Vikki Cleal

 

"Creating Strength, Stillness and Light..."

Vikki lives in the centre of Edinburgh and practises Yoga daily, teaching at several different locations around the city as well as privately in the comfort of her student’s own homes.

Biography

My first experience of Yoga was Ashtanga Yoga in 1998 when I spent a winter season skiing and snowboarding in Whistler, Canada. I had always been intrigued by Yoga and really just wanted to ‘try it out’. The physical benefits for my skiing and snowboarding performance were great but it was the way I felt after the class that interested me most. I felt refreshed, calmer, more focused and generally light-hearted and carefree!

After this initial introduction to yoga I returned to living in Edinburgh and also spent some time travelling abroad, occasionally practising yoga along the way. I managed to experience several styles of yoga class including Ashtanga, Bikram, Hatha and Vinyasa.

I moved to live in Baku, Azerbaijan in January 2003 and was fortunate to meet a Vinyasa Yoga Teacher there who became my ‘guru’ and taught me yoga for the next 3 years. My practice deepened to a regular daily yoga experience and in July 2006 I travelled to Nosara, Costa Rica to complete an intensive 1 month/200 hour teacher training course (www.nosarayoga.com). On completion of this course I taught Vinyasa Yoga classes in Baku, Azerbaijan before repatriating back to Edinburgh in December 2006.

I am continually fascinated by the ways in which yoga has brightened my life and am driven by the passion to share the massive benefits of yoga with others. I am a Psychology graduate and have always been interested in health and fitness so I am particularly interested in mind-body interaction and embrace yoga as a powerful tool for creating a unified and harmonious mind-body relationship.

I teach Vinyasa Yoga to all ability levels and encourage a relaxed and open environment within my class. My Yoga classes are moderately energetic but can be designed to suit the needs of my students becoming either more gentle or more dynamic.