What started as a class taken once a week in the local sports centre has become a passion and a way of life.
After starting a new job and enduring six months of sleepless nights, Judi was dragged along to her first yoga class by her Mum – an act of desperation on her part. In a very short time her weekly yoga class worked its magic, helping to alleviate stress and anxiety. And provide some much needed sleep too. Further workshops inspired Judi to seek to deepen her practice and understanding of yoga by enrolling in the Yoga Scotland Foundation Course.
Gradually yoga became more than just something to be done in a weekly class. On completion of the course Judi was so eager to continue her yoga journey she enrolled on the CYS Yoga Teacher Training programme with June Mitchell in 2005.
It was here Judi’s enthusiasm for Ashtanga yoga was ignited – the flow of breath and movement, the discipline of a challenging sequence and the respect and humility that comes from practising in an ancient tradition.
Judi owns and runs MCY and is the Principal Teacher on the CYS Glasgow Teacher Training Programme as well as Senior Tutor on both CYS Edinburgh/Perth and CYS Surrey. She’s been practicing yoga since 1998; spent three months of practice and study at the KPJYRI in Mysore, India in 2012; completed Richard Freeman & Mary Taylor’s 200 hour Teachers’ Intensive in Boulder, Colorado in 2018 and has practised with David Keil every year (bar one!) since 2006.
Matt first became entranced by yoga at a music festival in the wilds of Scotland in the mid-2010s, and has been exploring its myriad facets ever since. His curiosity and adventures somehow led him to teacher training, and after an extremely challenging, fascinating and fulfilling year, he became a MCY 200-hour graduate in 2021.
Matt’s a keen handstand enthusiast and eager to share the joys of all aspects of yoga.
Rachael discovered yoga when she was just 16 years old and drifted in and out of practice for the next few years. Then, when she was 21, all the parts she had absorbed over these years started to come together and Rachael found herself exploring a deeper and more meaningful practice.
Her reason for practising in the beginning was primarily to address a growing fear of movement and her self-imposed limitations. Yoga was a way for Rachael to tackle those doubts and venture into unexplored parts of herself.
Over time, her curiosity grew beyond the physical practice and led her to enrol in the CYS Glasgow 200-hour training program here at Merchant City Yoga, graduating in 2023. She says:
“I am passionate to share my practice of Ashtanga and Vinyasa with others, and thread it all together with my ongoing devotion to yogic philosophy.”
Siobhan has been a Yoga teacher over 20 years and has completed an advanced four year study programme in Pranayama at the Kaivalyadhama Yoga Institute in Lonavla, India. With the close of this programme and 15 years of study and practice with her teachers Sri O P Tiwari and Sudhir Tiwari, Siobhan is looking forward to working with you in a very specialist way assisting in your own personal growth through the breath.
As well as being an expert tutor of Pranayama Siobhan is also an Ayurvedic massage therapist.
Alanna attended her first Ashtanga class led by June Mitchell in 2003. In 2009 she qualified as a CYS 200hrs yoga teacher and has continued to deepen and enjoy her Ashtanga practice ever since. She says:
“Ashtanga has not only helped me stay fit and active over the years but it has given me continuous guidance and grounding through life’s challenges. I consider it a privilege to be in a position to share the teachings of yoga with other people, who share an intrigue and yearning to gain a deeper understanding of the Ashtanga system. I look forward to be able to meet practitioners where they are and explore more deeply the asana (postures) within the primary series that challenge us. Together, we will put into practice valuable techniques that will build confidence and joy, with the hope that you will feel supported to continue progressing your Ashtanga practice beyond the class.”
Rose Ann has been practicing Ashtanga yoga since 2005 and over the years it’s taken her to London, Thailand, Goa and the home of Ashtanga, Mysore in Southern India. She’s studied with SHARATH, grandson of the famous Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, both in London and in Mysore as well as studying with a number of well known authorised and certified teachers including John Scott, David Keil, Petri Raisanen, Paul Dallaghan & Kino McGregor. She’s also studied pranayama with O.P. Tiwari and Ayurveda with Diana Kras, a consultant with Maharishi Ayurveda and an approved trainer for College of Ayurveda (UK).
Rose Ann is dedicated to teaching traditional Ashtanga yoga and loves sharing her knowledge and experience. Her classes offer an approachable teaching setting with the emphasis on enjoying yoga while never losing the traditional teachings passed down from teacher to student.
