My name is Dani and my journey towards this point has been a long one…and here’s a snippit of my journey. I, like so many out there, originally thought yoga was about being flexible and then after many yoga classes for rehab or recovery or trying to revolt again my pain in my back ….I realized that Yoga is so much more. Yoga is about showing up on your mat and dropping any expectations of where the practice may lead instead just allow ease in and start to move your body and breathe…..and then breathe and move some more and then maybe start trying to pause the swirling thoughts for a second and then maybe a minute and then two minutes and then realise you are meditating. Then I started to realise that yoga is a lifestyle. It is a practice of non judgement, meeting yourself where you are at everyday with compassion, patience, acceptance.
I battled 4 years of constant nerve pain in my upper back from 2010 to 2014. The pain was so bad I couldn’t lay down flat (yes being in bed was a nightmare….i loved a lot of pillows I basically was sitting while I slept), I found breathing hard at times and massive restrictions in my life. Yoga got me to a point where I could lay down on the floor for a short Savasana for a few moments. Slowly I built up strength in my upper back to keep my back from constant and exhausting nerve pain….
In 2015, I took my first Hatha Teacher training with YTTC. I decided I wanted to learn more as yoga had allowed me to cultivate some life long tools to help me during those sleepless nights of pain to relax, yoga helped my physical body get some relief from the pain so I was getting a little quality of life back, as well as being able to take a deep breath again for the first time in years without shooting pain. Yoga aided me face stresses, anxieties and general demands of everyday living and work. At the time I was the Volunteer Director at Barretstown and involved with SeriousFun Network. Barretstown is part of the Serious Fun Children's Network - a global network of camps who deliver therapeutic programs for children living with serious illness. Barretstown delivers therapeutic recreation activities to children with serious illness, mainly childhood cancers and their families to help rebuild their lives after serious illness of bereavement. I also had been consulting for camps around Asia and Africa with SeriousFun’s Global Partnership Program to help bring life-changing experience of camp to children living with HIV and other serious illnesses in resource-limited countries around the world – totally free of charge. SeriousFun reaches beyond borders and limitations of illness to help foster independence, resilience and personal growth and see beyond their medical condition.
Originally when I did my teacher training it was just for me to learn more and I never thought I would ever teach students but quickly I learned that I can help other people wake up from the disconnect of our lifestyles. I realized there is power in the combination of mental and physical practice and I could teach that to others to empower them and give them tools to navigate the intensity of todays world and not only survive but thrive in it.
Having worked with children for years whose lives were threatened by serious illness I decided to train as a Childrens Yoga Teacher with Rainbow Kids from Australia. I believe when children learn techniques for self-health, relaxation, and inner fulfillment, they can navigate life’s challenges with a little more ease. Yoga at an early age encourages self-esteem and body awareness with a physical activity that is noncompetitive. Fostering cooperation and compassion—instead of opposition—is a great gift to give any child whilst also incorporating a huge sense of fun in movement as well as relaxation. I weaved this through many different scenarios in working with children with serious illness, particularly with teenagers in Alderhay Children’s Hospital in Liverpool where I was heavily involved in creating and designing a Hospital Outreach Programme which then came to Ireland and the programme is now successfully running in hospitals and schools in Ireland.
After deciding to leave my Director position in Barretsown in 2016 I travelled to India alone to complete 200 hours of Ashtanga teacher training with Himalaya Yoga Valley, Goa under the guidance of Lalit Kumar who has studied with all the fathers of yoga himself, such as Sri BKS Iyengar and Sri K Pattabhi Jois, Sri Sharath Jois and Sri BNS Iyengar and still with Sharath Jois. This was such a humbling and profound learning. I travelled around India trying various yoga classes and meeting various teachers to broaden my insights and learning from the land of where the ancient tradition of yoga was born. In India, this is where Yoga truly became a spiritual practice and it also helped improve my awareness, focus, strength, endurance and flexibility.
