Hi, I'm Ashley! Thank you so much for landing on my page.
I'm a Registered Nutritional Therapist and senior yoga teacher in London. Think of me as your evidence-based, science-obsessed yogi nutritionist: practical help, personal stories, and no BS honest truths.
Originally from Alberta, Canada, I've been living in London, UK, since 2015. I've practiced yoga for 16 years and taught it for 14, and I hold a BSc in Genetics, a Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy Diploma with Distinction, and 20+ years across genetics and cancer research, nutrition and yoga.
My yoga practice started in 2010, when I first stepped onto a yoga mat at the Sattva School of Yoga in Edmonton. At the time, I was navigating profound grief after losing my dad, uncle, aunt, and cousin - all to cancer within a year. I was in a downward spiral, numbing my pain with partying, drugs, and alcohol, and desperately searching for something to help me feel whole again. Yoga was that something. It completely transformed my mental and physical well-being, teaching me how to carry my pain as a lighter passenger rather than letting it consume me. It gave me a mind-body connection I'd never experienced before and showed me I was worthy of healing. That's why I chose to teach yoga - it saved me, and I knew I had to share its power with others.
I found yoga through grief, and I found nutrition through the same loss. Before my dad died, his cancer surgery left him unable to chew or swallow food properly. He ate blended meat, gravy and potatoes on repeat for 5 years, and I often wonder whether he'd still be around if our family had known more about nutrition. Nobody ever taught us how to eat for healing. Years later, the healthcare system missed an obvious tumour on his lungs, which was implicated in his death.
This is my why: why I studied genetics and cancer in university, why I studied genetic counselling, why I practice and teach yoga, and why I trained as a nutritional therapist. Prevention, and taking my health into my own hands, is personal for me.
Over the years, my fascination with health and wellness has only grown. I've worked with countless clients to help them take ownership of their health, specialising in sleep, hormonal balance, women’s health, gut health, anxiety, stress, burnout, and fatigue.
Yoga is a tool to cultivate clarity, peace, and joy by tapping into your true nature. Nutrition is the complement: it gives your body and mind the raw materials to support that work.
If your body has been telling you something your apps can't explain (bloating, skin, low energy, broken sleep), that is the work I do 1:1. Read about working with me here or book a free 15-minute call.
I offer nutrition, sleep and group support courses, wellness talks, events & yoga retreats throughout the year; if you want to be the first to hear about these please join my mailing list.
Come practice yoga with me online or in person at:
Members Area | YouTube | Third Space
My qualifications:
✧ Bachelor of Science Honours Degree specialising in Biological Sciences (Genetics and Cancer) minoring in Psychology & Anatomy at University of Alberta in Canada (2007)
✧ Registered Nutritional Therapist: Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy Diploma with Distinction from College of Naturopathic Medicine in London (2024)
✧ 1000+ hours of Yoga Trainings & Workshops (E-RYT-1000), including:
✦ 200 hour yoga teacher training at Sampoorna Yoga in Goa, India (2012)
✦ 200 hour yoga teacher training at Sattva School of Yoga in Canada (2014)
✦ 50 hour of advanced yoga teacher training with Ambra Vallo (2018)
✦ 10 hours Yin & Meditation Training with Kay Kay Clivio of Pure Yoga/Equinox (2019)
✦ 10 hours Meditation Training with Rameen Peyrow/Sattva School of Yoga in Canada (2021)
✦ 40 hours of advanced yoga teacher training (Dharma inspired) with Mark Kan (2023-2026)
✦ 160 hours of Rocket™️ with David Kyle/Progressive Ashtanga School (2021-2024)
✦ Workshops with The Dalai Lama, Swami Yogananda Maharaj Ji (the 106 year old yogi) @ Himalayan Yoga Ashram, Rishikesh, David Williams, David Swenson, Sharath Jois, Kino MacGregor, 3 Sisters in Mysore, Rolf & Marci Naujokat @ Yoga Bones/Purple Valley Goa, Sri Dharma Mittra, Philippa Asher (2012-2024)
✧ Online courses (Stanford, Harvard, MIT) equivalent to an MBA (2014-2015)
✧ Masters of Genetic Counselling from Griffith University Brisbane, Australia (did the course work, did not finish the degree)
✧ I provide Yoga teacher Business Mentoring sessions for Digital Yoga Academy, who train yoga teachers to run their own businesses & create online courses
✧ I’ve helped countless practitioners and mentored many yoga teachers to overcome barriers in their practice and careers
✧ There’s more, I’m basically always taking courses and will never stop learning
More about my yoga classes & teachings:
I teach Ashtanga yoga and others based on it: Vinyasa & Rocket. My classes are strong & dynamic. My classes are known for being challenging, but taught with a bit of love, a bit of strictness and a bit of sarcastic humour. I take yoga seriously but also like to maintain a light hearted nature because it can easily become too serious. My Ashtanga background keeps me grounded while my Rocket background teaches me to have fun, play and experiment in practice.
