Amy Degnan
Yoga has offered me a philosophy and way of life to integrate my psychological and spiritual curiosity, personal and ethical values, and passion for mindful movement. Coming from a dance background, embodied movement has always been my creative outlet and brought me joy and a healthy mind-body connection. Yoga has always interested me but my passion truly developed during my mid-twenties whilst I was studying for my PhD alongside full-time work. I was living in Manchester at the time and joined a local studio, One Yoga, founded by certified Jivamukti yoga teacher, Andrea Everingham. During this time, I started practicing with senior Ashtanga teacher, Donna Southwell and attended bright and early Mysore self-practice at the Life Centre in Manchester which set me up for my working day.
It was not long before I realised the benefits of yoga – I would enter class feeling disconnected, in my head, stressed out and tense and leave feeling centred, grounded and calm. Yoga soon became my anchor and coping mechanism supporting me to slow down, destress, be present, and reconnect with myself, others and my environment. I feel so grateful for the practice, which has allowed me to create positive changes in my life and find more balance, clarity and space amongst all the yang - striving and doing.
I have consistently been practicing yoga for over 15 years now and have been taught and inspired by experienced teachers across different schools of yoga, including Ashtanga, Jivamukti, Rocket, Dharma, Mandala and Yin. I completed my foundation Yoga Teacher Training with Sammy Nwokeka and Sophie-Rae Martyn at Yoga Soul Manchester. I have since completed separate trainings in elemental inspired Mandala Vinyasa and Yin yoga and will be completing further training in Rocket Vinyasa and Yin (with a focus on the meridians) later this year.
Alongside teaching yoga, I work four days a week as a Clinical Psychologist in a trauma informed care pathway for adults with mental health needs in the NHS. My work as a psychologist compliments my yoga practice and I apply trauma informed care and compassion and mindfulness-based approaches to all my therapeutic work and when holding space for others in their own practice.