Ireland - Yoga Teacher

Michelle Riordan

 

See Sara Cory below...

 

Hi! My name is Michelle and I'm really looking forward to meeting you at The Little Yoga Cottage. I'm the co-founder of Yogatraveller and this is the combination of all the skills and experience I have gained running retreats and yoga holidays all over the world. I have settled back on home ground after many years of travel and living abroad and am delighted to offer yoga weekends at our own little retreat centre in one of the most beautiful places in the world. The Little Yoga Cottage is the culmination of all of my yoga, mediation and food passions over the past 12 years of my life and I'm excited to share it all with you!

 

 

I've been practicing yoga for 13 years and teaching full-time for the last 7 of these. I trained initially at the Sivananda Ashram in the Himalayas, India, and have continued to learn and grow, working at the Health Oasis Yoga and Detox Centre on Koh Samui, Thailand, then studying teacher training in Galway, Ireland with Carol Murphy of Green Lotus Yoga. I have completed further teacher training with Max Strom, Matthew Sweeney and Bridget Woods Kramer.

 

 

My style is grounded in the Kristyamacharya lineage with influences of Iyengar, Ashtanga and classical Hatha. I have completed the Level II Anusara Immersion and has been fortunate enough to have attended workshops and retreats from some of the world’s greatest yoga teachers, who have all inspired my own style of teaching.

 

 

My teaching style is friendly, informative, challenging and fun. I teach Hatha, Vinyasa, Yoga Therapy, Restorative, Yin Yoga, Kids Yoga, Golden Yoga and meditation and can offer different classes to suit different needs and levels. My morning classes are strong and dynamic with a focus on standing postures and alignment, focusing on hand and foot positions, and allowing the natural intelligence of the body to build strength and flexibility.

 

 

On a physical level, we work through the main areas of yoga: Warm-ups, sun salutations, standing poses, sitting poses, hip openers, twists, core work, balances, back-bends, inversions, warm-downs and savasana. With only small groups, I am able to tailor the classes to each level focusing and observing each student in the capacity of strengths, weaknesses and limitations. It can really help your practice to have someone assess areas to work on, and tips for getting the most of your body type, which isn't always possible in a busy studio environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sarah Cory

 

Hello, Aloha, and Namaste! My name is Sara Cory. I was born and raised in Northern California, and have lived in or traveled much of America’s West Coast; Hawaii,Seattle, California’s Sierra Mountains and the Bay Area to name a few.
 
I am grateful to have been exposed to such beautiful country and diverse culture, and these experiences have stoked my fire of exploration, curiosity and gratitude for everything this world has to offer.
 

 I grew up playing Irish fiddle and have been returning to my grandmother’s birthplace of Ireland since my youth.  I immigrated to the West of Ireland in 2007 and have finally found a place with all the things I love; surfing, Irish music, Brazillian Jiu Jitsu and (best of all) Yoga!

 
 
 
I opened Sásta Yoga Studio outside Limerick in the spring of 2011. Sásta is the Irish word for “happy”, and also for “satisfied”.  Sásta, of course, has great relevance for those of us who practice yoga in Ireland! I love this word because of the depth implied. It’s not just a surface, giddy sort of happy. It’s a centered, nourishing, content sort of happy.
 
 
Sásta is one of the things we find with the regular practice of yoga, and really reflects my yoga style. It's about the quality of experience, the joy of practice, the exploration of yourself on all levels and welcoming whatever you find. I love the physical challenge of Vinyasa, but temper it with seeking to understand what our bodies are saying, what would be most beneficial, and finding that centering sásta state....
 


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There is a strong focus on breath-work in all my classes, and I encourage students to find the ease and flow in all their postures, whether holding a standing posture for a long time, breathing into a sitting hip opener or jumping through sunsalutes. You will be guided to tune into your energetic body and to explore what it is you need in your practice, to balance you on all levels.

 

 

 

I encourage students to find the softness in the postures, and that even when we are working really hard, with grace, flow and ease, we can achieve more, not just physically, but by allowing the work to seep deep into our mental, emotional and spiritual planes. 

 

I have been fortunate to have worked with many different people at all levels on their yogic journey. I have worked with young children, yoga teachers, seniors and people with different needs.

 

 

 

My afternoon classes really allow us to travel deep into the body, and give us the opportunity to tune in with what's going on with our bodies, mind and emotions. We use the breath and a strong sense of self-awareness to generate prana; allowing us to work through physical and emotional blocks to let this life-energy to flow through us freely. We use these classes to explore the Yin side of yoga, the softer, more feminine side. Sometimes the work we do in the afternoon classes can have a far more profound effect than the stronger, more Yang based morning practice.

 

 

 

I have been teaching for years and have taught many different things. I have taught children in school, English as a second language to adults in Hong Kong, Scuba Diving in many many remote places around the world and yoga at all our Yogatraveller destinations. I love meeting people and love to get to know guests on my yoga retreats. I have trained in Buddhist meditation and have undergone other meditation trainings too.

 

 

 

Besides yoga, I love to surf, dive, snowboard and hike, I love reading and writing, and one of my particular interests is food. I love cooking and preparing raw food and especially enjoy serving people tasty, delicious and yet healthy food on my retreats.

 

One of my greatest interests is travel and I have lived and worked in countries all over the world, including many parts of Asia, Africa and Europe and I have travelled to many other far-flung places, some of which my family have never heard of! I am married to Michael, co-founder of Yogatraveller and together with two our sons we are settled on the West of Ireland.

 

 

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My yoga journey started in Hawaii seven years ago with Bikram Yoga, and I quickly grew to explore the traditions of Ashtanga, Hatha, and modern Vinyasa styles like Yoga For Surfers, Core Strength Vinyasa and Anusara. I am so happy to find a high standard of yoga in Ireland; it’s yet another one of Ireland’s hidden treasures!  I have had the fortune of training under some truly inspired and gifted teachers. I trained as a teacher with Carol Murphy of Green Lotus Yoga, Co. Galway. This training is a 220 hour training recognized by The Yoga Alliance. I also trained as a teacher in Core Strength Vinyasa with Sadie Nardini.

 

 

 

Outside of formalized yoga training I avidly continue to study anatomy and human movement. In all my physical pursuits, be it yoga, surfing, jiu jitsu, or any given system. I am enthralled with the mechanics of the human body. It goes beyond a single system of movement; it's the art of understanding the leverage of our skeletal structure, which muscles to engage for the best effect, our changing relationship to gravity.....
  But what makes yoga so unique is not just the physical, it's the way we unite the many aspects of the self through conscious exploration, breathwork and meditation. I study and practice mindfulness meditation and mantra regularly and we will see how these powerful techniques can help you heal and become stronger in every sense.

 
I have worn many hats as a teacher in my life experience, professionally teaching swimming, surfing, and Irish music and dance. I have always had a love of watching others growing their skills, and now apply it to the yoga mat.... I bring all of this past experience into the studio to give you an empathic, perceptive and positive class experience!
Namaste, Sara Cory 

 

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