Qualifications, Trainings and work experience

Qualifications and certifications:

• Art and Design Foundation Diploma

• BA(Hons) Art with Community Art

• Diploma in Holistic Therapeutic Massage.

• Amerta movement practitioner. Studies with mentor and teacher Suprapto Suryadarmo, founder of Amerta Movement. In 2003 he placed me on his list of teachers.

• Community Dance Teacher training, Firkin Crane, Cork

• Diploma in Yoga teaching.

• Pregnancy and post-natal yoga Diploma, Birthlight UK.

• Body and Earth Training: Andrea Olsen

• Yoga Therapy Diploma (350 hours), Yoga Campus, London.

• Womb Yoga for women's health, Uma Dinsmore-Tuli

• Yoga Nidra teacher training, Uma Dinsmore-Tuli.

• Relax and Renew (level 1) Restorative Yoga Teacher training, Judith Hanson Lasater

• 1997 - 2020 . Studies in Amerta Movement (awareness through movement practice) with Suprapato Suryadarmo. Annual 10 day intensives and retreats in UK, Europe, Ireland, and Indonesia including 6 weeks in Java in 2003. Suprpato didn't 'train' teachers, but rather in accordance with Eastern traditions, placed long-term students on his list of teachers. He placed me on his list in 2003.

• Presently studying an MA in Art Therapy.

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Other studies and immersions:

• Amerta Movement Teachers training Suprapato Suryadarmo in 2020, shortly before he passed away. This was the only time he offered this programme, and it was open only to a small group of long-term practitioners of Amerta.

• Rosslla Baroncini (Scaravelli Yoga) week-long retreat

• Chinnamasta Stiles - week long Hatha Tantra Yoga Intensive

• Mandala Yoga ashram: Tattwa Shuddhi meditation intensive

• Tantra yoga retreat Rishikesh, India (1 month)

• Uma Dinsmore Tuli - women's weekend retreats

• Angela Farmer and Victor Van Hooten - Inner yoga weekend intensives and summer retreat

• Doug Keller - Yoga for the Spine and the Sacrum week intensive

• Tias Little - yoga for the lymph system

• Yoga Therapy for Covid and Long-Covid;

• Leila Stuart: CPD "Teaching breathing to people who cannot breathe"

• Donna Farhi: Developmental movement and Yoga Asana.

• Dan Siegal: developmental trauma and neuroscience seminar

• Gary Krafstow: Yoga for Life weekend intensive

• Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen (Body Mind Centering, author of 'Sensing, feeling, action') - experiential anatomy intensive weekend

• Amy Matthews (co-author of 'Yoga Antomy') - experiential anatomy for the feet and pelvis.

• Judith Hanson Lasater - Yoga and the Organs intensive week

• Swami Pragyamurti: Hatha Tantra Yoga Pranayama workshop and Chakras workshop.

• Tim Jones: Yoga of sound voicework and movement intensives (4 years) based on traditonal Indian sacred sounds

• Sandra Reeves: Move into Life movement practice weekends and closed group (3 years)

• 5 Rhythms dance with various teachers: weekly classes for 10 years, as well as several weekend and week long intensives.

• Peter Blackaby (creator of "Intelligent Yoga"): ongoing classes

• Eco-therapy modules: photography and ecotherapy, somatics and eco-therapy, cycles of the year and eco-art therapy.

• Art in environment weekend. Ian Siddons Heginworth

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Teaching and application

• Personal Amerta Movement practice since 1997 and member of 2 colleague groups, who meet online and in person to continue the practice, development and sharing of Amerta.

• Personal Yoga practice since 1994.

• Yoga Teacher since 2001

• Amerta movement teacher / guide since 2001

• Facilitator Amerta masterclasses in Amsterdam and Germany as part of MAM (annual Amerta practitioner gatherings)

• Yoga Therapist since 2014

• Supervisor and mentor for Yoga Therapy trainees, Yoga Campus Yoga Therapy diploma 2015-2022

• Yoga Mandala Project: Yoga teacher, therapist and trainer specialising in Trauma Informed Yoga and Yoga for refugees. Writing and delivering training program for Yoga tecahers and Humanitarian workers. www.yogmandalaproject.org  2015-2023

• Chair Yoga Teacher training. Course creator and trainer: 2017-present

• West Cork Yoga Festival organising Committee . A non-profit event, that has raised over €12,000 for local charities and environmental action groups.

• Teacher trainer assistant: Uma Dinsmore Tuli, Pregnancy Yoga teacher training.

• Guest lecturer, UCC School of Sports Medicine.

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As well as the hundreds of students and private clients who I have worked with over the years, I have worked with a wide variety of community groups:

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• Refugee classes: Ukranian women, Ireland / Yazidi community Greece / Syrian and Iraqii men and women's groups and one-to-one Yoga Therapy with CRP support project in Jordan. Yoga.

• Arc House (Cancer Support Charity): Yoga

• Co-Action Skibbereen: Yoga

• Co-action Cork: Dance

• Cope Foundation, Cork: Dance and Yoga

• Active retirement groups around Cork County: Yoga

• Yoga in primary schools.

• Staff self care sessions (CIT, ARC and the Cork Support Centre for Eating Disorders.

• LAYA healthcare: Yoga teacher for their health care in business programme, Cork.

• Schull and Skibbereen Community hospitals' residential/respite care units.

• Teenagers with autism: Brothers of Charity, Cork. Yoga

• Private and group classes in pregnancy and post-natal yoga, and couple's birth preparation workshops

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Other Work (Environmental and Arts based practice)

• Artist and crafts-person

• Community artist with Cork Community Art Link, and as an independent practitioner. Specialising in work with adults in residential Mental Health units and day care units for adults with special needs.

• Independant Arts facilitator: long term community art (Drama, Movement and arts) project with residents, St. Raphael's hospital.

• Creator and project manager Cork Mandala of Community Gardens.

• School gardens coordinator in liaison with HSE funded project, Mallow. 2005-08

• School gardens facilitator 2005-2010

• Horticulture tutor, ETB cert in organic horticulture for adults with special needs. Mayfield Arts Centre 2007-14.

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Awards

Cork European capital of Culture 2005: their only funded Environmental project

Slow food awards: Community project.

Cork Environmental Forum Community: environmental project award.

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Deep gratitude to the teachers who have a special place in my heart:

Chetan and Shradda Murti of the Galway Yoga school

Yoga Dhara and Yoga Jyoti of Satyananda Yoga in Cork

Charlie Stevens and Marianne Gabrielle of Contemporary Yoga

Uma Dinsmore Tuli

all the teachers at the Yoga Therapy Diploma in Yoga Campus

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and especially to my dear long-term mentor and teacher Suprapto Suryadarmo (RIP) and my colleagues in the Amerta Movement circulation.

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A deep bow to all those who have attended my classes, trainings, workshops and retreats over the years, for giving me the opportunity to share my passion, and to be immersed in the practice together.

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