Hi! I’m Alex - RYT® 200; RPYT® (Pregnancy, Post-Natal and Mother & Baby Yoga Teacher); Usui Reiki Master; Nada Yoga Facilitator; Shamanic Practitioner; proud mama of two beautiful souls; and Founder of Spinning Arrow Yoga & Holistic Healing. I currently offer a variety of yoga classes online; distance Reiki sessions; virtual workshops & events on a range of topics related to spiritual growth; and Yoga & Birding holidays throughout the Caribbean in partnership with Birding the Islands Ltd. and BirdsCaribbean. For more information about my offerings, please visit my website or get in touch via email. I’d love to hear from you 😊
This is my story...
Having had a regular yoga practice since 2015, when I broke my back in a traffic accident in 2017, it felt only natural to turn to yoga to facilitate my recovery. It was also at this time that I discovered Reiki, primarily to aid in my recovery and reconnection to both my physical and energetic bodies after my accident.
Housebound for a few months, I decided to embark on an online 200hr Foundational Yoga Teacher Training with Santosha Yoga Institute and almost immediately, I knew I had made the right decision; I was exactly where I needed to be. Nine months later, I was drawn to Bali, where I qualified with Santosha Yoga Institute at the 200hr level, subsequently becoming a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT® 200). During this training, I met people who became very influential in my yoga journey - some challenged me, some encouraged me, and others inspired me; and as the saying goes, I have never looked back.
I believe that I was very fortunate as my initial training focused on an individualistic approach to yoga, passed down directly from Sri T. Krishnamacharya through the Mohans. The Krishnamacharya lineage places the individual’s needs and intention at the heart of every practice. To use a phrase coined by Mark Whitwell, the yoga I learned to teach was: “Yoga with a capital Y”. When I teach, I aim to hold space for each person in my class, offering modifications to allow everyone to work with their body and their breath to still the fluctuations of their mind.
After teaching regular classes for a while, I was approached by one of my friends to ask whether I would be able to do some pregnancy yoga with her. And so, early in 2019, I trained with Sally Parkes - one of the foremost teacher-trainers in her field - in Pregnancy, Post-natal and Mother & Baby Yoga, earning a further 85hr accreditation with Yoga Alliance. At the time, I found out I was pregnant with my daughter, and I knew that once again, yoga had guided me towards the exact place I needed to be at exactly the right time. I used what I had learned during my training (and subsequent research) to really live in the moment, nurture my body, connect with the little person growing inside and enjoy my pregnancy. I fully believe that it was my dedication to my spiritual path that blessed me with my beautiful daughter, whose amazing soul I brought into this world in November, 2019.
Later that same year, while still pregnant with Ariadne, we became attuned to Reiki and I completed my Usui Reiki Level I practitioner training. Four weeks after Ariadne was born, we were both attuned to Reiki Level II. I then continued my studies and achieved the honour of Reiki Master in mid-2020.
In early 2020, I trained with Emma Leaf of Infinite Energy & Yoga in Nada Yoga and gained a further 40hr accreditation with Yoga Alliance as a Sound Healing facilitator. The benefits of sound vibrations on our physical and subtle bodies are boundless. The vibrations created by certain frequencies can encourage our brain waves towards a theta state so that we can truly relax and benefit from this transformational modality.
Inspired by one of the teachers on my initial teacher training course - Megan Mulrine of Yogatrotter Academy - I delved into the study of the Hindu gods in early 2020. I was captivated by the stories of these deities and how by practising certain asanas, mudras, and mantras we can embody the qualities of the deities for which they are named. I was delighted when Megan offered her Gods of Yoga course and I was able to gain a further 30hr Yoga Alliance certification in Advanced Yoga Philosophy. I will soon be offering workshops and classes centred around the practices, stories and lessons we learn from understanding more about these divine beings who ultimately reside within us all.
2020 is really proving a pivotal year for my spiritual growth and studies. I feel like the chaotic energy surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic needs to be channelled towards positivity and light. So I am currently studying towards my 300hr Yoga Alliance accredited yoga teacher certification with My Vinyasa Practice. I am also completing a further 200hr Yoga Alliance accredited yoga instructor certification in Tantric Rajadhiraja Yoga - the ‘Yoga of the King of Kings’ (aka Supreme Consciousness) studying under Ganga Devi of the Himalayan Yoga Institute. Along with refocusing many other aspects of my practice, this training is developing my love of Bhakti Yoga - the yoga of devotion - and I am enjoying learning to use my voice as a tool to uplift through mantra and Kirtan. To deepen my understanding of the power of devotional chanting and Repetition of the Name, I am also currently studying under Krishna Das, the world-renowned western Kirtan artist.
In addition, I am using this time to train as a certified Shamanic Practitioner with the Circle of the Sacred Drum. Having always held a fascination with indigenous culture and the role of the Shaman in maintaining the physical and spiritual health of their communities, I am relishing the chance to learn how to connect more deeply with my spirit guides in order to facilitate this transformative experience for others. Likewise, I am learning more about Crystals, Oracle and Tarot and Astrology in order to help my clients connect with their intuition and find their true direction!