Rhianna Louise
My journey with yoga began during a period of serious illness. I found refuge in the warm and welcoming environment of a small, down-to-earth studio in a climbing centre in London. Soon my days were bookended with yoga classes there, and I believe this practice helped save my life.
At first, the moving meditation allowed me to escape the body I was battling with and connect with something larger than myself. I discovered a sense of oneness and belonging, finding moments of peace by surrendering the ego. Over time, yoga asana also became the scaffolding on which I rebuilt a healthy mind-body relationship.
While the physical practice remains an anchor for my wellbeing, yoga's wider journey of awareness, philosophical exploration and values-led living reaches into every area of who I am. The friends I have found through yoga have become my spiritual family. I am endlessly grateful to the lineages, teachers and practitioners who have guided and inspired me.
Alongside yoga, I am a trail runner and a member of St Pol Striders. One of the greatest joys of my teaching journey has been seeing my trail-running soul sisters join my classes, bringing the same grace, presence, steadiness and collective spirit that makes the Striders community so special.
I trained with Sammy Nwokeka and Sophie-Rae Martyn at Yoga Soul Manchester, and I am particularly inspired by Vinyasa yoga. I hope to continue my studies through Mandala training next, and I am dedicated to lifelong learning as both a student and teacher.
In class I love to teach a strong, fluid and creative Vinyasa sequence that invites students to explore the balance between strength and steadiness (sthira) and softness and ease (sukha). My aim is to cultivate a more expansive sense of connection and support students in deepening their practice, both on and off the mat.
Outside of yoga teaching, I commission, edit and publish fiction novels. Creativity, storytelling and self-expression have always been central to my life.
In a previous chapter, I worked for campaigning groups and charitable organisations focused on opposing the international arms trade, nuclear weapons and the recruitment of children into armed conflict. The values that drew me to this work remain central to who I am today: ahimsa (non-violence), and a belief that meaningful change begins with recognising the sacred light within ourselves and in one another, allowing this to shape how we move through the world.
Whether through stories, campaigning, or yoga, I have always been drawn to work that helps people connect more deeply and compassionately with themselves, one another, and the world around them.
My favourite singer is Tracy Chapman, and my happy place, when I'm not on the mat, is trail running with the Striders, or exploring the forest with my daughter and my dog.