My journey with Yoga and Ayurveda began in 1988, when i was 22 I found myself at a mother and baby Yoga class
with my daughter, then only a few months old , stretching into yoga postures and feeling great, I loved it! So, I instantly
bought my first book on yoga and began what was to be a lifetime's practise.
Over the years my practice has become my sanctuary, somewhere I could retreat to a place of stillness and calm when
life was challenging and difficult.
As a child i suffered significant chronic health issues with recurrent episodes. I had poor immunity, anxiety , migraines , asthma, frequent chest infections and bronchitis . In my early teens my health deteriorated , I had panic attacks, digestive problems, stress and struggled with chronic fatigue , depression and anxiety . Over the years i've found a regular practice of yoga , dietary changes and the use of appropriate herbs has been very helpful .
Driven to seek well being and health for myself, I have explored and researched nutrition and studied herbs.
Experimenting and making potions and lotions, everything homemade and non proscessed. I loved cooking up alchemy in my kitchen. Plants and herbs harvested from the hedgerows and hanging up drying everywhere.
To cope with stress, I'd walk for miles with my beloved deerhound, combined with my daily practice
on my yoga mat .
I could practice strong, stress busting, energy relasing warriors when frustrated or upset pranayama and
breath work to bring balance and ease away anxiety and sometimes more often than not, I'd lie down on my mat in savasana for extended periods of restorative yoga to help me get through those difficult spells.
So yes, my practice, was and still is my personal sanctuary that I can retreat to, find that stillness within myself away
from everything that is going on in the world and just be, coming home to myself, the union that is yoga.
Throughout everything I've been through in my life, there's always been that space for me on my mat, somewhere safe where I could just let go a little and be me.
Following a careful and nutritious diet and Ayurvedic lifetsyle has also played a huge part in attaining
good health and well being.
We all face life's challenges but I have found my regular practice of yoga has impacted on my health in a positive way, helping me to stay focused , bringing balance into my life.
I've explored other styles of Yoga practices such as Kundalini, Satyananda Yoga and enquiring deeper into
Yoga Therapy with the teachings of T.K.Desikachar and Mukunda Stiles. Inspired by Yoga as a medicine for the body,
mind and spirit, I began looking deeper for different approaches to maintaining and exploring health,
seeking to heal not just the physical, but all the energetic koshas, the five layers of being in yoga.
My yoga studies over the years have included other yoga practices and bodywork such as Vanda Scaravelli’s innovative approach through proper alignment of the spine. Through this powerful practice, I have experienced some of the most profund
healing experiences from Scaravelli teachers such as Diane Long and the wonderful Margaret Hardman who teaches
Vanda's style of " Awakening the Spine" from a passionate and devoted heart as well as being delightfully fun to work
with! I have also studied the kinesthetic observations and lessons of Moshe Feldenkrais;
a highly respected method of the emerging field of somatic education with the focus on learning through
developing awareness through movement.
These deeper inquiries gave me a hunger to know more about the anatomical and physiological pathways
of the body and led me to train as a Physical Therapist and inquire into the mystery of the spinal fluid through the
techniques of Cranial Sacral Therapy.
It was in 2006, while browsing through a second hand book shop, that I really found Ayurveda when I came
across Deepak Chopra's book " Perfect Health". Although i had come across snippets about Ayurveda in other books
I found this to be a clearer and more consise reference to Ayurveda from a health and scientific vew point.
My epiphany came when i realised that I had in fact been healing myself with Ayurveda and living the Ayurvedic
lifestyle for my 'type' through trial and error, with great results and without realising, I was living Ayurveda !
I had already read Deepak's book "Quantum Healing" and both books resonated with me so much I undertook to study
Ayurveda and began an ongoing journey of wisdom, science and learning which eventually led me to London for my training and broadened my world to a whole new level of possibilities for health and healing, involving all areas of our lives including emotional, psycological and physical well being and has become my way of life.
Since my early 20’s I’ve spent many years studying the beneficial properties of herbs and nutrition. Motivated by my
own ill health and a determined quest for well being over the last 25 years or so. I own a library of healing literature
which I continue to add and dip into on a frequent basis, updating my knowledge as I continue to research and study
therapeutic ways to heal not just the physical body but emotionally and mentally also; giving me a fairly
good foundational knowledge of herbs, supplements and nutrition.
This has further been enhanced by my studies of Ayurveda, the use of Indian and western herbs and individualised
specific nutritional diet and herbal plans for clients.
But also my life experiences and ill health have been my greatest teachers, where I have travelled the deepest
journey's of healing. And I'm still learning...
Over the years I have treated and worked with senior and elderly students, at children's camps and karma yoga through voluntary teaching , including teaching teenage boys in rehabilitation centres for drug abuse and
violent crimes. I've taught and guided individuals with addiction issues, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis,
adults with limited mobility, pregnant women and young people with Austistic Spectrum Disorder and
Aspergers Symdrome.
Those who know me well will know I can spend hours passionately extolling the life changing and healing benefits of
Yoga and Ayurveda. Really I could easily spend the rest of my life being an eternal student of the body but the sacred
healing power of touch and putting my acquired knowledge into practice drives me on to resolve chronic issues and
bring healing and release for clients.
I'm often asked, what kind of yoga do you teach ? Well. what is yoga? Yoga is awareness, being mindful, having the right intention.. yoga is laughter, yoga is love...yoga is within everyone, just waiting to be tapped into when you take the time
to pause in your life, tune in and just be, union with the self.
Listening to your heart beating.
Listening to your breath.
Watching your thoughts, your emotions.
Yoga is being yourself in non judgement, opening your heart centre in kindness and compassion,
not just others but to yourself also.
Yoga has revitislised, nurtured and given me the support that was absent for much of my life and Ayurveda
has been the golden thread that holds it alltogether.
Yoga and Ayurveda are way of life, a way of being in your daily activities; the longer you stay with it and the more
heart you put into the journey, the further it will take you....
Claire Rosewood
Ayurvedic Lifestyle and Nutritional Practitioner AP Dip.
Ayurvedic Therapist AP Dip.
Yoga Instructor and Therapist CY Dip. YFI RCY
Physical Therapist IIPT. Phys
Dravyaguna - Ayurvedic Herbal Pharmacology
Initiated and certified as Kahuna ARCH Healing Practitioner
Reiki :
Tera Mai Sechem Attunement 1
Tera Mai Sechem Practioner
Fully accredited with Complementary Medicine Association
( CMA ) and The Federation of Holistic Therapists ( FHT )
Attends Ayurveda Seminars with Dr Vasant Lad - Ayurvedic Physician, Professor and director of The Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Initially an Iyengar student with many years of personal practice since 1988, I qualified as a Yoga Instructor in 2003, completing a two year study program of Yoga Asana, Philosophy and Pranayama with Contemporary Yoga Ireland.
"Live quietly in the moment and see the beauty before you. The future will take care of itself. "
Yogananda
