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The story behind the Den
Meet Vivien
Almost seventy, self-described rebel, and firm believer that yoga should be real - not some mystical performance.
How I got here(Not the spiritual awakening you'd expect)
I didn't set out to become a yoga teacher. I'd always enjoyed exercise, but when life hit me with a serious health issue and devastating family trauma, I needed something that actually worked - not just something that sounded nice in theory.
Yoga turned out to be what got me through. It gave me the strength to stay present and calm when everything was falling apart around me, and eventually the courage to completely change my life.
So I trained to be a Hatha Yoga teacher, figuring if it helped me survive the storm, maybe I could pass that on to other people going through their own challenges.
"I don't stand above my students dispensing wisdom - I practise alongside you, learning as much as I teach."
Philosophy
My approach
I'm almost seventy and a self-described rebel. I've never taken well to dogma or hierarchy, and I don't teach that way either. I don't stand above my students dispensing wisdom - I practise alongside you, learning as much as I teach.
I encourage everyone to approach each session as if it's their first time, with a beginner's mind. Instead of trying to achieve the "perfect" pose, notice what's actually there - in your breath, your body, your emotions, your energy. This is how you get to understand yourself on a deeper level, without the ego-driven nonsense that can turn yoga into just another thing you're not good enough at.
Sometimes I'll share a poem - I love Rumi's "The Guest House" about welcoming whatever shows up in your emotional life. I might reference yoga philosophy or Buddhism. But I always tell my students to make up their own minds about what resonates - I question everything, and you should too.
I want to help you get in touch with what's beneath the surface. To know it's okay not to feel happy every day you wake up - that's not how life works. Being human is difficult, and pretending otherwise doesn't help anyone.
Background
My training
I don't follow one school of yoga - I prefer weaving together everything I've learned into something that actually serves my students' needs.
I've been lucky to study with many great yoga teachers in the East and West.
My foundation training was Hatha Yoga with Saraswati Neville at The Yoga Studio in Sutton, and meditation training with Swami Saradananda of the Sivananda organisation. I learned the power of deep relaxation through Restorative Yoga with Judith Hanson Lasater, a senior student of B.K.S. Iyengar.
I also completed Sensory Awareness Training with Tias Little. It informs the slower, adapted movement I offer when someone feels tight or uncomfortable.
The training that changed my teaching most dramatically was my first "Working with the Shadow" retreat with Boonath Sond, a Sidda Tantric Yogi and Shaman. Six retreats later, we're like family. He taught me that separation is caused by hardness, and only love can dissolve the boundaries between us. I always teach from this place.
In 2017 I travelled to Nepal on pilgrimage through the Kathmandu Valley, where I met Maharaji Ishanath, a renunciate yogi living in the cremation grounds at Pashupatinath. This humble soul has literally nothing and gives away anything he receives. It reinforced my belief that yoga is a collective experience - we're in this together, sharing generously without holding back.
The space
The Yoga Den studio
The Yoga Den is at the end of my garden in Wallington. My father laid the foundations in his eighties. The studio is insulated, heated and has space for 10 people. Mats, blocks, bolsters, cushions and blankets are provided.
Your first class is waiting
No experience needed. I'll meet you where you're at.