Erika Tourell, Yoga Teacher

Mother of two, Erika Tourell has been teaching yoga for over 15 years and working as a holistic massage therapist for over 20 years. She has been with Mamaheaven since the very first retreat and also teaches yoga and yoga nidra at Menoheaven.

Erika is trained in many practises - massage, cranio-sacral therapy, chi nei tsang – a deep abdominal massage which is a form of Taoist healing and she also holds a passion for singing/chanting/voice-healing and has studied Hindustani vocal training and many other devotional healing vocal practises. From 1992-95 she lived in Thailand and India studying meditation, Buddhism, yoga and shiatsu. It was during that time that she first discovered the delights of a disciplined daily self-practice. On her return to London she studied with a senior Iyengar teacher and in 1998 began a 3-year teacher-training course with The British Wheel of Yoga.

Since she qualified, she has received instruction from many renowned teachers including Clive Sheridan (Hatha), Shandor Remete (Iyengar and Shadow),  Tias Little (Hatha/Iyengar),  John Scott (Astanga), Danny Paradise (Astanga),  Shiva Rea (Vinyasa flow), Gurmukh (Kundalini) and Alaric Newcombe (Iyengar).  She has also been greatly inspired by Amritananda Mayi (Amma) and Krishna Das in Bhakti yoga (the path of devotion} and she acknowledges her two daughters as her greatest teachers on the path of Karma yoga (selfless-service) and is constantly inspired by their natural joy and zest for life.

Erika teaches a dynamic Vinyasa flow class integrating her experience of Iyengar, Astanga, Hatha and Kundalini yoga by emphasising awareness of mind, body and breath, whilst focusing on correct alignment.

Though yoga makes our bodies stronger and more flexible, Erika feels that yoga’s greatest gifts lie in helping us to heal on the inside by helping our minds to become more peaceful and by opening our hearts to grace. She aims to provide a safe, nurturing environment to allow her students to develop their own understanding of yoga in an enjoyable way.

Erika teaches regular, weekly classes (including pregnancy yoga and mummy and baby yoga) at The Life Centre in Notting Hill, Triyoga in Primrose Hill,  Triyoga in Chelsea and BodyWorksWest in Notting Hill and runs workshops and yoga retreats in the UK and abroad.