Hey,
I’m Tamara.
I am interested in supporting you in reclaiming your inherent connection to your body and inner world through movement, meditation and play.
Often, modern life moves us away from this, but I argue this connection is our natural state. Together we will explore tools to heal and transform ourselves, in order to transform our world.
In this work I draw on, acknowledge, and thank the Indian tradition of yoga, that I am blessed and privileged to access in this lifetime.
I chose to found The People’s Republic of Yoga as an inclusive, accessible space welcoming anyone into yoga. I believe that this practise is not a luxury product, but a revolutionary, healing approach that should be accessible. As a result, alternative pricing options are available, see Classes.
These days I divide my time between migrant advocacy work and teaching yoga. Sometimes I teach yoga to refugee communities, which is a huge joy.
History
I began practising yoga in my early teens, as a source of exercise while pursuing work related to social justice and languages. While living in Syria in 2010 I noticed that other than the physical benefits, yoga was helping me through tough times by developing my self-discipline, nourishment and sense of perspective.
In 2013 in rural Laos, I began teaching yoga to overworked bomb disposal NGO workers who would never normally wander into a yoga lesson. I particularly enjoyed making the practise approachable to individuals alienated by their perception of yoga (keywords of terror being ‘chakra’, ‘energy’ , ‘relax’ and ‘meditate’). I chose to become a teacher while watching the glimmers of quiet land with such initially wary students.
Training
I came back to London to train in dynamic vinyasa flow under the expert eye of Katy Appleton, and have taught yoga classes across London since 2014. I went on to train with Tiffany Cruikshank’s Yogamedicine in combining yoga with myofascial release techniques, (lying on blocks & tennis balls under instruction, aka self-led massage techniques. See this post for more details) and completed an assistantship programme under Katy Appleton, focussing on hands-on-adjustments.
Outside yoga teaching I hold a BA in Arabic & Anthropology from SOAS, a level 2 OISC (Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner) qualification in asylum and immigration law. I’ve worked with refugee communities since 2013 in front line advocacy, community organisations, legal lobbying and national campaigning. I am one of the founders of Springboard Youth Academy, a holistic education programme (including yoga) that prepares recently arrived young people (often unaccompanied asylum seeking children) for the UK education system. Currently I am undertaking an MSC in Migration and Mobility in Bristol.