Chi & Co Teachers
Julie Hanson
Seasonal Yoga Flow is Julie's main passion. She teaches seasonal yoga workshops in Scotland, England and in Europe. With her co-author Sue Woodd, Julie has published a book "Energy in Season" which gives clear guidelines to life style, eating and practicing Yoga, Tai Chi and Chi Gung in line with nature and the seasons. Julie's early career was rooted in the fitness industry and running SPORT AID World Workout in 1986 was one of her personal career highlights.
Now her time is split between writing, teaching, training teachers and running her studio , Chi & co in Glasgow . She has made regular TV and Radio appearances over the years. She educates students and teachers alike to live life in line with nature, encouraging them to maximize their potential for health and fitness and achieve lifestyle and personal goals. These courses are in London , Glasgow , Sweden and Finland.
The International yoga teachers Shiva Rea and David Keil have influenced Julie's style of teaching.
See www.ENERGYINSEASON.com for more info.
also check out her Bio at www.JulieHanson.com
Claire Davidson
Claire attended her first yoga class in 2000 at the Chi Yoga Centre and was instantly hooked. She practices Seasonal Flow Yoga and Ashtanga. Claire graduated in 2008 as a CyS yoga teacher under the guidance of Julie Hanson and June Mitchell who helped her gain knowledge of the traditions of yoga. Claire has been teaching classes regularly since then and her classes are designed to invigorate, strengthen and calm the body by combining postures into a flow sequence.
Since becoming a mother Claire has taken a special interest in pre and post-natal yoga.
In addition to her 200hr Teacher Training yoga qualifications she has a specific Pre & Post Natal qualification through Samdi School of Yoga. She is a registered Yoga Alliance Worldwide Teacher.
Claire’s enthusiasm for all things yoga continues to see her taking on new challenges to enhance her own practice and teaching skills. She is committed to ongoing personal and professional development and continues to enhance her knowledge of yoga by attending various workshops and intensive training with renowned teachers such as David Keil, Manju Jois and John Scott.
Dee McDonald
Dee started attending yoga classes 10 years ago. What began as a weekly class in the Glasgow city centre gym, became an ambition to eventually teaching yoga to others. In 2008, Dee was introduced to Julie Hanson and started to attend both the Seasonal Yoga Flow and, what has become Dee’s core yoga practice, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (the flow of breath and movement). It was soon after that Dee enrolled on the yoga teaching training course with the Chi Yoga School. After completing the RYS 200+ hours, in August 2010, Dee graduated as a fully qualified Hatha Raja Yoga Instructor. In recent months, Dee has been privileged to attend workshops given by great teachers from all over the world including David Keil, Allison Dearling and David Swenson. Dee is now dedicated to passing on all of the great knowledge and practice that she has come to learn so far, to enable others to experience the great benefits that yoga has to offer.
Martina Boyce
Martina teaches our beginner classes at Chi & Co. She is a retired school teacher (hard to believe) and decided in her retirement to combine her two passions in life, one for Yoga and the other Teaching into a perfect match . Her classes are very informative and her class is for absolutely anyone of any age, shape or size to experience the many benefits of yoga. No experience or flexibility required. Her focus is on the correct positioning of basic yoga postures within one’s own body, this will increase the freedom and mobility of the body while concentrating on the breath to quiet the mind.
Karen Naismith
Karen is a graduate of the Chi Yoga school (CYS) and is registered with the Yoga Alliance. She enjoyed and benefited greatly from the Seasonal Yoga Flow involved in her 200 hour training and went on to complete a 20 hour level 2 course of study with Julie Hanson which has provided focus and direction for her teaching. Karen continues to attend workshops and seminars for her personal enjoyment and development. She has had the opportunity to study with inspirational teachers like Manju Jois and David Keil and loves that Glasgow too offers such a wealth of wonderful yoga teachers who share their experience at regular events. Karen’s classes at Chi&co are open to all levels including beginners. Her classes will work with dynamic sequences of movements in tune with the season and will aim to give the student a feeling of health and wellbeing coupled with an improved body confidence.
Mark Russell
Mark competed in his first sprint triathlon in January 2007. Since then he has been competing regularly, building on his training and distances over the years. He has completed several half iron man distance triathlons and half marathons as well as shorter distance races. He began taking yoga classes in 2008 as a way of supplementing his training and stretching out muscles affected by running and cycling. He quickly found that yoga became an essential part of his training, to build on strength, focus and his stretching routine. Outside training Mark found that yoga also had benefits for other areas of his life. He found it brought a sense of calm, focus and serenity. In 2009 he practised yoga in Thailand at the Shambhala yoga centre. Mark took part in Julie Hanson's TTC in 2011. Throughout this period he has deepened his knowledge of yoga and it's history. He has learned from many teachers over the years, Claire, Alison, Julie, Sue, Marit, Pamela and Kester. Mark has a desire to bring the benefits he has personally experienced in his training and personal life from yoga to others.
Maria Fantini
Maria has been teaching Pilates for 5 years, having qualified with the PILATES Foundation® UK in 2006, whose teacher training programme is one of the most rigorous in the UK. Since qualifying Maria has had the great privilege of experiencing first hand, the tutoring of Ron Fletcher and Lolita San Miguel, two of the remaining Pilates “elders” or “original teachers” who were mentored and trained by Joseph Pilates himself, and subsequently received his blessing to teach the method.
