Hi I’m Emma.
I am the founder of Red Tent Yoga, in Byron Bay, Australia. A sacred space that over the years has supported: girls, teens, pregnant women and mothers (& fathers) through yoga classes, support groups and workshops. I have also created the Love Your Body program - for body image & eating disorders - taught in Australia and Japan.
I am a mother of two daughters. I am a yoga instructor, qualified Psychotherapist and Ayurveda practitioner,
specialising in and supporting women through the stages and cycles of their life journey.
From another perspective ... I am a seeker of the truth. A seer. I am a change-maker. I am an explorer, travelling to foreign lands … discovering ancient philosophies and practices.
Since my teens I have been on a mission to know and understand myself. To discover how us human beings tick. I have had an insatiable desire for the truth, how our minds work.
I have longed to learn about ancient ways and practices.
This adventurous spirit has taken me around the world to live, work and study.
I am the founder of Red Tent Yoga, in Byron Bay, Australia. A sacred space that over the years has supported: girls, teens, pregnant women and mothers (& fathers) through yoga classes, support groups and workshops. I have also created the Love Your Body program - for body image & eating disorders - taught in Australia and Japan.
I am a mother of two daughters. I am a yoga instructor, qualified Psychotherapist and Ayurveda practitioner,
specialising in and supporting women through the stages and cycles of their life journey.
From another perspective ... I am a seeker of the truth. A seer. I am a change-maker. I am an explorer, travelling to foreign lands … discovering ancient philosophies and practices.
Since my teens I have been on a mission to know and understand myself. To discover how us human beings tick. I have had an insatiable desire for the truth, how our minds work.
I have longed to learn about ancient ways and practices.
This adventurous spirit has taken me around the world to live, work and study.
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YOGAI first discovered yoga in 1996 while living and studying in Paris. A fellow student from Bermuda, taught me my first ever Sun Salutation. And with unusual dedication for me at that time in my life, I performed the 3 times morning and night. At the time I was a typical 25 year old, thinking about having fun and not so much about my health. Even with this brief daily movement, I immediately experienced the benefits of this simple yet ancient and profound practice. And so, these 10 minutes of yoga a day, were an opening, a glimmer into myself, my emotional & feeling self… and my future potential.
When I returned home to Australia, I went to my first ever yoga studio class. By the end of class I experienced a relaxation and peace that I had never experienced ever before in my entire life. And in that moment I knew that yoga was going to change my life. Soon after, life took me to live in New York City. While living there, Yoga became an essential part of my week, and I will admit living in the ‘city that never sleeps’, I “craved” the delicious yoga nidra at the end of every class. I practiced regularly at the Integral Yoga Ashram, in the West Village, which was set up in the 1960’s by Swami Satchidananda. Looking for a change of career from business & marketing, in 2001 I completed the Integral Yoga Teacher Training at their Ashram in Virginia. This was an amazing life changing experience, especially being able to meet and learn directly from Swami Satchidananda and personally absorb his teachings. It was here that I was also introduced to Ayurveda. I returned to New York where I began teaching classes immediately. |
While living in New York, I discovered Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, which took me to India to meet and study with Patahbi Jois and his son Sharat. The practice of Ashtanga Vinyasa is a powerful practice, purifying body, mind and soul. I shaved my all my hair off and experienced a re-awakening of sorts. While there in Mysore, I had a dream of an Indian yogi. I saw his face very clearly but did not know who he was. Then when practicing at the Ashtanga shala one morning, I noticed a picture hanging on a wall…and there was the same face of the man who had appeared in my dream. I came to learn that it was T. Krishnamacharya, the teacher of not only Patahbi Jois, but, Iyenger and many other well known teachers. I was immediately drawn to him and upon enquiry, discovered that several hours away in Chennai, his yoga ‘hospital’ and centre, run by his son Desikachar, was still in operation where they offered Yoga Therapy Trainings. Luckily there was a training starting in the next few months so I signed up.
This training gave me access to very ancient and authentic teachings of yoga and Ayurveda. I was grateful to have discovered Krishnamacharya and despite him passing several years earlier, I felt humbled by his presence around me then and still to this day.
Along the way, I have studied with various other teachers including:
BKN Iyengar, Uma Inder, Rose Baudin,
Janice Clairfield, Ana Davis of Blissbaby and many more.
'An important fact about Krishnamacharya is that he was the first known Indian Yogi to teach yoga to a woman, Indra Devi'.
Along the way, I have studied with various other teachers including:
BKN Iyengar, Uma Inder, Rose Baudin,
Janice Clairfield, Ana Davis of Blissbaby and many more.
'An important fact about Krishnamacharya is that he was the first known Indian Yogi to teach yoga to a woman, Indra Devi'.
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AYURVEDAWhile in India, I followed my curiosity of Ayurveda and deepened my knowledge through the Krischnamacharya centre, as well as studying with ayurvedic doctors. I experienced first hand the benefits the cleansing and rejuvenation practices of Pancha Karma. This further cleansed my body, mind and nervous system and little did I know, but perfectly prepared me as a fertile woman.
I later went on to study Ayurveda I more depth at Nature Care College in Sydney and then again in India, studying with female Ayurvedic doctors who taught me about Ayurveda for menstruation, pregnancy, birth and postnatal health. Ayurveda became a part of my daily routine, offering a grounding regime of nourishing and cleansing practices to complement my yoga practice and adjusting to whatever I needed in my life at the time. |
MOTHERING
I returned to Australia with a shaven head, a clear mind and a clean body. I was excited to begin sharing the yoga I had learnt. I reached out to some yoga studio’s in Sydney and soon I was teaching several classes a week. One yoga studio was needing a prenatal yoga class covered. I did not know anything about pregnancy yoga, however, I was open to learning so I said ‘Yes’. The class went well and they asked me to continue on as the prenatal yoga teacher. However, little did I know how this would decision would alter the course of my life. I soon discovered the magic of spending time and working with pregnant women because, within 3 or 4 weeks of teaching this prenatal yoga class, I found out that I was …. Pregnant !