Natasha teaches our regular Ashtanga Beginners class and our Ashtanga Yoga Four Week Introduction Course.
It took a long time for Laura to join a yoga class but once Rosina Bonsu introduced her to the Ashtanga Primary Series, she never looked back. With just one session she was hooked! A few years later, in 2015, she met Kia Naddermier and began to practice pranayama daily. The combination of physical postures and the breath changed her life, decreasing stress, improving her sleep quality and her stamina. Apart from learning from Rosina (her teacher until February 2020) and Kia, Laura also studies with Rose Ann Mckean, and Sudhir Tiwari.
She has over 20 years of experience as a mover, as she is a performance artist and an Athenaeum Research Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. She has been an art teacher for many years, including at The Glasgow School of Art and Transart Institute. These experiences have made her sensitive to the inner workings of the body, whether anatomical, energetic or emotional.
Laura completed her Classical Yoga School teacher training at MCY in 2017. She has studied yin yoga with Gemma Maryam and adjustments with David Swenson. She is a qualified pranayama teacher in the Kaivalyadham lineage. She learns Indian scriptures and philosophy with James Boag and Dr M.A. Jayashree, and Sanskrit, Vedic chanting and meditation with Lucy Crisfield.
Her classes work on a complete yoga, one that encompasses body, mind and breath, nourishing them all and awakening our spiritual sense. Although she teaches a variety of forms, her passions are a combination of Mysore style and pranayama. They both have in common a feeling of delight, a body that invites the breath, a centred mind and gratitude for the practice itself.
Kerry is a qualified hatha yoga 200Hr certified instructor and has been teaching yoga classes in renowned retreat centres and yoga studios in Thailand and Scotland since 2019. Although she had been going to yoga classes for years, Kerry's first yoga retreat truly opened her eyes to the wonder of these ancient practices and she felt compelled to dive deeper. Not long after, she took the leap and moved to Thailand for 3 years, managing a yoga retreat centre and immersing herself in practice with incredible teachers before studying to become a teacher herself.
In Kerry's classes you'll be encouraged to listen to the language of your own body and honour what it needs. She'll gently guide you through a blend of asana (physical postures), pranayama (yogic breathing), sound and meditation, to help you feel more deeply connected to self & source.
Anne attended her first yoga class in her local community hall in 2007. It was short lived, however, as life just happened. She then found herself drawn back to the practice in 2018, having found a wonderful local vinyasa flow teacher, Joan Stuart (MCY alumni) who guided her practice for many years.
When Joan relocated, Anne, looking for a new yoga community, found herself attending her very first Ashtanga class in January 2023 with the wonderful Jean McInerney at Merchant City Yoga. Anne found the class to have such a wonderful sense of energy and left feeling energised. Anne instantly knew she had found her new yoga home in Merchant City Yoga, but also in the sequence that she grew to love. She vowed at this point to dedicate her yoga practice for the next 12 months to the primary sequence and she has never looked back. Anne loved it so much; she enrolled in the 200 hour teaching course at Merchant City Yoga and qualified in August 2024!
Anne’s experience of her yoga practice has taught her how to be attuned to her body; a sense of interconnectedness. She believes that, provided with a safe and supportive environment, yoga itself facilitates this with practice and dedication. Anne’s main motivation to complete the teaching qualification was and remains a desire to share this experience with people from all walks of life; exploring and connecting with the sensations of our incredibly adaptable and resilient bodies. Anne likes to consider herself more of a guide than a teacher, because she feels she really only facilitates your experience and access to an ancient and beautiful practice that has benefit to the whole human experience on and off the mat.
Ema came to yoga seeking emotional balance and found the route to that through the body. Although Ema is inspired most of all by the spiritual and philosophical aspects of yoga, her practice and classes are concrete and physical, informed by a solid grounding in anatomy. She says:
“We explore our physical form - the ‘field of action’ where our lives play out - to create harmony and health, and through the shapes we make, find freedom and new ways of inhabiting the world.”
Ema completed her 200hr training at MCY in 2018 with the renowned Classical Yoga School. She has also completed further training in anatomy, yin yoga, meditation and trauma-informed practice. She has been studying yoga philosophy with James Boag since 2015 and has recently begun working on her 500hr Advanced Certificate in philosophy, history and Sanskrit with Yogic Studies.