Maureen Thorpe
Maureen gravitated towards yoga after spending many years doing high impact aerobics and running. What started out as extra to other exercise classes soon became a passion and the main focus of her attention. It was very clear that yoga was much more than just exercise. As she became more interested in the other attributes of yoga, particularly Pranayama and Meditation she decided to embark on the teacher training course at the Chi Centre in 2008.. Initially this was mainly for personal development but as this became a was a positive life changing experience she recognised that there was something in yoga for everyone. Maureen is keen to share her experience and enthusiasm of the dynamic Ashtanga Vinyasa flow, Seasonal flow and Hatha Yoga with students of all abilities. Maureen has continued her development by attending workshops and retreats hosted by world wide recognised experts including Manju Jois, David Swenson, David Keil, Debby Mills, Gretchen Faust and Sean Corne.
Cathy Moran
Cathy has been a dedicated student of yoga for over a decade.
She practises and teaches Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, in its traditional form, as taught by the late Sri K Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath in Mysore, India.
A trip to Yoga Plus in Crete in 2002 cemented her love for the self practise system of ashtanga. She returned to London enthused and began a regular early morning practise, (despite never having been an early morning person!) initially with Alexander Medin at Yoga Place in Bethnal Green, later with Hamish Hendry at Ashtanga Yoga London. She completed a British Wheel of Yoga Foundation Course and has had the great fortune of attending several workshops and intensives with internationally renowned teachers including David Swenson, Richard Freeman, and Sri Patthabhi Jois.
She has travelled far and wide to immerse herself in the practise, has studied with Rolf and Marci Naujokat both in India and in Thailand, with David Keil in Glasgow, and has spent several months at the K Patthabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, under the tutelage of Sharath Rangaswamy. She completed her teacher training with Michael Gannon in Goa 2008, and has been teaching full time in Glasgow since then.
Cathy is also an experienced massage therapist, having trained and worked extensively both in holistic and Thai Yoga Massage in London, Glasgow and Thailand over the past 9 years.
Yoga is a constantly evolving journey of self discovery. Cathy uses her own practise as the foundation for her teaching - hoping to convey what she has learnt (and continues to learn) on a daily basis, to encourage and assist students on their own personal yoga path.
Gary Sheppard
Gary started practising yoga to alleviate back pain caused by years of weight training and football and has sworn by his daily practice every since. His yoga practice progressed from a DVD in the bedroom, to regularly attending a variety of classes, before finally enrolling on the teacher training course at Chi and Co where he further developed his understanding of yoga under the guidance of Julie, Marit and Sue. Although Gary enjoys many different forms of yoga his true passion is Power Yoga. He has attended Power Yoga classes for a number of years learning under the guidance of John Collins. Gary has witnessed how power yoga can increase flexibility, improve muscle tone, increase strength and develop a stronger core. What's more he has witnessed first hand how these benefits can improve sporting performance and most importantly prevent injuries that occur whilst participating in sport. It is Gary's desire to pass on the benefits he has experienced from yoga to others as they participate in a powerful yoga practice which is challenging but most importantly enjoyable to all.
Hazel Sheppard
Hazel has been practising yoga since 2006 whilst travelling the world. She has studied various different styles in Greece, Thailand, Hong Kong, Bali and the Philippines. She did her teacher training course in Thailand with Peter Clifford and specialises in the 5 Element Form and Vinyasa Flow. She started her yoga career teaching to under-priviliged children in Bali and feels it is very important to start learning at a young age.
Since returning to Scotland she has worked closely with Julie Hanson and Seasonal Flow is another main influence of her teaching style.
Hazel developed a passion for Aerial Yoga and completed the first ever Aerial Yoga Teacher Training in the UK and was the first Aerial Yoga teacher in Scotland. She has recently been in India teaching Flow Yoga and Aerial Yoga in Goa and Gokarna.
Pauline Ferguson
Pauline has been involved at a high level of fitness training in the past 30 years. Previously qualified and taught aerobics for fourteen years, running, cycling and hill-walking have also featured strongly in Pauline’s fitness training.
In the last four years, Yoga has brought a new dimension to her health and well-being and is now an essential part of how she lives her life. Inspired and trained by Julie Hanson , she has developed a passion for Yoga leading her to qualify as a Yoga Instructor at Chi and Co.
Pauline offers a Power Yoga class which is a flow-style practice which emphasises tone, flexibility and core-strength with increased cardio output and has proven benefits for all levels of fitness.
Pauline is committed to sharing her experience of Yoga with you at her forthcoming classes.
Jane Blundell
Jane trained with Julie Hanson, Sue Woods and Marit Grifith on the 200 hr Seasonal Yoga Teacher Training Course at Chi and Co in Glasgow and is a qualified Registered Yoga Teacher accredited by the Yoga Alliance.
Jane blends over 20 years of personal yoga practice with a formal London Art School training and experience of life as an artist, mother, teacher and traveller. A strong personal practice enhances her ability to teach from experience.
Jane’s approach encourages students of all ages, abilities and backgrounds to develop their yoga skills and confidence by focusing on yoga essentials and discovering and developing their individual path through their personal yoga journey.
Jane’s seasonal vinyasa flow classes are influenced by the many styles of yoga she has practised over the years and the numerous teachers who have inspired her including John Stirk (osteopath and yoga teacher) and Bridget Woods-Kramer ( anusara yoga teacher ). Where ever she travels she attends classes, and 3 years living in Africa brought new ideas and a love of practising outdoors. How you feel at different times of the year and where you are in the world affects your practice. Understanding this and adapting your practice to the seasons and your environment is a passion that Jane hopes to share with you.
Scots get the hang of the latest fitness trend - aerial yoga - June 1st, 2012 10am
