About Hampstead School of Yoga

Karen Whiteley

Karen Whiteley is a London-based yoga teacher with over twenty years experience studying and practicing a variety of yoga styles. Karen offers the opportunity for students to explore yoga postures, breath awareness and relaxation with an emphasis on the uniqueness of each student.

Students practise both flowing movement sequences and longer held shapes, with detail to body alignment and rhythmic breathing. The yoga practise is infused with Buddhist principles of mindfulness, inviting students to sense and become familiar with mental and physical habits, relaxing the grip of thought and action. This creates space to be fully present and practise yoga safely with the balance of effort and ease.

Karen has been influenced and inspired by great yoga masters - Sarah Powers, Donna Farhi, Vanda Scaravelli and Iyengar.

The Class

The class begins with a brief relaxation, allowing time for you, the student, to come home to yourself - releasing accumulated tension and stress, as well as mentally tuning into the class. Re-connect to your breath and observe how you are feeling physically in order to prepare for the class. The class continues with warming up postures leading towards the more challenging and moves into closing down movements. Breathing techniques are incorporated throughout the yoga class, which concludes with a powerful and effective relaxation. Each week a new theme will influence how you practise the asanas/postures.