So as my body changed and grew, I learnt first hand how to teach yoga for pregnancy. At this time, there was limited information on prenatal yoga, so I mostly learnt by observing how my body responded to the yoga practices and learnt from watching what worked and didn’t work for my students. Over the future years, I did learn from other prenatal yoga teachers along the way, however, essentially my teachings were derived from my personal practice.
I did experience some morning sickness, and the first few months of needing to rest, however mostly I felt energised and continued practicing yoga throughout my pregnancy. I even taught up until 3 days before I gave birth.
So as my body changed and grew, I learnt first hand how to teach yoga for pregnancy. At this time, there was limited information on prenatal yoga, so I mostly learnt by observing how my body responded to the yoga practices and learnt from watching what worked and didn’t work for my students. Over the future years, I did learn from other prenatal yoga teachers along the way, however, essentially my teachings were derived from my personal practice.
I did experience some morning sickness, and the first few months of needing to rest, however mostly I felt energised and continued practicing yoga throughout my pregnancy. I even taught up until 3 days before I gave birth.
When I first held my baby in my arms as a mother, in that moment I knew my life had changed forever. I experienced myself not only as a woman, however, the caretaker of this beloved child. As we all do, I learnt on the job . I was grateful for having the numerous tools from yoga, meditation and Ayurveda to support me in this rigorous postnatal phase. My yoga practice had to change and evolve to allow for my new life as a mother, so my practice sessions were shorter and sweeter, sometimes simply taking the form of a delicious 20 minute yoga nidra deep relaxation with a lavender eye pillow & gentle music.
RED TENT YOGA STORY
When I was pregnant with my second child, I discovered and read the book – “The Red Tent” by Anita Diamont.
The book affected me deeply. I fell in love with the biblical story and characters of the women, midwives and mothers who entered the Red Tent every month while menstruating. What I really fell in love with was the idea of going into a Red Tent to give birth, be supported, held and cared for by other women, sisters and friends in the months leading up to the birth and the precious weeks and months after giving birth. I loved the idea that, a new mother could rest as long as she needed to, let go of daily home routines and responsibilities, while she focused on bonding, feeding and caring for her baby, while she was feed, massaged, cared for by the women around her. This sounded like a dream come true.
It just happened that at the time of giving birth to my second daughter, I was completing a training in Ayurveda. And while I did not have a real life Rent Tent available to me, I called in friends to support me through weekly massage, food and friendship. Also, I was able to apply all the wonderful nourishing self care and daily practices to myself, especially the daily self oil massage which kept my nervous system lubricated and healthy. So even though I had continued practicing yoga, meditating and resting in yoga nidra with my first child… my self care was amplified as I truly honoured my healing & rejuvenation process on a whole new level.
The book affected me deeply. I fell in love with the biblical story and characters of the women, midwives and mothers who entered the Red Tent every month while menstruating. What I really fell in love with was the idea of going into a Red Tent to give birth, be supported, held and cared for by other women, sisters and friends in the months leading up to the birth and the precious weeks and months after giving birth. I loved the idea that, a new mother could rest as long as she needed to, let go of daily home routines and responsibilities, while she focused on bonding, feeding and caring for her baby, while she was feed, massaged, cared for by the women around her. This sounded like a dream come true.
It just happened that at the time of giving birth to my second daughter, I was completing a training in Ayurveda. And while I did not have a real life Rent Tent available to me, I called in friends to support me through weekly massage, food and friendship. Also, I was able to apply all the wonderful nourishing self care and daily practices to myself, especially the daily self oil massage which kept my nervous system lubricated and healthy. So even though I had continued practicing yoga, meditating and resting in yoga nidra with my first child… my self care was amplified as I truly honoured my healing & rejuvenation process on a whole new level.
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The seed of Red Tent Yoga was fertilised a few years later while on a trip to New York City, where I was inspired by awesome yoga centres specialising in yoga for women, pregnancy, mothers & for kids. However, I remember vividly, the actual moment Red Tent Yoga was conceived very suddenly as our plane touched down on Australian soil. It felt like I had experienced some form of Immaculate Conception with a bolt of lightening flashing idea after idea into my mind. And so I gestated her in the Winter months and Red Tent Yoga was birthed in September 2009. I realised soon after beginning the business, that Red Tent Yoga was in fact my third child!
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Over the last 11 years, Red Tent Yoga has been on quite a journey. She has existed in two different beautiful yoga studio locations in Byron Bay and as of recently the studio has closed and so for the time being, she is floating out into the virtual world. She is approaching teen-hood, and is ready to re-create herself, expand out into the world as a bigger & better version of herself.
I am still here gently guiding, supporting and sharing her journey, although I do believe that Red Tent Yoga has her own spirit and purpose in the world. And from this place I honour her.
After 20 years of teaching yoga, I am branching out with new skills and therapies to support women.
Now as a qualified Psychotherapist, I am excited to now be offering new Red Tent Therapies including:
· Perinatal Holistic Counselling
· Psychotherapy
· Havening Techniques for trauma.
I am still here gently guiding, supporting and sharing her journey, although I do believe that Red Tent Yoga has her own spirit and purpose in the world. And from this place I honour her.
After 20 years of teaching yoga, I am branching out with new skills and therapies to support women.
Now as a qualified Psychotherapist, I am excited to now be offering new Red Tent Therapies including:
· Perinatal Holistic Counselling
· Psychotherapy
· Havening Techniques for trauma.
