About Kathy
Kathy first began practicing yoga and attending Buddhist meditation in 2005 whilst living in Australia. She then expanded her knowledge of yoga through a Foundation course with the British Wheel of Yoga in 2011, during her training to become an Occupational Therapist. This experience led her to firmly believe that the practice of yoga could prove an essential preventative measure to allow patients in the health-care system to overcome daily challenges. This was a driving force behind her decision to conduct research into whether Mindfulness could be an intervention for people living with early onset Dementia as part of her dissertation. Her passion for yoga continued to grow, and subsequently she completed a 200-hour Yoga Alliance teacher training course with Yoga London in 2014.
Kathy worked for the Assertive Outreach Team in York in the field of community mental health whilst also teaching at York Yoga Studio, York St John University and MIND, as well as leading private classes. In 2015, she enrolled on a Yoga Therapy Teacher Training course with Heather Mason at The Minded Institute, specialising in yoga for mental wellbeing. During that time Kathy taught staff at the Early Intervention Team a variety of yoga and grounding techniques which can be used to support clients, and has also taught private sessions, specialising with people living with schizophrenia and delivered anxiety workshops. In February 2018 Kathy completed the 550-hour Yoga Alliance Yoga Therapy teacher training course and continued to deliver individualised yoga therapy sessions, both privately and in collaboration with the social prescribing scheme (Ways to Wellbeing). She also taught an 8-week programme for stress, anxiety and depression.
To develop her own personal practice from 2019-2022 she studied with a wide range of teachers including Laura Green, philosophy in movement and Yin Yoga; children’s yoga therapy in mental health with Michelle Fury; yamas and niyamas a year of self-enquiry with Katharine Pincham; Pranayama with Swami Saradananda; and the teachings from Shakyapada from Triratna Buddhist Community.
Kathy uses her skill set not only as a yoga teacher and yoga therapist but also as a qualified occupational therapist (and a mum of two young boys!). Kathy now teaches 1:2:1 Yoga Therapy, specialising in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Yoga Therapy group classes for mental wellbeing in her home studio in Burnholme York. You will also find her teaching a general yoga class at Tang Hall Explore Library.