+ JUDI FARRELL

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 EVANS

Matt teaches our regular Handstand Club.

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.

+ SIOBHAN FITZGERALD

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.

+ NICOLE MCMAHON

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.

+ ROSE ANN MCKEAN

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.

+ ALANNA DEARDEN

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.”

+ NATASHA DAY

+ Diana Krasniqi

n 2017, while under an umbrella on a beach in Santorini, Diana took out her journal and wrote down a list of all the ways she was going to change her life.

She was a student at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow at the time. As students do she was drinking a lot, sleeping a little, and generally dissatisfied with how my life was unfolding. She was completely disconnected from her body.

Top of the list was attending her first yoga class. When she got back, she booked a class at MCY as it was only a 5-minute walk from her university campus. She says “I can still remember it to this day; it was Winter, so it was dark, and I joined Nicola Park’s beginner class. I remember thinking how good at the postures I was. I am naturally flexible, so yoga felt easy. I immediately decided the beginner class wasn’t for me, so I threw myself into the other styles of yoga that MCY offered such as Vinyasa Flow, Hatha, Yin, and Forrest, and then eventually dedicated myself to Ashtanga. I think that was exactly where I needed to be. Yoga didn’t feel so easy anymore, in more ways than just the physical.”

In 2019 Diana joined our 200 hour teacher training programme here at MCY. At the same time, she was working with an injury. Diana explains “The injury completely changed my practice. I started to fear movement in case I triggered the pain and consequently stopped practicing. I started to fear my own body and lost trust in its ability to support me through movement. I became disconnected from my body again and lost sight of the relationship I was building with it. I was even scared of Savasana. Over time though the injury led me to discover a whole new way of moving. In 2021, I joined a core workshop with Celest Pereira. This led me to join a 60-hour advanced teacher training in Portugal with Celest Pereira and Adell Bridges. The focus of the course was anatomy and biomechanics, functional neurology, and brain-based creative sequencing. In 2022, I completed a course with a teacher in Australia called Nic Laidlaw, a surfer and holistic movement teacher and is the one who inspired my first teaching video for MCY."

+ ANA COSTA

Ana first discovered yoga at a time when anxiety was predominant in her life. She attended her first class in 2010 after her mum gently (read firmly) suggested yoga might help, but not without first scrunching her nose up at the idea!

It took a while, but she figured she could get a workout without going to the gym, so why not?

But yoga turned out to be so much more than she expected.

Ana’s interest in the practice grew and developed until finally, she took a huge leap! Ana enrolled in MCY’s yoga teacher training programme with Judi in 2015. One year and 200 hours later she started teaching at the same studio that had watched her grow over that year.

Her learning did not end there though! Classes and workshops with respected and inspiring Vinyasa teachers followed - principally Taylor Harkness and Celest Pereira but without forgetting Coral Brown and Laura McCrimmon.

Over the years, Ana’s degree in Physiology (2012) and Masters in Exercise Science (2013) from University of Glasgow, along with her love for the science of movement started showing more in her teaching. Her PhD (2019) and full-time job in heart research have shown her beyond all doubt that being healthy on the inside is essential.

Ana’s classes have a strong focus on natural and functional body movement and easy to understand anatomy. You'll leave each practice with Ana feeling stronger, safer and proud of your body for generating movement.

+ EMA ČULIK

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.

+ STEPH NORTHCOTE

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.

+ Jean McInerney

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!”