga is right? NOPE! I was introduced to breathing exercises to regulate energy and emotions, mindfulness activities to feel balanced, fun yoga games, music, songs, mindful arts and crafts...I was hooked! How come this wasn't being taught to all children already?!
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 ever kids' yoga class, I just loved it, it was a new sense of purpose for me.
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 200 hour 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 told I was headed towards burn-out.
Follow your dreams...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 yoga and mindfulness in a variety of settings. Making a useful impact on the mental and physical health of children by sharing what I have learnt and continue to learn about yoga and mindfulness gives me such a sense of purpose and brings me so much joy. Truly part of my work these days is repeatedly saying: "A Yoga for children class is not the same as Yoga for adults"! I'm happy to keep shouting it from the rooftops.
It is my dream that one day, schools will be able to offer yoga and mindfulness programmes as part of their curriculums.
I look forward to meeting you!
Alison
