teachers

Louise Leonard

Louise has been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for just over a decade now. Having experimented with different disciplines of yoga over the years, the draw of Ashtanga was strong and it was and continues to be the practice that works, for her. She believes in the tristhana method and particularly the focus on breath which she would say has been her saviour in many challenging life situations.

Under Gillian’s careful tutelage, Louise has trained to teach the Ashtanga method as it’s taught in Mysore, India. She works regularly with Gillian and the other teachers at AYI to hone her skills, enabling her to work with each individual’s needs, on any given day.

She has been blessed to have had the opportunity to practice the Intermediate series with the modern guru of Ashtanga Yoga, R. Sharath Jois in London in 2015, and looks forward to fulfilling her dream of practicing with him at the KPJAYI in Mysore. Although, she understands that with three small children at home, she may need to wait some time to realise that dream!

Louise is currently learning Intermediate Series and feels lucky to have access to the practice and a teacher of Gillian’s calibre on our small island. She is grateful and humbled to have the opportunity to share the benefits of this life changing practice with so many at the Shala at Ashtanga Yoga Ireland. Practice, practice, all is coming!

Rory Hynes

Rory first started learning Ashtanga yoga from his Aunt and Uncle who learned from their teachers in Mysore, India. Together they introduced him to Ashtanga Yoga in 2012 in Barcelona. Since then he has been dedicated to studying under Gillian's guidance at Ashtanga Yoga Ireland who he now considers his primary teacher.

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He recently returned from a year travelling in Central America and Canada. During his travels he continued to learn about asana practice, yoga philosophy and pranayama under experienced teachers R.Sharath Jois. Mariela Cruz and Mark Darby. Since returning to Dublin, he has undergone intensive training under Gillian's tutelage. Rory is currently learning the Intermediate Series and is qualified to teach both Mysore style and Led classes.

He has experienced first hand noticeable changes in his physical, emotional and mental layers. He firmly believes that the therapeutic effects of the practice helped him through certain challenging personal situations. His primary focus is always on deepening his understanding of yoga, while openly sharing all that he has received with anyone that wants to learn Ashtanga yoga.

Marianne Jacuzzi, Philosophy Teacher on our Immersion Courses

Marianne Jacuzzi founded Seven Winds Yoga and Jyotish in Dublin, where she taught yoga classes, trainings and workshops from 2000 until 2017. In recent years, she has retreated to Sardinia, though she continues to lead workshops and retreats and teach Philosophy for Immersion and teacher training courses.A Vedic astrologer and spiritual counselor, she offers astrological readings also. Her consultations can reveal to clients the unique karmic forces active in their lives and help them to channel that power to realise their highest potential.The eternal truths of India first inspired Marianne at a young age. Discovering the Bhagavad Gita while still a schoolgirl in California, she began meditating with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in San Francisco when she was sixteen. Later, she studied Indian Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Cruz. She has a BA and an MA in English Literature from the University of California, and published a novel, Blood Memories, in 2008. She has three grown sons and three young granddaughters.Her yoga practice began in the Sivananda tradition, with meditation, chanting and devotional practices as important as asana. However, with a strong background in dance, she felt drawn to Iyengar Yoga, with its emphasis upon precision and alignment. After moving from California to Ireland in the early 90’s, she studied Iyengar Yoga with Elizabeth Connolly in Dublin, who introduced her to Ashtanga Yoga in the late 90’s. It was not long before the power of Ashtanga Yoga completely captivated her.

For about eleven years, she maintained a strict daily practice of Ashtanga Yoga and traveled many times to Mysore to study directly with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois.But her personal practice began to evolve around 2009 to 2012, the combined richness of those three foundational schools, along with an internal transformation and a few extraordinary Indian masters—all coming together to give birth to her own fluid style of practice, which she developed and called Shakti Rasa. Shakti Rasa Yoga incorporates breath and meditation into powerful asana work that raises the frequency of the subtle energy body. Since her teaching has always flowed from her personal practice, she began offering classes in Shakti Rasa as well. Having done teacher trainings in Sivananda, Iyengar, Ashtanga and Vinyasa Krama Yoga, she is Yoga Alliance certified at the highest level: E-RYT-500 and is also a Yoga Alliance continuing education provider: YACEP.Alongside her daily practice of yoga, her study of Indian philosophy continued also. With eminent yoga scholar Georg Feuerstein, she completed over a 1000 hours of coursework in yoga philosophy. With Buddhist priest David Brazier, she studied Buddhist psychotherapy for over four years in the UK. She incorporates techniques of Zen therapy into her work with clients and continues to be inspired by this teaching.Fascinated by Jyotish for a long time, she began to explore more deeply the uncanny power of this major yet poorly understood Vedic Science. The study of Jyotish has been her central passion since 2009. After much reading and personal study, she began formal mentoring in 2011 with Dennis Flaherty, President of the Council of Vedic Astrology. She completed over 1200 hours of study for the CVA, qualifying as Jyotish Visharada and then as Jyotish Kovid. She has studied with other great Jyotishis as well, both Western and Indian. As her Jyotish practice continues to grow, she offers consultations in person and via Skype.The most significant event in her spiritual journey traces back to 2003 when she met her ultimate guru, Ramesh S. Balsekar. Ramesh accepted her as his disciple in 2005, and until his mahasamadhi in 2009, she traveled regularly to Bombay to the satsangs he gave from his home. His teaching of Advaita Vedanta, so profound and yet so simple, transformed her. The wisdom of Ramesh informs her teaching, her practice, and her personal life. A lifetime of seeking found resolution at the lotus feet of Ramesh, and for absolute peace revealed so clearly, to him she is eternally grateful.

Daniela Gonzalez Arez, Anatomy and Physiology teacher on our Immersion Courses

Daniela (called Dani by friends and family), was born to Spanish parents in the Netherlands and had been residing in Dublin since 1994. Daniela has been involved in mind-body movement systems since 2001. She is an experienced lead Anatomy and Physiology Trainer in mind -body movement modalities, such as Yoga, Gyrotonic and Fascial Movement. She regularly travels around the globe teaching students worldwide. She has taught in South Korea, South Africa, Egypt, Turkey, The Netherlands and the UK.

Daniela owns her own studio in Dublin and she has been a guest lecturer on several Yoga Immersion courses. She is certified by the Ayni School of Andean Shamanism & Experiential Wisdom Teachings, and a certified Dove Oracle Priestess level 2 by the Seven Sisters Mystery School, as well as having a Diploma in Consciousnes Studies. Always striving to to delve deeper into life's mysteries, Dani is currently studying herbalism and Biosynthesis. She is also studying for a Masters degree in Counselling and Psychotherapy.