Gift: Therapeutic Yoga, Meditation and Breath-Body-Mind classes to groups and on a private basis.
Biography: Emily is an extraordinary person who lives and works in alignment with her values. She does this with gentleness, kindness, respect and inclusivity but also strength, boundaries and honesty. She is one of those people with naturally positive, calming, energy and experience. Her sessions will most likely leave you feeling better, stronger, and more grounded and optimistic in yourself.
Alongside her private practice in London, she also works with bereaved survivors from the Grenfell Tower fire, refugees and asylum-seekers.
Emily has practiced yoga and meditation since 1999 and has studied and taught internationally. She has always followed her heart and her background includes creative, social justice and environmental projects in corporate, non-profit and public sector environments.
In 2009, Emily founded a project in East London at Hackney City Farm, in partnership with the British Red Cross Refugee Services, that provided a safe space to breathe and heal for refugees and people seeking asylum through therapeutic yoga. Improvements in health and quality of life for the refugees and asylum-seekers were so great, as was the demand, that she dedicated the next decade to this work.
Emliy transitioned the project into a charitable organisation, OURMALA, that went on to work with hundreds of women, men and young people, often long-term. Her work was recognised and replicated internationally and in the UK awarded centre of excellence status by the national governing body of yoga, the British Wheel of Yoga.
In 2019, the NHS asked Emily if she could adapt this programme to support bereaved survivors from the Grenfell Tower fire community, which led to funding from the NHS. Her report on this work shows the very positive impact of yoga on health and quality of life. Emily has trained hundreds of yoga teachers and health / legal professionals in how to work most effectively with therapeutic yoga and was invited to the US to represent Europe in the field of yoga service.
Emily’s heart lies in leading a creative life and teaching yoga, meditation and breathwork. Throughout her years at OURMALA, she always continued to teach classes herself.
Today, Emily’s private clients range from high fliers to those who just like her style and are looking for sessions to help with stress, pressure, life changes and spirituality.
Emily lives between London and Wiltshire with her husband and dog. She loves meditation, yoga, nature, reading and the arts as well as a good adventure.
Qualifications:
- Yoga Teacher 500 Hour Diploma (British Wheel of Yoga, the UK’s National Governing Body of Yoga)
- Extended study trips to The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute (3-4 months each)
- Diploma in Global Mental Health: Refugee Trauma and Recovery (Harvard Medical School)
- Breath-Body-Mind Teacher Training Level 1 & shadowing its founders in the US
- Specialist training certifications working with yoga and stress, anxiety and PTSD; also with refugees, asylum-seekers and with The Samaritans
- MA in Creative Writing & BA English Language & Literature (Sheffield Hallam University)
- Emily has worked with yoga and the NHS since 2010. She was a founding member of The Yoga in Healthcare Alliance and board member, and was involved in the first All Party Parliamentary Group for Yoga meetings in Westminster.
- Emily’s yoga teaching background includes work in London, Europe, India, South Africa and the US.
Why we love Emily: Emily is a team player who is passionate about community wellbeing and lives by integrity and kindness.
Location: London (Richmond) Works in person & online
Services: 1-2-1 in person and online
How to Book: Visit her website at www.emilybrett.org
