Teachers 2025 List

Rocci is a senior yoga teacher with over 5000 hours of yoga teaching practise, originally qualifying on Ruth White's 500hr Karuna yoga course. Karuna, (meaning compassionate) is a style of yoga with its roots firmly in Inyengar yoga. Iyengar yoga is known for its attention to detail and 'correct' alignment. Finding out that she was pregnant with her first child at the beginning of this training led her onto training in pregnancy and postnatal yoga with Classical Yoga with Jane Mackarness, and then onto Kids Yoga training with Rainbow Kids. Signing up for a Scaravelli inspired yoga retreat with Diane Long and Robin Stamm turned her view of teaching yoga upside down. The simple sentece of 'how can the same exact (Iyengar) cues be helpful to someone who is 6 ft 6" tall and someone who is 4ft 4" '. Since then, Rocci has been working to teach a style of yoga which us useful to everybody who comes to her class, no watter what size, shape or ability. She works with the subtle body, the kosha. 'We feed our annamaya (physical) kosha with movements that will create space in our bodies. Energise our pranayama (life force) kosha with breathing practises. Nurture our manomaha (mental/emotional) kosha by creating space in our somatic (nervous) system. She will share her vijnanmaya (wisdom) kosha and we will end with a relaxation for our anandamaya (bliss kosha).' Rocci now regularly teaches people forn birth to over 80 years old, supporting them to practise the yoga that they need. She encourages people to fo to a level that suits them in that asana at that moment, not what was right for them last week or next week but what is right for them right now. She has called this style of yoga Metta or kindness yoga.

Mary has been practising yoga for many years and having been a regular in Rocci’s classes she was delighted to be part of the first group of teachers trained at The Rocci Tree. Mary’s yoga style is multifaceted, she believes variety & adaptability are very important. Due to her reiki training she is very interested in our energy system & the Chakras; and as an experienced kids yoga teacher she is always keen to use her creativity & bring a musical twist into her yoga for all ages. Her aim is to create classes that have a friendly atmosphere where everyone can be whatever they need to be. Mary hopes that in her classes you will have time to reset yourself, breathe & most importantly… smile!

Natasha is Russian, born in a multicultural family. Even though her Yoga Journey started in 2008 in Moscow, Yoga revealed itself to Natasha many years before in different forms. She has had an active lifestyle since she was a young girl, doing Acrobatics and Dance. Later in life, she tested herself in learning and performing as a “Mannequin Statue - Alive doll” artist. Natasha studied Science and Teaching methodology for 5 years and after that took an extra year of the Psychology course. She is fascinated by the human body and the mind, constantly working on expanding her knowledge about it. Practicing Iyengar and Iyengar based yoga for 6 years helped Natasha to understand alignments of the postures and how to perform them safely. Having experienced the benefits of yoga, Natasha wanted to share it. As a result, in 2016 she completed 200 hours Ashtanga Vinyasa & Rocket Yoga Teacher Training with the introduction of Yin Yoga with The Yoga People in London. Inspired and empowered Natasha has started teaching as soon as she finished her training. In 2019 Natasha deepened her knowledge of Yoga by taking 50 hours "Yin Yoga and Elements" Teacher Training with the same Yoga school in London. Natasha is very passionate about Yoga. For her, it is a way to learn about herself and to connect with inner wisdom, a way to keep body, mind & spirit healthy and tuned. She wants to inspire people to discover and experience the different sides of yoga, to help them to improve their health and wellbeing. Yoga is a philosophy, which Natasha is learning to live by. “Yoga is the Cessation of the Fluctuation of the Mind” Patanjali.

Angela has been a regular at the Rocci Tree for many years, trying out different styles, different teachers, learning new ideas and enjoying its wonderful sense of community.

Her practice has evolved as she has needed different things, from individual yoga, pregnancy classes to whole family yoga. Sharing her enjoyment with her family, her practice continues to grow as she has gained confidence and knowledge in yoga from within herself both on and off the yoga mat.

Training at the Rocci Tree was a natural progression, helping her to find her inner, yoga voice. Angela came to realise the importance of similing through poses and adapting yoga practice for everybody; being kind to yourself is an act of self-care

As Angela says, "Yoga has been with me, by myside throughout many years and many life changes, a constant companion." She is looking forward to the opportunity to pass on her knowledge to others and encourage their journey.

