My Story

I started my yoga journey at the age of 10 back in 1974!

I found a book about yoga in the local health food shop, and that was the beginning.

After travelling around Europe for a few years, I decided to train as a Massage Therapist.

In 1994, I qualified in Holistic Massage Therapy, as well as Anatomy and Physiology, and returned to Portugal, where I became the resident massage therapist at the Algarve's beautiful Yoga Centre, 'Quinta da Calma'. It was there in 1999 that I trained to be a yoga teacher and was given my yoga name, 'Mahi', by Sri Swami Satchidananda.

For many years, I continued to practise massage and yoga therapies at 'Quinta da Calma', where I was the personal therapist to many local dignitaries, including a Princess and media celebrities.

After returning to England to have my children, in 2000, I furthered my training, developing my skills as a therapist and yoga teacher.

In 2010, a serious accident left me disabled and confined to a wheelchair for 9 months.

Fortunately for me, it was a temporary situation, and during my long, slow recovery, I developed my own gentle yoga routines that I could do from my bed, in my wheelchair and in any other setting I felt comfortable in.

I can truly say 'I have walked in those Moccasins' and have had first-hand experience with some of the difficulties that many disabled people encounter on a daily basis.

I also put on quite a lot of weight during that time after the accident. When I had recovered enough to get back to teaching, and being still overweight, this prompted me to create my 'Plus Size Yoga' programme.

The accident was the gift that set me on the path to specialising in Gentle Yoga for people with limitations, disabilities, mental health issues and special needs, including those with sensory impairment (deafness and blindness).

From 2012, I concentrated mainly on teaching disabled students and then furthered my training at the famous ‘The Special Yoga Centre’ in London, where ‘Special yoga for the Special Child', is an adaptive yoga programme designed to enhance the natural development of children with special needs.

In 2020, my mum's health deteriorated rapidly, and I became her primary carer. Whilst nursing her at home, I decided to use the time she was sleeping to study online and gain my Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) qualification.

In October 2022, I had the opportunity to attend a Mental Health First Aider course, which I felt was an invaluable addition to my skill set generally, especially as people's mental health has been greatly impacted by COVID and the lockdowns.

Many years on, my detailed knowledge of anatomy and physiology has been invaluable, allowing me to focus on safe and achievable postures in my yoga classes.

I furthered my Yoga Teacher Training with 'Special Yoga' (.org) in 2016, the only accredited SEN Yoga Teacher Training organisation in the UK, and have become, one of the very few yoga teachers in the South West of England specifically qualified to teach yoga to babies, children and adults with special needs and learning difficulties.

Throughout the week, I currently provide yoga as an intervention therapy to schools for SEND in Somerset, working with both Somerset County Council and Devon County Council, specifically with adopted children.

I teach both group classes for more able-bodied children and one-on-one sessions for those with more complex needs.