Tutor: Donna Southwell
Donna discovered Ashtanga yoga whilst travelling in India in 1999 and was immediately hooked – she knew straight away that this style of yoga was for her. She practised alone for a few months before being inspired by a John Scott workshop and deciding to move to London to continue her studies with Hamish Hendry at Ashtanga Yoga London.
After a season working and practising at Yoga Plus in Crete, Greece, Hamish asked her to become an assistant, working with him three days a week, learning how to give hands on adjustments and hold the room in a very busy central London Mysore style class. Her goal was never to become a yoga teacher, rather she fell into it with more and more people started asking her to teach. Eventually she embraced it and decided to teach full time in 2003.
Donna made her first trip to Mysore at the end of 2002 and returned many times – both on her own and with her young family. In 2012 she was authorised to teach both the primary and intermediate Ashtanga series by Sahrath Jois.
Donna teaches in an open minded, light hearted way. Her style is alignment based whilst still acknowledging the classic Ashtanga method. She is very happy for students to use props as need be. She is able to teach those with more advanced practices but is equally happy teaching beginners. She has dedicated herself to this practice for 26 years throughout pregnancies, bringing up a young family, injury and menopause – so is very understanding of the need to adapt this practice so that it works for the individual.