ABOUT
Hi, I'm Katie, a devoted yoga student who dedicates time, love and effort to the practice.
Originally from Madeira Island, where I grew up, I came to live in the U.K. in 2008, a country that has always been close to my heart and where I used to spend many holidays as a child. My yoga journey begun here while I was studying Counselling in my late thirties.
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Yoga was not an easy practice for me in the beginning. I was stiff, unaware of my breath and could not pay attention for long. However I always felt better after a yoga class and again and again I went back for more until I realised with great joy how this practice changed the way I felt about myself and the world around me. I felt stronger and more flexible physically, mentally and emotionally. I can honestly say that yoga changed my life!
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Since my first yoga teacher training in 2013 I have dedicated my life to practice, study and teach Yoga. My practice is constantly evolving, my teaching methods change, my rhythm moves with the seasons. My commitment to my students is simply to make them feel more at ease with their bodies so that they can feel freedom and efficiency of movement, offering them a safe place to grow spiritually.
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KT Creative
On one of my many trips to India, I went to a night market with the intention of finding some traditional malas (hindu prayer beads) to bring back with me. I found a stall where two nice gentleman were selling the necklaces/prayer beads made of tulsi (holy basil) and rosewood. We had a long chat about beads and their uses in the Hindu tradition. I came back home with a few malas, one of them made of lotus flower seeds which I still hold in my hands with much love. I always liked beads, my curiosity lead me to want to find more about the beads used in different cultures and the way people use them to count prayers in many religions, as well as using them to make jewellery and other ornaments.
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My love affair with beads started right there as I felt these prayer beads in my hands. Since then I started collecting beads from all over the world, old and new, experimenting with jewellery making techniques and even attempting to make my own beads. From seeds to gemstones, bones to paper, human beings have been threading beads since prehistoric times. It has been a joy to pay attention to these tiny perforated objects that along our History have been expressing not only religious beliefs but also social and economical circumstances.
My bead work expresses my cultural background and my strong belief in diversity and inclusion, tolerance and acceptance.
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Lately I have been developing my drawing skills by attending art classes. To my surprise it has been a process of dealing with frustration and desperation as much as a great amount of inspiration and fulfillment. It brought me a new way of looking at things, really looking and paying attention to the smallest detail. An expression of mindfulness in all its glory.
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I like precision and I like numbers. I apply the meaning of numbers to my bead work - a hindu mala (prayer beads) has 108 beads. The number 108 is known to hold a higher vibration than any other number and it symbolizes universal love and compassion. How could I apply the meaning of numbers into my art work as I do in my bead work? The answer is: Sacred Geometry. At SAOG studios in Emerson College I have found an endless source of inspiration and generosity, poetry and possibilities. May the journey begin.
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"The higher purpose of geometry is to participate body, soul and spirit in the objective universal laws that govern and cohere our universe. This activity can lead us directly to the centre of our own understanding which unifies us with the whole." - Keith Critchlow
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My studies and qualifications
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2019 Yoga Teacher Development Course (200 hours) with Dot Bowen
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2017 Myofascial Anatomy & Movement (10 months) with Gary Carter
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2015 Yin & Yang Yoga Teacher Training Immersion (50 hours) with Sarah Lo
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2014 TRE -Trauma Releasing Exercises Level I (21 hours) with Steve Haines
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2014 Advanced Studies & Yoga Teacher Training (200 hours) with Debbie Avani
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2013 Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology ITEC Level 3
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2010 Degree in Addictions Counselling with The University of Bath
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And, for the curious, before all this I worked as a Private Banker for 15 years :-)
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