ABOUT ME- MARTINE CARROLL
I first practised yoga as a 19 year old student and my very first lesson changed my day. For an hour I could forget everything outside the room and just focus on my breath, on the asanas (yoga poses) that I was being taught and on finding stillness. Stillness in my mind, stillness in my body during savasana (the relaxation part at the end of the practice, ‘the best bit’ as my students now think!) and stillness in that small part of my day, which often transcends the class and brings a calmness into so many areas of my life.
This is why I do yoga, this is why I continued to practice year in, year out, and why I then decided to train as a teacher, to bring the benefits of yoga to my students and to pay homage to my very first teacher, who changed my day.
I began my teaching journey in 2019 with a yoga foundation course, and followed this with a 300-hour BWYQ Level 4 certificate in Yoga Teaching which I completed in June 2025. The course threw me into teaching almost straight away, so I gained almost 2 years of experience teaching as a student teacher before I qualified. It also gave me a real love of passing on a tradition that has served me so well in my life, that has helped me cope with so many life events. I now teach with the sole intention of giving people tools to find balance, equanimity and focus in their lives, along with essential strength and flexibility.
ABOUT YOGA
Though yoga is an ancient practise it has developed over centuries and now can be many different things to many different people. Some do yoga just for the exercise, some to become more flexible or to lower their stress levels. Some know exactly what type of yoga they want to do, some simply decide they want to try yoga!
My yoga classes are of a vinyasa flow style, where the breath is fundamental to the movement of the body. We always begin with a breathing practice, then flow through mostly traditional yoga poses, and end with savasana, the relaxation of the body and mind, which is essential to absorbing the practice. The classes are non-competitive and inclusive, there is no pressure or judgement of any kind. You don’t need to be strong or flexible to come along, we start from where you are right now, every week, taking things a step at a time, tuning in to what your body needs, not worrying about what anyone else is doing. You’ll find props are regularly used and modifications are always offered.
You may decide to come to my lessons for any number of reasons, but hopefully you’ll leave not just feeling like you’ve had an hour of exercise or relaxation, but rather feel like you’ve experienced some kind of shift, whether that’s in mental energy, physical energy or emotional state. And maybe with a new perspective, or a new tool to work with some area of your life that needs attention. Fundamentally, yoga is the union of the breath, body and mind, and achieving that union, for however short a time, on a regular basis, can literally be life changing.