The main emphasis though is on breathing and finding the ability to leave the outside world as it is whilst practising; using movement and breath to gain a deeper connection to your true Self. I place a great deal of emphasis on connecting deep within your own body, the breath as a tool to pull the mind & awareness inwards, and fascial tissue lines of awareness to understand postures on a very personal level, all to tap into your inner potential.
I draw inspiration from all of my incredible teachers: Rameen Peyrow & Jade Ponech (Sattva Yoga), Keshava Murthy (Philosophy), Hamish Hendry, Louise Newton & Philippa Asher (Ashtanga Yoga), Emi Tull, Mark Kan & Ambra Vallo (Dharma Yoga), David Kyle (Rocket). I am honoured to have the opportunity to learn from these inspiring souls.
Whether you are looking to sweat, have fun, find stillness and a link to spirituality, there is something for you here. I bring balance to my classes in an attempt to incorporate everyone’s needs. Expect to work hard and challenge yourself, but also recognise that you are allowed to rest at any moment. Beginners to advanced practitioners, all are welcome.
Sattva yoga is a dynamic Hatha-Raja yoga practise, home grown from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada by its founder, and my main teacher, Rameen Peyrow. Combining physical asana practise with both breathing (pranayama) and meditation allows the practitioner to tap in to their inspired potential and create a focal point for further spiritual exploration. When we ask “who am I? and why am I here?” we create space to facilitate a deeper understanding of ourselves and our connection with our environment. Sequences change monthly.
Ashtanga yoga is a physically demanding set sequence of postures that is synchronised with the breath, founded by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. A transformative & healing moving meditation through repetition and surrender.
Rocket has been adapted from Ashtanga and is an energetic and challenging dynamic vinyasa class. It’s been gaining popularity amongst practitioners since the 1990s when it was first founded by Larry Schultz in San Francisco.
Vinyasa flow is dynamic & fast paced. Starting with Sun Salutations, expect to move continuously throughout the class & sweat, and have minor sequence changes each session. My inspiration for Vinyasa teaching is influenced by Sattva, Ashtanga, Dharma and Rocket Yoga.
The longer story:
Why did I start to practice yoga?
I think this is really important to share as a teacher, the WHY. We all have a reason why we gravitate to this practice. Mine started as a way to seek the healing I desperately needed.
I started yoga on the recommendation of a friend at a time when I was experiencing a profound amount of grief, while simultaneously not knowing who I was or what I wanted out of life. The grief from losing my father at age 23 shook me off a course that I hadn’t even really thought about in terms of direction. I had no clue what I wanted as I was in those formative years of university and discovering what potential lay in the real world was completely overwhelming. I was directionless and not taking care of myself in every way possible, an avoidance mechanism if I’m honest, because what I was experiencing was too much for me to comprehend at the time and it was easier to numb.
Yoga helped to bring me back into alignment, find a way to take care of my physical and mental wellbeing at a time when I didn’t think I even deserved it. Through many years of practice and teaching and to this very day, yoga set me up to find who I want to be, how to honestly learn to accept myself with all of my imperfections and how to carry the weight of the past on my shoulders without it feeling so suffocating and heavy. To become whole and light. Yoga teaches you to be able to walk with life’s hardships, discover how strong you really are, to become confident: not to change who you are but to accept who you are and move forward with strength and courage.
Now I am passionate about helping people discover who they are, what they want, what’s important and what is not. Learning how to prioritise and take care of yourself first is essential to being able to show up whole to YOU and all of the people in your life. You will find the answers you are looking for within YOU, because they are already there.
Yoga is a practice of looking within to cultivate clarity, wisdom, peace, healing and joy - by tapping into your own true nature. We can do this through a physical practice because that’s what we can directly see and experience, facilitating a deeper understanding of who you are inside. All you have to do is show up.
If you are ready to change then you will find that spark within to hold yourself accountable and put in the effort!
I hope this message inspires you, and I hope to meet you soon!