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CATHERINE (cat) ALIP-DOUGLAS
From the fashion floors of Conde Nast in New York to the wooden floors of Jivamukti Yoga in London, cat has officially traded in her Manolo Blahniks for a more 'grounded' approach to life...in bare feet. cat hails from New York City and has been calling London home since early 2004. She was introduced to the practice of yoga by her good friend Cardone as a means to briefly 'check-out' from the hectic world of magazine publishing fashionistas into a space that provided stillness and serenity... yoga simply began as extra-curricular therapy. She practiced the Jivamukti method exclusively & devotedly for over 4 years at the Lafayette Street centre in New York City and during that time gradually felt the inevitable draw towards a more spiritual path...in more ways than one.
cat is privileged and blessed to presently assume roles of Advanced Certified Jivamukti Teacher, Assistant Director and mentor for 800 hour apprenticeship program. Blessings and humblest gratitude...to her loving parents, family and friends (both continents!)...to Sharon-ji and David-ji for their wisdom and boundless energy in planting & watering good seeds...to Phil, the bodhisattva by her side...to Xed for paving the way to this path...to Yogeswari-ji, an inspiration from the start...to Ruth-ji, a radiant personification of humility...to the Jiva London family...to each and every student, the greatest teachers!...last, but not least, to Manizeh and Danuman for having the vision and courage to create a home for Jivamukti in London.
cat bows down to the lotus feet of those who have infused light, as well as dark (opportunities for spiritual evolution!) into her life...to yogic beings who inspire others to simply be loving, be kind. Om bolo shri sat guru, bhagavan ki JAI!
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DANAI KOUGIOULI
Danai, a former competitive runner, was first introduced to yoga as a teenager in Greece, as a means of improving breathing, focus, and confidence for competition. Later in life, she moved to London to study Psychology (BSc, MSc) where she has been working as a psychologist both in the clinical and corporate world since then. She had been exploring different methods of yoga when she came across Jivamukti; the spiritual teachings woven with the dynamic asana practice, brought together her passion for exploring the mind, body, soul connection.
She completed the Jivamukti teacher training in May 2009 in New York with her beloved teachers Sharon Gannon, David Life, Yogeswari and her caring mentor Jeffrey Cohen. She is privileged to currently apprentice with cat for the further 800-hour Jivamukti certification. She would like to lovingly thank cat for her invaluable guidance, Durga Devi for being her first Jivamukti teacher and continuing to inspire her, Emma for her support and Manizeh for being the driving force behind it all.
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DURGA DEVI (DENISE TEPERINO)
Durga Devi, the name given to Denise by her beloved teachers, Sharon Gannon and David Life, is a former dancer and competitive gymnast who grew up in New York City. After secondary school, she studied fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology and hung out in Manhattan's East Village soaking up the downtown music and art scene. This compelled her to take up the guitar and become a singer/songwriter. She spent ten years performing as the lead singer for several bands, including Lady Luck, releasing an EP and a full-length album and touring Europe and the United States.
She was introduced to yoga in 1994 by close friends. Asana practice felt very natural to her, but it was the chanting, the philosophy and the ancient and holy teachings of yoga that really hit home.
Durga is one of the original teachers of the London Jivamukti Yoga Centre. She is Advanced Certified in the Jivamukti method and taught at the Lafayette street New York Centre for over three years before moving to the UK to assist with opening the centre. She also completed teacher training at the Laughing Lotus Yoga Centre in New York City.
Kirtan training with Jai Uttal influenced her chanting which is a very important component in her classes. She is also impassioned by Bhagavan Das and Krishna Das for opening up the doors of bhakti, uniting song and heart.
Durga is especially grateful to Sharon Gannon and David Life, Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa, Ammachi, Ruth Lauer-Manenti,
John Friend, Yogeswari, Joan Suval (direct disciple of Shri Brahmananda Saraswati), Umananda Saraswati and most recently Shri Narayani Amma who she met in India in 2009.
She will continue to inspire and uplift the lives of all whom she meets and teaches knowing that this practice goes well beyond the mat.
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EMMA HENRY
Emma is an Advanced Certified Jivamukti yoga teacher and one of the original teachers at the Jivamukti centre in London.
Emma trained as a ballet dancer from age 11. She danced professionally around the world specialising in classical, contemporary dance and martial arts and while dancing professionally Emma found the benefits of yoga practice enhanced her flexibility, strength, balance and focus.
With her background of dance and movement, this has given her great understanding of anatomy and alignment to her classes, added with down to earth spiritual teachings and a little sprinkle of humour.
"I love teaching yoga and giving people the opportunity to see how they can develop themselves and reach their full potential."
Emma would like to thank all her teachers, especially Sharonji, Davidji, Yogeswari and Patrick Broome for their support and inspiration, as well as Manizeh for bringing this amazing method to London. Om shanti.
