Deirdre O Connor, Holistic Sleep Therapist, Yoga Dip, Craniosacral Therapist CST-T, CST Paedriatics DTR movement Dip, and Advanced
For almost 20 years Deirdre has been exploring, training, teaching and experiencing Yoga – initially with the Bihar School of Yoga in india where she trained and lived for almost 3 years exploring many different Yoga styles – Hatha, Bhakti, Jhana and Karma Yoga.
She trained further in Meditation and Buddhist Philosoply, and during that time undertook many intensive meditation retreats over the years, including several of over 3-months duration under the guidance of teachers of the Dalai Lama.
Her deep love of movement rests on her faith in our ability to foster a natural self-balancing and healing awareness in ourselves.
My own awareness in this capacity grew exponentially through a four-year advanced training with Dancing The Rainbow. This training was the ground for all my future work and taught me more about embodiment and being present than any previous training had up to that point.
It taught me that Yoga is not about doing the poses perfectly but rather showed me the necessity for slowly releasing and undoing the places in my body that remained tight, painful and downright grumpy! And doing this is a way that my body loves rather than any prescriptive idea of ‘what would be good for me’.
After my training I continued to be mentored by my teacher, Lani O’Hanlon, for a further two years, while assisting on their two year training. I spent a further two years with this deep body based exploration working alongside my teacher and mentor, as an assistant teacher.
My current teachings are based in a merging of the traditional yoga teachings and the intuitive awareness of what our bodies and minds need to heal and replenish themselves. Having trained also in Massage, Homeopathy and Craniosacral Therapy I have a strong basis in therapies which promote this awareness.
Further training with Shiva Rea and Twee Merrigan, who both embody this way of teaching Yoga, has deepened my own experience and has shown me many ways to encourage the body and mind to come to a place of calm and deep rest.
For myself, I continue to practice and train in Yoga simply because it makes me feel happy and at ease in my body and mind. In many ways and at different times it has been a real life-saver. It has turned my anxiety into contentment, and has allowed the stiff, tight places in my body and mind to melt and release so that I feel good inside and out.