In Ema’s classes you can expect to find your edge, wherever that may be, and maybe surprise yourself with your own capabilities. Ema’s passion and enthusiasm come across in the warm, playful and encouraging atmosphere of her practice. Expect to explore technical detail of the postures, enjoy creative sequencing to keep your body and mind on their toes, and explore your inner landscape through meditation and philosophy as it plays out in our bodies and our lives.
Nicole was encouraged to take advantage of lunchtime yoga during busy months of work in 2013. From then the rest is history as Nicole has continued to practice in London, Manchester, across the seas and back in Glasgow. Nicole believes yoga is universal and for this reason has found a passion which she can now share with others after completing the CYS Glasgow Yoga Teacher training programme here at MCY in 2019.
When not out seeking a hill to climb or path to run, Nicole finds the perfect compliment for both mind & body in yoga.
With an excitable and overthinking mind yoga has brought a sense of calm & clarity on and off the mat. Ashtanga Yoga has become the main focus of her practice which intertwines breath work & movement whilst rooting her ever growing knowledge of yoga philosophy and its traditional teachings. Nicole holds a passion for thinking about your mental state and with a great deal of optimism encourages others to acknowledge where they are now and finding the JOY & magic of yoga to help that understanding flourish.
Nicole works during the day as an Employment Law Business Partner with a BA (HONS) degree in Business Studies from Glasgow Caledonian University and knows fine well that those days in our 9-5 when we say we don’t have enough time to practice is the ones we jolly well should be finding the time for breath work and kindness in your movements.
Jean first discovered Ashtanga yoga when she went along to a new class at the gym. Our very own Rose Ann was the teacher and Jean knew right away this was the yoga for her!
She’s been practising Ashtanga yoga for over 8 years now and graduated from CYS Teacher training here at Merchant City Yoga in 2020. Since graduating she’s been teaching a regular beginners’ class at Yogarose in Blantyre and yoga classes in local gyms.
She also takes the opportunity to develop her own practice by attending workshops and Mysore classes with international teachers such as Scott Johnson, David Keil, Sarah Hatcher, Phillipa Asher and a recent highlight was going to Berlin to see Manju P Jois and Andrea Lutz.
As well as working part time for Local Government Jean’s hobbies and passions are yoga, yoga and yoga! She says:
“In amongst the many benefits of yoga, I enjoy that sweet moment when all the hard work and consistency of practice comes together and suddenly the posture that you thought was never going to happen does!
I hope to keep my teaching light-hearted and most of all fun!”
Kat is a highly experienced practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga with a regular practice since her first class in 2014 with the wonderful Rosina Bonsu.
Kat studied under Rosina for many years, and is now guided by and studies with Kia Naddermier, Roseann McKean and Judi Farrell, and to feed her love of yoga and as an eternal learner, Kat takes part in as many workshops as possible with, for example, John Scott, David Swenson, Sarah Hatcher, Mark Robberds…and on and on!
With a full-on and full-time job, and a busy ‘monkey mind’, yoga practice brings countless benefits to Kat’s life on and off the mat every single day – community, friendship, fun, and all with a good dose of self-care, greater clarity and compassion for herself and others.
Graduating in August 2021 from the 200 hour Classical Yoga School teacher training at Merchant City Yoga, Kat has continued her studies, completing David Swenson’s 40 hour intensive immersion for teachers, and Gem Maryan’s 50 hour yin yoga teacher training.
Kat is currently undertaking Kia Naddermier’s 150 hour intensive development training in Ashtanga and Pranayama, and travels to assist Kia in her retreats as part of the Mysore Yoga Paris team.
Kat’s classes offer practitioners an open, safe, and playful space to explore and learn how yoga can enhance their physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Steph took her first ever yoga class right here at MCY! Not having a clue what to expect, she stumbled into Judi’s half led primary class one Tuesday evening. After years of inactivity and sitting in an office chair nine to five, it was a challenge. She had no idea what she was doing or even why she was there. But, something about the practice brought her back the next week, and the next, and the next… Simply showing up changed everything!
Yoga was an unexpected discovery that took Steph completely by surprise. With each practice, yoga gradually became more and more a part of her life. Yoga practice keeps her present, grounded, and open to change. In sharing the practice, she hopes to open the door to possibility for others with the same care and compassion as it was opened for her.
Steph is a graduate of the CYS Glasgow teacher training programme and has completed 50 hours Yin Yoga study with Bernie Clark. She has practised with all of MCY’s wonderful teachers. They really are the best! And regularly assists Judi in the Mysore room.
