Meet the new faces of MFML. Our newest teachers bring a diversity of approach and practices to support you.
We are delighted to introduce you to the new faces of MFML. Please meet and welcome our newest teachers to Movement for Modern Life. Between them, these teachers come with a diverse set of practices to share: life experiences; diverse skills and approaches so that we can all enrich our movement practices.
Kat Farrants shares why she invited these teachers to be a part of MFML: “For me the heart of MFML is our community. That is our community of teachers and movers. I was bowled over by the enthusiasm and skills that these new teachers bring with them. It is so important that we shake up our routines and this goes doubly for the way we move. These teachers bring fresh ideas and perspectives. We’re introducing new styles and new ways of moving: we have barre, pilates and somatic movement teachers. We can’t wait to dive deeper into the practices and approaches that each of these teachers bring, whether it’s restorative or breath-led flow; shakti dancing or using our mats as a place to explore social justice. But, I couldn’t wait for each teachers class to come out to introduce them to you.”
Amy Holly
Amy is our new Barre teacher and has worked in every aspect of dance as a dancer, choreographer, movement director and teacher for more than 20 years. She has been responsible for making the careers of many young dancers. Amy sees her classes as energy work just like Yoga or Qigong – it’s time to work it up and dance it out!
“Yoga is brilliant and one of my favourite ways to move but I think Barre is its perfect counterbalance. Barre will make you seriously strong, it also has a cardio aspect runners, athletes and sport people will love. Barre is for everybody you certainly don’t need to be a professional dancer but watch out it is highly addictive!!“
Ash Bond
Ash loves to tell stories, explore them, and ask what they mean. 4 years studying Classics at Oxford, 3 years as an English teacher and a bookshelf full of fairy tales made it almost inevitable that she would want to write.
“Hello movers! A bit about me? I love stories. Old ones, new ones and ones that I have just been told. I am so grateful to be able to spend this wild and precious life sharing tools for coaxing some of those stories out. Stories are, of course, written on more than just the page, and I am lucky enough to be teaching you Yoga as well as journaling. In our Yoga sessions we will strengthen, activate, stretch, dive deep and play lightly on the surface. My teaching style? I try to be funny. And I am occasionally profound. I can not wait to meet you on the mat!”
Ava Riby-Williams
Ava is a creative and intuitive teacher, facilitator and artist who sparks curiosity and play. Her eclectic teaching focuses on finding presence in the moment, empowering students to become their own inner teachers and recognising ourselves as diverse divinity, in unity.
“Hi to all the MFML movers! I’m so excited to get to know some of you. The practices that I share here are with you in mind. I know we’re practising online here, but there’s still a chance for genuine connection. If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out. My heartfelt wish is that us practising together will inspire your own continued deepening of understanding, exploring, playing, and loving life.“
Carlene Bogues
For Carlene, yoga isn’t a practice, it’s a way of life. Carlene teaches Hatha, Vinyasa, Yang & Yin, Restorative and Slow flow sessions. Carlene has seen the benefits of yoga mentally and physically and feels honoured to share this healing practice with others.
“Hello MFML Movers, I am so happy and excited to share the movement practice of yoga with you. I have seen how this practice has brought beneficial change on all levels to myself and students both on and off the mat. Come as you are, wherever you are with an open sense of curiosity and exploration to go through the journey of a yoga practice together.“
Dirish Shaktidas
Sometimes we just need to press Ctrl, Alt & Delete on ourselves to take us back to our original settings. In all of his practices London based yoga teacher Dirish brings you just that. Having practiced yoga, dance and meditation for over 10 years he’s got flavours for all of your endeavours and will C H A K R A S I Z E your entire LIFE!
“I am passionate about movement, astrology and personal- growth systems. The journey through Yoga and all its avenues has provided me great discipline to keep my life in check. Showing up to a regular practice is what gives me the insight to reflect, release the day to day stresses, tensions and bring me back to balance. I am really glad to be able to help you do the same and get back to your bliss!“
Gabriella Espinosa
Gabriella Espinosa is the founder of Women’s Body Wisdom, holistically supporting women’s hormonal health in the natural transition to perimenopause, menopause and beyond. Inspired by her many years of practice and teaching yoga, breathwork, somatic movement and nutritional therapy she is passionate about guiding women to connect to their bodily wisdom, take charge of their hormonal health and live their fullest potential.
“I am really looking forward to guiding women to embrace their whole selves through embodied yoga and movement. My classes will address many of the common symptoms women experience in perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause, but most importantly they will offer you an opportunity to reflect on your unique journey and how you want to step into this next exciting chapter of your life.“
Rakhee Jasani
Some of you may already be familiar with Rakhee’s words and writing as she is MFML’s wordsmith. Rakhee creates our courses and challenges as well as editing our blog. As a yoga teacher Rakhee’s classes combine breath-led yoga, qigong and meditation with restorative calm in sequences that help her students to discover their own creative expression and awaken their spirit. Rakhee’s classes reflect her life experience and are inspired by nature, culture, philosophy, myth and the world around us.
“I am delighted that I can now offer movement classes to the MFML community. What a joy it’s been to have taught some of you in my livestream classes . I want to support you to find a greater sense of ease, acceptance, curiosity and compassion through developing a greater awareness of your breath, body and whole self. Finding ease in our bodies can help us to act in a way that is skillful and spirited.”
Vanessa Michielon
Vanessa’s teaching style makes people feel welcome, included, respected and safe. Her movement- based approach inspires her students by empowering them to notice how their energy levels, breath quality and emotions can flow when they use their bodies in specific ways.
“I feel genuinely honoured to be part of such an incredible community. I can’t wait to meet you all and celebrate who we are through movement!“
Yvonne O’Garro
Yvonne has been practising yoga since 2006 and teaching since 2018. She is passionate about Restorative Yoga and the benefits it can have on our bodies; the practice allows the nervous system to shift from “fight or flight” into a relaxation response (Sympathetic to Parasympathetic nervous system). Yvonne had a long career as a HR Business Partner and she feels that Restorative Yoga can also contribute to workplace well-being and decrease the 15.4 million days lost to stress related sickness absence.
“I am looking forward to sharing Restorative Yoga with the MFML community; an opportunity to slow down, to pause and allow the nervous system to move into relaxation mode. To achieve this, the use of props is a key part of the practice; bolsters, blankets and blocks, provide support to the body to enable the shift. Given past months of heightened emotion and now to navigate much change, Restorative Yoga is a welcome respite to allow the body to restore, recharge and relax, contributing to reducing stress and increasing a sense of well-being.”
Practicing with our new teachers
We will be releasing classes from our new teachers over the coming months. You can read more in-depth interviews with each of our teachers on this blog and you will find them in our teachers’ section as there classes are released. In the meantime, you can connect with our new faces in the movers’ group and we’ll be sharing updates on their filming on our instagram too.
Looking forward to doing practices with all these new teachers – they sound amazing!