Meet Tracey: Children's Yoga Teacher at BEAM ACADEMY

My name is Tracey. I am a born and bred Londoner - I live in South East London with my family.

I first discovered this thing called yoga in a library book from school. I spent ages laughing but secretly loving these strange postures.

Yoga wasn’t cool back in the 1970’s - in fact it was still considered weird and ‘out there’ back then.

By the end of my 20’s I’d read a few yoga books, in particular - Yoga Made Easy by Desmond Dunne - and began to seek out classes. It wasn’t until I found Astanga Vinyasa and felt the benefits of it that Yoga really began to become a huge part of my life and well being.

Astanga is a bit like Marmite - some love it others hate it, and some love / hate it! It is challenging but with regular practice it is transformative for both body and mind - 20 years later - i still practice - all be it a little slower. It has helped me to become a calmer, grounded and more compassionate human being.

What is my favourite position?
Savasana - (corpse pose / relaxation). It really is.
It is one of the most important postures in yoga. It is where all the hard work is rewarded-the fruits of the practice.
Yoga heats up the gross body ( physical) and the subtle body ( energetic).
Savasana cools it back down. It helps turn off our Sympathetic Nervous System, our flight or fight that we need to function in life but is so often in over drive - a mind and body unable to switch off resulting in stress worry anxiety and insomnia to name a few. Through Savasana the Parasympathetic nervous system ( rest and digest) is activated allowing us to release the tension and lower the heart rate. The more we practice Savasana the more we are able to relax. The body learns bit by bit to let go - what’s not to love?

Name Someone You Admire and Why?
Gareth Southgate. I totally admire the man, for showing leadership, not being afraid to tackle racism, for bringing forward a talented young and diverse team - and bringing the country together and giving us something to cheer about in difficult & uncertain times.

What do you do with friends in your spare time?
I go to 5 Rhythms classes as much as I can, it’s my 2nd passion after Yoga and like Yoga is both transformative and liberating!