Gillian Cawte
A member of the British Wheel of Yoga and Senior Teacher with Yoga Alliance UK, Gillian has practiced yoga since 1999. She undertook her teacher training at The Life Centre in London from 2005 to 2007.
Over the past twenty years, Gillian has studied with a wide variety of international teachers, including Mukunda Stiles, Aadil Palkhivala, Richard Freeman, Max Strom, Donna Fahri and Lama Tsultrim Allione. Her current teachers are Sarah and Ty Powers, and on who’s programmes she gained their Yin Yoga Level 5 Diploma Teacher Training Certification. During 2013 to 2014 she completed Sarah Powers 200 hour Yin Insight Teacher Training and has since completed a 500-hour Insight Training Programme. In May 2018 Gillian completed a six-month Level III Insight Yoga Training studying the Buddha Dharma. Gillian has also trained with Bernie Clark in Vancouver in 2014.
Gillian teaches classes in her studio in Belton, a village near Doncaster in South Yorkshire. Her teaching style incorporates Hatha Yoga with flows and yin. She encourages her students to feel their poses rather than the focusing on the aesthetics of the pose. Gillian emphasizes how each individual student can respect and tune in to their own unique body. She explains how poses are performed and likes her students to be comfortably challenged. Turning your mind inwards during yoga can help you identify any areas of the body that feel tight. Gillian emphasizes the fact that all bodies are unique and students should respect their own limitations, breathing into these areas to help release tension. She encourages her students to take yoga off their mats and into their daily lives, focusing on Buddhist principles.
Additionally, Gillian is a qualified masseuse having trained in Swedish, injury prevention and sports massage. In 2013 she trained with her acupuncturist and completed training in Holistic Therapies covering, energy healing, Shiatsu acupressure, aromatherapy, reflexology, therapeutic massage, crystal healing and healing herbs. Gillian is fascinated by the complex, diversity of the human body and has studied Human Anatomy at Edinburgh University. She is currently studying a BSc (Honours) Open Degree at the Open University. Gillian has run nine successful yoga retreats in various European centres. Currently she is learning about her authentic nature through self-practice and the teachings of the Buddha and the Five Dakinis. She is committed to living with a whole-hearted curiosity to learning and awareness of the nature of suffering.