How I work
How I work
I work with therapeutic trauma-informed yoga, which includes meditation, breath work and sometimes other practices, such as creative writing.
My work is sensitive to bereavement, cultural differences, gender based violence, isolation, loneliness, life post-disaster, trauma and the hard and challenging experiences those I work with have been through (and may be still going through).
After an initial free 50 minute meeting, which gives us the opportunity to meet each other and for you to ask me any questions you have, you can then decide if you would like to try out working together. We would then agree an initial plan and take it from there.
Who I work with
I work with people who are refugees and seeking-asylum in the UK. This group includes newly arrived people, those seeking refuge (asylum-seekers) due to war, torture, cruelty, persecution or natural disaster, victims and survivors of modern day slavery and human trafficking and undocumented migrants.
In the post-disaster context in my own part of the world, I have worked with bereaved and survivors from the Grenfell Tower fire since 2017.
I also work with select individuals and groups who do not fall into this categories above, in-person and online.
Many I work with are bereaved and/or uncertain about the whereabouts of their loved ones. Many have had serious health conditions and most live below the poverty line with great uncertainty about the future and constraints on their ability to take part in life due to being stuck in the asylum system.
A note on yoga with refugee and Refugee women are more likely than any other group in the world to have experienced gender based violence and I have worked with adults, young people, pregnant women and children and also men and boys.
How long we would work together for
This will be agreed after your initial free consultation and will depend on your situation, preference and what is appropriate.
For individuals, this can range from a one-off session if you have a specific issue you want to learn how to manage to monthly or bi-monthly sessions to support your practice and health.
Group sessions might begin as a four week trial and then move to weekly sessions of therapeutic yoga for a fixed term with monitoring and reporting built-in.
Efficacy and impact
Since 2009, I have monitored, evaluated and reported on the impact of therapeutic yoga programmes I have designed and run. Three include independent evaluation. If you would like to see these impact reports at any time, please don’t hesitate to let me know.
Working with interpreters
I am experienced at working safely with interpreters and in situations where resources are scarce and where English language speaking is limited.
NHS, Local Authorities and Social Prescribing
My work in these areas include:
Since 2022, I have worked at The SPACE community centre near Grenfell Tower, which was set-up to support the local community. We take referrals from the NHS Grenfell Health & Wellbeing Service and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea Royal Dedicated Service Team.
Between 2018 and 2020, when I was chief executive of the charity OURMALA, the NHS approached me to ask if I could adapt our therapeutic yoga programme for refugees and asylum-seekers for survivors, bereaved and others in the Grenfell community. You can read about that project here.
In 2018, I ran an EU-funded yoga programme for refugees and asylum-seekers in London through the charity OURMALA, which was independently evaluated by a senior NHS consultant as being extremely effective in delivering positive mental and physical health outcomes and increasing ability to integrate for some of the most vulnerable people, including survivors of torture, human trafficking and modern day slavery.
In 2016/17, I contributed to the design and implementation of successful Yoga in Health Care Alliance 10-week Yoga4Health/Yoga on Prescription Social Prescribing Programme for the NHS West London Clinical Commissioning Group.
In 2014, I ran one of the first successful 'social prescribing’ evidence based yoga projects that delivered positive mental and physical health outcomes for the wide range of health issues presented in the participants, most of whom were very socially isolated.
Fees
I charge £110 for a private standard session with an individual lasting 60 minutes. For a group session, I charge £150 for a session lasting 60 minutes. A separate charging scale applies for work commissioned by charities, companies, healthcare organisations, local authorities and the NHS. Fees are reviewed annually and when applicable, new rates apply from 1st April.
Guiding principles
I am a member of the UK’s national governing body of yoga, the British Wheel of Yoga (BWY), which supports my work as a yoga teacher. All my work adheres to the BWY’s professional standards and code of ethical conduct. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you need to inspect the following documents at any time:
DBS Certificate
Public Liability Insurance
Information Comissioner's Office (ICO) Registration
Organisations I have worked with
In London, I have had the privilege of working in partnership with organisations including British Red Cross Refugee Services, Freedom from Torture, Happy Baby Community, Helen Bamber Foundation, Hestia, NHS Lambeth Refugee Service, Poppy Project, Praxis, Refugee Council, Room to Heal, The Grenfell Foundation, The Maudsley Hospital and The SPACE.