My Yoga Journey
A lifelong, passionate trek through the meadows, foothills and toward as yet unscaled peaks.

My Yoga journey began in earnest in the 1980’s although as an ardent fan of the Beatles, I had “dabbled” in the philosophy and practice in my teens - my party piece was sitting on a bar-stool in the lotus pose!

Early adult life was a blur of bad habits, disastrous relationships and making many mistakes parenting my beautiful daughter. At “rock bottom” a doctor who was treating me for depression, arthritis, ISB and a back problem, suggested I found a Yoga class. It was like someone switched a light on!

I tried a couple of local teachers, then met the wonderful Mary Davis who was to be my main inspiration in those early years of my practice. Mary encouraged me to become a Yoga teacher and supported me as a cherished friend as I made some very difficult changes in my domestic situation.

The next big milestone for me was meeting the late Ivor James, and I became an avid student of “The Wisdom Teachings”, his series of lectures on Spiritual philosophy. I helped Mary organise workshops and seminars in Northampton and was captivated by Ivor’s insight and humility. I confess to having struggled with the ancient Yoga texts as many translations are heavy going, but Ivor brought the essence of the message to life for me. It wasn’t that I was hearing something new - more like remembering something I had always known! I spent many blissfully happy hours in the company of this wise and whimsical old gentleman.

Ivor was an immensely gifted healer and, as my own healing journey (an on-going process) continued, I felt driven to share with others what I was learning. My “awakening” made me hungry for ever more knowledge of the many approaches and techniques, but the underlying principal has always been about taking personal responsibility for our own health and life!

Having realised how powerful “mind” is, I trained as a hypnotherapist but soon tired of the practice as it dawned on me that clients were mostly using sessions as another means of abdicating responsibility. Their desires were superficial, often not really wanting to lose weight or stop smoking - just needing to be able to say “Oh I’ve tried everything and nothing works for me!”

It was getting pregnant in my 40’s which catapulted me back to my Yoga roots (thank you guys!) and after George was born I began teaching again, initially for L.E.A. and in local Health Clubs and gyms. I desperately wanted to expand my technical understanding of the science of Hatha Yoga and safe practice, so studied for the B.W.Y. diploma with the outstanding tutor, Tabitha Evans in Bedford.

To ensure that I hadn’t developed too physical a bias in my practice and teaching, I continued my study of the philosophy with Krishna Thakrar at the Hindu Community Centre in Wellingborough and gained a “B” grade G.C.S.E. in Hinduism (Religious Studies) in 2005.

Annette’s School of Yoga was born in the summer of 2002.”

I grew grew up in Duston and now live in St James with my partner Tony and our 12 year old son George.

“George in my chief teacher these days“ she says. “Staying centred whilst parenting a “spirited” youngster in modern society is the ultimate challenge!”

My Yoga Journey A lifelong, passionate trek through the meadows, foothills and toward as yet unscaled peaks.

My Yoga Journey
A lifelong, passionate trek through the meadows, foothills and toward as yet unscaled peaks.