Helen qualified as a massage therapist over 5 years ago and has been fascinated by the mechanics and movement of the human body ever since. As a mother, her life experiences and interests naturally led her to study pregnancy massage then baby massage and most recently baby yoga. She also runs the homebirth support group for Leighton Buzzard and a mobile massage business, ‘Bodysoul Massage’. Helen is passionate about empowering women through pregnancy, birth and parenthood to realize their own capabilities.

Helen was introduced to yoga in her late teens by her stepmother, a dancer, and has practiced it to maintain physical and mental strength ever since. The opportunity to combine this love of yoga with the knowledge she has gained through her massage practice is very exciting and will hopefully allow her to share her knowledge and passions to help new parents in adjusting to their crazy new lives!

Julie has been practising yoga since her early 20’s finding a class by chance in a gym when living in London. The benefits were apparent immediately having a profound effect on releasing her anxiety, wishing she’d had the opportunity to discover this during her teen years, or perhaps even younger. Once Julie’s children had started school, she found herself wanting to teach yoga to all children, to give them these incredible benefits, leading her to invest in her own business ‘Children Inspired By Yoga’ in the local area. Eight years on, Julie teaches yoga to all ages of children, and also loves baby yoga and crawlers/ toddlers explorer yoga. This is a special age where babies are becoming more aware of their sense of self and body awareness. It’s a delight to see them grow and learn, through multi-sensory movement, music and story and especially the feelings of calm for parents/carers and their little explorers.

Ian has been involved in Martial Arts since his 20s and moving to Taiji in the mid-1990s was an understandable transition due to the related history of Martial Arts and Taiji. However, Ian’s overall perspective of Taiji purely for martial purposes soon changed as the wonders of the internal aspects of the art became apparent to him. So it became a lifelong focus, leading him into other aspects of Chinese internal arts such as Qigong. Because of moving around a great deal for work, Ian was fortunate to look at a number of styles of Taiji. He eventually settled back into the system he started with, which was handed down by Master Huang, a student of master Chen Man Ching (these lineage figures are very important in the Taiji world). The form and exercise from the Master Huang system are now Ian’s focus, although his involvement in other styles has helped him to have a greater understanding of what authentic Taiji actually is. Ian still considers himself a student, but also says that every good teacher he has ever been with labels themselves the same. Ian feels that this is because Taiji is infinite in nature, however, as stated in the Chinese classics, “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”.

Gem has been working in the fitness industry for a number of years. She found her passion for helping people while working as a curriculum manager at the Open University. Gem initially trained as a Spin instructor and has now added lots of other disciplines to her expertise including Kettle Bells, Boxfit, Kids Fitness, Barre and of course Pilates (including pregnancy and postnatal). Gem is passionate about health and works with nutrition and diet for wellbeing too. She finds the human body fascinating and is proud to be able to offer lots of options and levels to suit all in her sessions.

Sally-Anne’s classes are light-hearted, inclusive, enabling and calm. They encourage freedom to explore and to try new things, and the ability to choose what feels right for you on the day. Each body is unique, and variations are always available. Breathe, trust and you can find your balance.

Practising yoga at The Rocci Tree opened the door not only to the airy studio, but also to all things yoga, including Rocci’s Teacher Training, and now the chance to share yoga as a teacher. It continues to be a joyful voyage of discovery, a voyage sparked by two chance yoga-related conversations thousands of miles apart.

Guy has been a first aid instructor for nearly two decades during which time he has taught Ofqual-regulated courses to over 3,000 people, many of whom have gone on to save lives. Fundamental to Guy's values as a first aid trainer is treating every single student as an individual. His learners are often surprised when within five minutes of a course starting Guy has memorised everyone’s names – and he doesn’t forget them. Guy listen attentively to everyone’s questions and answer them carefully and he loves to hear students’ anecdotes, which are a great learning experience for Guy too. He will use interactive teaching techniques, not loads of Powerpoint, to keep everyone engaged and make sure they retain as much information as possible. Lastly Guy can guarantee you will pick up on his passion for first aid and you will have a fun day’s training!