Karen Jeffares

I have been practicing yoga regularly for more than 10 years having taken my first class while backpacking in India in my early 20’s.  My first yoga classes were at sunrise in a palm frond covered yoga studio at the top of a spectacular cliff edge – I have practiced in a multitude of settings ever since.  The image of the sun rising up over the cliff edge and the birds soaring by at almost eye level during the closing series still comes to me from time to time and makes me smile. It was such a peaceful and magical experience.  

I have been drawn to yoga in its various forms ever since and throughout many years of travel, activism and volunteer work overseas in sometimes challenging and stressful situations.  I tried other types of movement and physical activity but found nothing else created the same sense of peace and calm. Years later, while studying yoga philosophy and anatomy as part of teacher training course back home in Ireland I began to understand why yoga above all else brought me that ease and clarity and this has allowed me to appreciate its benefits even more.

I’m now a first time mum to a joyful and beautiful little girl who is teaching me more about life (and yoga) than I could ever have imagined possible.  Becoming a mother has been a deeply transformative and life-affirming experience for me. It has also been challenging and exhausting at times. Yoga has and will continue to be my anchor on this journey into motherhood and every time I come back to it I can feel a sense of grounding and clear-headedness that I know benefits me and my daughter immensely!  

I am interested in sharing this wonderful practice with mums and mums to be and am delighted to be joining the team at The elbowroom. I completed my prenatal and postnatal teacher training at this studio and am indebted to the teachers and other students on this course who not only supported me throughout my pregnancy but also empowered me during my daughters birth.  The moment she was born it shook my world and cracked my heart right open – I feel so honoured to have had all of these wise women there with me supporting me from within.