Allie Hill - Principle and course tutor
Allie is the founder of Yogahaven and has been teaching yoga for 10 years. Initially certified in Bikram Yoga by Bikram Choudhury in Los Angeles, she taught in yoga studios around the world including Bikram Yoga, Vancouver and Pure Yoga, Hong Kong before returning to the UK to open her own studio, Yogahaven in Brighton in 2003.
In 2006 she embarked on the Ante-natal teacher training and loves teaching yoga to pregnant women! In 2007 completed the Foundation course in Yoga Therapy with the Bio-medical Trust in London, where Allie has gained greater knowledge and the importance of yoga for managing health problems. She has completed workshops with Tony Sanchez (founder of the US Yoga association) in San Francisco, a three day course with Anna Forest and is greatly inspired by David Life and Sharon Gannon of Jivamukti yoga.
After five years of success in Brighton, Yogahaven Birmingham was born. As well as running the studios, Allie is one of the head teachers in Europe’s only hot yoga teacher training course.
Allie has taught to a broad market of clients, including Zoe Ball, Sally Gunnell and is currently the yoga teacher for the premier football team Aston Villa.
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Chris Swain - Part time course tutor
Chris graduated as a prize winning Osteopath in 2000 with a degree in Osteopathy and since then has been working as an Osteopath in London and Brighton . He has had research published and written articles for national papers on health and posture. During his training he attended dissection at Guys hospital and was privileged to be taught anatomy by Dr Hutchinson, a surgeon from Guys hospital who made preparations for the classic book, Grays Anatomy. Chris regularly teaches anatomy and physiology to yoga practitioners, teachers and body workers throughout the UK . His aim is bring the subject of anatomy alive through the use of models, colourful visual images, anecdotes taken from his working experience and interactive exercises.
Chris has been practicing yoga for over 23 years and teaching since 1986. He has further studied Shingon Buddhism which emphasises both active and passive systems of meditation (sitting and dynamic movement) with intensive studies of yoga philosophy, notably the Yogacara philosophy of Asanga and Vasubandhu. He received initiation into this vajrayana tradition in 1993 after living as a full time student with his teacher in a temple.
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Toni Roberts - Principle Assistant & Full time course tutorToni has been teaching yoga since 2005. She has practiced Iyengar, Astanga, Dynamic, and Hot yoga for many years on and off, but it was her meeting with Allie that turned an intermittant practice into a daily practice and a huge and positive shift in her life.
Allies wonderful teaching inspired Toni to become a yoga teacher and in 2005 she began her training with Jimmy Barkan under the Barkan Method.
Toni successfully completed her training in 2005 and in 2006 went back to Jimmy and trained to teach level II and III Hot Vinyasa Flow. Toni teaches Hot Vinyasa Flow to music at Yogahaven Brighton and teaches other styles of yoga accross the South East
of England.
Toni recently completed the Children's Yoga Teacher Training at the Special Yoga centre with Jo Manuel and continues her studies in Yoga therapy, Antenatal Yoga and Yoga Philosophy.
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Sharon Smillie - Full time course tutor
Sharon has been practising Yoga for over 10 years. Starting off with Iyengar, moving into Ashtanga, followed by Bikram Yoga. She has completed a teacher training course in "yoga for athletes", known as Pulse yoga in Colorado and is the first to bring this to the UK. Graduating from the first Yogahaven teacher training with distinction, Sharon is now a full time course tutor on the course in Morocco.
