Individually adapted for each student
Paula O’Hanlon has been practicing yoga for 30 years.
After the first few years of practicing yoga, going to weekly classes and workshops and having developed a daily yoga practice, Paula undertook her first yoga Hatha teacher training with the Yoga Therapy and Training Centre that lasted for 1 ½ years and she qualified in 1999.
She then went on to deepen her studies with the most experienced Viniyoga teacher in Ireland, Hanne Gillespie.
Paula remained a student of Hanne’s for ten years.
During that time Paula undertook a second 750 hour teacher training with Sadhana Mala in the UK.
Viniyoga is a very holistic approach to yoga that places a big emphasis on how each practice should be individually tailored to the student depending on their stage in life, their health, general well being and experience.
Viniyoga means appropriate application, so a Viniyoga teacher has the responsibility to adapt the practices to each individual.
This means that a Viniyoga teacher may teach very gentle practices to someone who is older, and also teach more dynamic and challenging practices for someone who is younger and more fit.
The flowing movements and sequences, coordinated with the breath, help to bring one’s awareness inwards rather than trying too hard to achieve particular shapes in postures.
Sequences are designed with a specific purpose in mind, such as reducing stress, improving sleep, or addressing a particular health issue.
Paula first came across meditation in 1998 in her first teacher training. She practiced regularly which gave her a sense of grounded-ness and clarity.
Paula believes that the practice of meditation allows the breath to slow down and for one to become aware of the space between thoughts which ultimately leads to a more calm and peaceful mind, trusting in oneself and learning to live in present moments as much as we can.
She also believes that with regular practice, meditation will lead to a connectedness with oneself and also ones connection with the external world which leads to light, a peace within.
Paula began to practice pranayama (breath-work) more seriously in 2007 as part of her teacher training with Sadhana Mala.
As with all genuine breath-work training, this is undertaken in a very careful and slow, gradual practice, where one monitors and keeps a journal of one’s everyday practice.
Paula recently undertook a deep study of Sanskrit (of which many of the ancient yogic texts were written), with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, which allowed her to read, write and translate original texts such as the Yoga Sutra and Bhagavad Gita in their original language.
Paula believes this allows one get in touch with subtle connotations which can be lost when one translates these texts into English.
She has also undertaken training in Vedic Chanting (which is the oral recitation of Sanskrit hymns from the ancient scriptures known as the Vedas) to become a qualified Vedic chanting teacher.
Yoga has stayed as a central core of Paula’s life for many years and genuinely feels it is part of who she is.
Paula feels privileged to be able to practice and study but most importantly to share this knowledge to those who wish to learn.
Class Approach
Paula teaches breath – work and individualised Hatha yoga that is very much informed by her training and experience of Viniyoga.
Viniyoga is a very holistic approach to yoga that places a big emphasis on how each practice should be individually tailored to the student depending on their stage in life, their health, general well being and experience.
Paula focuses on correct positioning of the body according to the individual and offers instructions and variations to each person so that the practice is adapted to them.
Alignment is important but first she looks at the person to see how she can make the posture benefit and support them rather than the person having to “fit” into a yoga pose.
For younger students who are fit and able, Paula will guide them through some challenging sequences coordinated with the breath. Paula encourages her older students to place less attention on the physical aspects of a pose or movement and to use the breath as a support, a guide to inform their pace of movement.
Through these practices you will feel fitter, stronger, more flexible and healthier and therefore have a better sense of self and a more confident positive body image.
Paula looks after each student in a caring and gentle way, ensuring they get the best out of every yoga practice.
Paula believes that when practiced regularly and over time, yoga and meditation will work on the deeper, more subtle aspects of ourselves as a whole, such as, a greater self awareness, a sense of acceptance and an increasing understanding of how we can inhabit and interact with the world and being open to how the world interacts with us on every level of our being.
Paula is looking forward to meeting you at one of her retreats, practicing yoga and meditation together.