I completed my Mother and Baby Teacher Training with YTI and my Pregnancy Teacher Training with Jan Duffy at Barefoot Yoga Studio in 2017. Both intertwined so nicely on the same year. Being able hold space with expectant mothers and to allow them the opportunity to learn how to use their breath for labor and preparation for bringing a baby into the world. Then meeting their babies in Mother and Baby yoga is special. Baby Yoga class is a wonderful opportunity for Mums to spend quality time with their baby, enjoying their development and watching their unique personalities unfold. Mothers are often keen to get back to themselves after having a baby and regain pelvic tone. Postnatal yoga is the perfect solution for mothers to get to their weekly yoga class, where their baby is apart of it too.
2018 allowed me to accomplish my Sports Yoga certificate and my Post Grad in Yoga Therapy with YTI. Sports Yoga training allows me to design cross training practices for different training practices and sports. Sports yoga is a mixture of mental focus, strength, flexibility and mobility training. Breathing techniques to enhance stamina and endurance for mental focus, relaxation which are all valuable tools to help strengthen, stretch and restore the body. Classes are an anatomy informed approach to teaching yoga so students can understand common injuries and prevent reoccurring injuries. Injury prevention enhance performance and building muscle resilience for athletes.
Becoming a Yoga Therapist allows me to work one to one with individuals who have a varied health conditions especially people who suffer from chronic pain or illness. Yoga therapy helps to find some comfort on a one to one basis to focus solely on the individual needs. The following conditions and illnesses that I can work with on a one to one basis or in a therapy class are the following: Musculoskeletal conditions, Arthritis, Strains, Sprains, Carpal Tunnell Syndrome, Plantar Fasciitis, Sciatica, Piriformis Syndrome, Fibromyalgia Osteoporosis, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Stroke, Heart Disease, Back pain conditions, Hip Replacements, Anxiety, Stress and some Respiratory and Cardiovascular conditions.
Before I decided to become fully self-employed, I became a part of the Super Generation Team where I worked directly with students in exam years working on accelerated learning, wellbeing and study skills.
In 2019 I became a Baby Massage Therapist with Baby Massage Ireland which is such a complement to my prenatal and postnatal yoga. It is a delight to teach mothers how to massage their baby with nurturing touch and teach babies they are loved, valued and respected.
Having cultivated a keen interest in Ayurvedic Medicine in India I trained in my level 1 Ayurvedic Yoga Massage with Adam Divine in @019 and this brought me back to Himalaya Yoga Valley in Cork and I hope to return for do level 2 in the future.
My intention as I welcome everybody into my classes and space is of demystifying yoga and helping people understand what gives them the ‘feel good factor’ so that they can bring the life skills which we learn on the mat, off the mat and into our everyday lives to help achieve a healthy and happy and vibrant life full of vitality. I constantly try to guide my students through an exploration of their body, breath and mind connection, explaining that every day, every practice that maybe different. This allows my students to feel empowered and more harmony in their body and mind. I try to develop flexibility and strength whilst weaving some yoga history/ philosophy and breathwork throughout our practices together allowing them to understand that Yoga is a lifestyle commitment and it takes practice. I mainly teach Hatha Yoga weaving Mindfulness throughout; this allows students to stay grounded while moving through their asana practice achieving an ultimate escape from your day. The word “hatha” can be translated two ways: as “willful” or “forceful,” or the yoga of activity, and as “sun” (ha) and “moon” (tha), the yoga of balance.
I am passionate about showing students accessible means of developing these skills in a yoga context I believe in a down-to-earth style of teaching. My classes seamlessly interweave flowing sequences, alignment cues, meditation, intention and this allows us to create a space to digest life and rediscover new ways of connecting in your body, mind & soul and express your own potential. My classes are delicately designed to make you laugh, sweat and continuously re-discover your own potential. Spending time on your mat in my class becomes a place where you can slow down and re-connect to what’s truly important to you and I hope to inspire your heart to live life with courage, openness and integrity. I give loving and playful nudges of encouragement help you find and get to know your own inner voice of wisdom and grow clarity in how you truly want to live your life. By stepping on your mat in or outside of my classes I hope that you see your practice as a place beyond judgement, comparison and competition where you get to work in your own time on whatever needs attention in your life.
Please come and join in a practice with me and allow yourself to have some time on your mat. The Yoga Mat always whispers....”If you fall, I will catch you”
Dani
Booking is essential for every class.
More information please feel free to contact Dani
0872802107 in whatts app OR daniellegriffinyoga@gmail.com
