About Michele
Hi. I’m Michele… a mom, a wife, a daughter and a sister… a yoga educator & teacher trainer, and owner of Soul Space in Carrick-on-Shannon, my special place for things that feed the body, mind and soul.
I am also an artist, a plant lover, an amateur herbalist and avid traveler, who loves animals. I am a cancer survivor. I am a questioner, and a sharer, despite being a talkative introvert. Mostly, I am human, just like you!
Nice to meet you!
I am American, and I found yoga in 1991, when I started college. I had sustained an injury to my hip & back in a car accident, and had been making weekly visits to a chiropractor for close to two years. With a few months of yoga classes in a musty church basement, and the purchase of the Sivananda Companion to Yoga, my pain was considerably reduced. I soon became too busy to commit to weekly classes, but pulled out the book when pain started to settle in- I would move through some postures and get relief.
I went on to live for years with little knowledge or consideration for my body, but with age, and wisdom, I kept coming back to yoga when things got tough… and began formal meditation practice in 1999, with the Prairie Zen Meditation Center in my hometown of Urbana, Illinois.
I trained as an Art teacher, with a BFA in Art Education and MA in Art History, and quite happily taught both secondary and adult students for a number of years, until I wasn’t so happy. I was a middle-aged mother of two, in a happy marriage, but still felt lost. I felt a constant wanting, a yearning… an itch that wasn’t being scratched! Yoga had come and gone for years, via that first book, a few DVDs, and eventually weekly classes. Once I made the commitment… a commitment that was just for me… it started to stick. I could sense that yoga and meditation COULD change my life, if I let it. I am also stubborn, so it took a while!
Unlike a lot of yoga instructors, I was never an elegant dancer, or a strong, flexible gymnast. I was never athletic, and I didn’t do sports. I was a relatively sedate person, who lived mostly in my head! I love reading, painting, photography, lounging in the sun…
Yoga has brought me into my body, and sparked a passion for learning and understanding it- both physically, regarding muscles, movements, injury & repair, but also mentally and spiritually. It has been in those areas where the yearning was met.
Stillness. Meditation. Surrender.
The beauty of yoga is that it is a process, a practice, a path of living a meaningful life. From its beginnings in India, to its wellness explosion worldwide, yoga in all its forms and styles is offering us a gift.
I have been honoured to study and train with Eastern & Western teachers, from various schools of Yoga, in the US, India and Europe. I received my initial training with Roy Griffin at the Yoga Therapy & Training Centre, Dublin, who studied Sivananda Saraswati Yoga (just like my first book) and an additional 300-Hrs in India in the Himalayan Yoga Tradition studied in Rishikesh in the lineage of Swami Rama. I added 50 hours of Yin Yoga training in 2021 with Bernie Clark, and I have taken workshops with Kino MacGregor, Noah Mazé, Erin Motz, Jason Crandell & J. Brown (USA) and have taken lots of online classes with a range of teachers. I currently have over 750 registered training hours completed, and strive to add more learning whenever I can. I love teaching meditation (a range of styles) and Yoga Nidra. Most recently I completed 108 hours with Tracee Stanley & Dr. Chanti Tacoronte-Perez in the practices of Yoga Nidra. I’d describe my asana teaching as a Hatha-Flow, meaning not a lot of static holds, but not too fast-paced. I am careful with my aging joints!
I am also qualified in Aerial Yoga, and am an aerial circus enthusiast- with a range of hoops and trapeze in the studio! I love hanging upside down and facing the unique and personal challenges that circus skills offer, though this mostly appeals to the kids.
For me, yoga is about learning, exploring and GROWING. There is no finish line. The work is never done.
I teach adults and children, of all ages, sizes and abilities, private & corporate groups, families and special events.
I am happy to welcome you to Soul Space, and hope to be a part of your yoga journey, whatever that looks like.
Michele