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GABRIELA BOZIC
Gabriela Bozic, MA, is co-founder and co-director of the Jivamukti Yoga Centers in Munich, Germany. She holds a master's degree in linguistics and advanced certification in Jivamukti Yoga. Gabriela leads workshops internationally and is an established presenter at yoga conferences worldwide. Being a close and a long time student of Sharon Gannon and David Life, she is also a part of the international Jivamukti teacher trainings in the US and Germany. Her optimism and vivaciousness are contagious, her classes are powerful and challenging. However, no practice is as powerful as devotion and love, therefore, you will laugh a lot, sing a lot and talk about our true divine nature in her classes. She has been featured in many German magazines and TV shows. She co-authored with Patrick Broome the book "Yoga for Life: Reconnecting to Mother Earth with Jivamukti Yoga.".
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HUMA JALIL
The seed of Yoga was first planted in Huma as a young teenager in the Himalayan foothills of Islamabad, Pakistan where she grew up. She moved to London in 1998 where yoga continually brought her “hOMe.” While completing her MA in Social Anthropology Huma’s path of Self exploration led her to study with some great masters in Nepal (Krishna Uprety), India (T.K.V. Desikachar) and Canada (Ted Grand) not to mention London (Sr. K. Pattabhis Jois and Mark Whitwell amongst others)
In October 2005 Huma discovered Jivamukti London and instantly resonated with the integral approach that the method offers, combining asana with scripture, bhakti (devotion), nada (music), ahimsa (non-harming) and meditation. She has been involved closely with the London Centre ever since.
She extends her gratitude to Manizeh for her vision and generosity, cat for her unquestionable dedication, Durga for helping her to listen more deeply, Emma for her encouragement and support, and everyone else at the London Centre simply for being who they are. Her countless blessings and love go towards her parents, sisters and friends. She bows down to Devadas (David Life) and Sundari (Sharon Gannon) for their boundless energy and wisdom, Yogeswari for her kind heart and warrior spirit and all the other beings and experiences of light and dark that she has encountered in this blessed existence.
Om Shanti.
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MANIZEH RIMER
Manizeh was born in Karachi, Pakistan, and as a child moved with her family to Geneva, Switzerland. She received a B.A. in Political Science from Brown University in 1996. After graduating she moved to San Francisco where she worked in the high-tech field during the dot.bomb era. After years without sleep she began taking desperately needed Yoga classes. The physical practice was rewarding, but the philosophical and spiritual aspects, which she was always drawn to from a young age, were missing.
Soon after, her sister, Mithra, took her to a Jivamukti Yoga Class in New York. This was what she had been waiting for: in addition to a vigorous asana practice, she learned about karma, she meditated and chanted. The doorway to Yoga was opened.
In March 2001 she moved to London with her husband, Danny, and knew right away that Londoners were missing out on Jivamukti Yoga. She completed Jivamukti teacher training, as well as the Advanced Certification with Sharon Gannon and David Life. She has also worked intensively with Yogeswari at the Jivamukti Centre in New York. She has had the privilege of learning from several renowned Yoga teachers from all over the world.
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RACHEL MIDDLETON
Already a busy yoga teacher since 2003, and a North-West Londoner born and bred, Rachel rushed to try the Jivamukti Yoga method almost as soon as the London studio opened its doors. The Bhakti (devotional) approach of the method, its vibrant soundtrack and creativity appealed and she was hooked. Two years of practice with the inspirational London team led to teacher training with Sharon Gannon and David Life in 2007 and a subsequent apprenticeship with Durga Devi. Now, finally, she is ready to unite the down-to-earth-ness of her Bikram teaching experience, the medical insight of her yoga therapy and pre-natal training and the hands-on application of her Thai Yoga Massage work with the sheer joyfulness that is Jivamukti yoga!
Rachel has taught yoga in Paris, Los Angeles, Ibiza and on retreats in Turkey and Spain. She extends warm thanks to Bikram and Rajashree Choudhury, Michele Pernetta, Dr. Robin Munro and Ruth Gilmore and all at London's Yoga Biomedical Trust, Kira Balaskas, Dharma Mittra, Manorama and of course Sharon and David, not to mention every day's nameless yoga teachers.
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TONI CUPAL
Toni spent many very busy years in various roles including Silicon Valley high tech professional, mother of two, gymnastics coach, choreographer and judge, and active non-profit board member before moving to London and discovering Jivamukti yoga. While yoga had never really resonated with her before, she was hooked from the very first Jivamukti class – the underlying philosophy that we should each find a way to live so that all creatures can be happy and free appealed strongly to her love of nature which she developed while growing up in the mountains of Wyoming in the USA. And the basic idea of practicing being steady and joyful on the yoga mat so that one can take that strong sense of connection into their relationships with others and the world almost instantly started improving all the relationships in her life.
Toni is deeply grateful to all her wonderful teachers in London, including the incredible Nikki Slade and, of course, to Sharon-ji and David-ji for their insight, energy, and beautiful presence. She is humbled and thrilled to now be part of the group of teachers that welcome and support students in their exploration of the Jivamukti method and its ultimate goal of “yoga”.
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