I was born in Venezuela and came to England twenty six years ago. My first teacher was my grandmother who taught me to salute the Sun every morning and before sunset every afternoon. My grandmother did not know what we were doing was "Yoga", but nevertheless, her teachings have always stayed with me.
Formal Education
Media Studies at the Central University of Venezuela with specialisation in TV, Radio and Film.
National Theatre of Caracas Venezuela. I studied for three years in their “Youth Theatre scheme” and became a permanent actor for the National Theatre Company until I came to England in 1994.
Batchelor degree in Fine Arts at Central St. Martins, London.
Yoga has done for me
The first time I heard the word "yoga" was in 1995. I was an actress and was working with the National Theatre Company of Caracas, Venezuela for a few years when, in 1994, I fell in love with a unique and eccentric British man who happened to be visiting my country. I came to London a few months later and enrolled in a year intensive course of "Mime and Physical Theatre". At this school there was a performer who used to do head stands everyday and when I asked her what was she doing, she said "Yoga".
My first class and subsequent classes were in an unknown but beautiful centre called Innergy. This place was a jewel and a secret to many Londoners. Faustomaria Dorelli was the founder and he built a community of regular students many of which became yoga teachers. And thus, the magic of yoga spread!
My training: I originally trained at the Sivananda Ashram in Canada over twelve years ago. By then I had been doing yoga for thirteen years and I was more than ready to become a teacher. As soon as I came back from training, I remember going to Fausto's class. He had a knee injury and was going to teach from a chair. We were all in Savasana at the beginning of the class and he came to me and said: "You teach this class!". The good thing was that he did not even give me the opportunity to get nervous. It was just like been thrown at the deep end of a pool! And since then, ten years on, I have been teaching and continue to study with great internationally well known teachers.
The Magic of Tantra enchanted me when I first studied with Yogarupa, Rod Stryker in 2010. The word Tantra has different meanings, one of them is: "To be touched". And that I was! Since then I joined the Para yoga Master training course which is one of the most advanced yoga teacher trainings in the world. I have continued to study with him for many years. Although I still study with a range of international teachers, him and his teacher Padit Tingunai are my primary teachers. Other teachers I have learnt from include Tias Little, Judith Lasater, Michael Stone, Max Strom and Doug Keller amongst others. I am constantly in training but also trusting that the teachings have now been absorbed and are a part of my DNA.
My style of teaching: My classes are a combination of Intelligent Sequence (Vinyasa Krama) with more steady poses. Pranayama is essential in my classes because the breath has a deeper Physiological, Psychological and Energetic effect than Asana practice. Normally a specific theme is weaved into each class and I use Mantras, Mudras, Chanting and Kriya (active meditation) practices. The classes can be dynamic or calmer depending of what I feel are the needs of my students on a particular day. Time of day, Moon cycle, Season, Climate...these are all factors taken into consideration when I teach a class.
