Hotpod Yoga
Southampton

Anna

Yoga for Anna began when she searched for something to help her find self-love and compassion and help her grow from where she was. The experience she had when she started practicing regularly was magical, and she soon realised she wanted to share that experience with others and share the impact it had on her. Her self practice deepened even further when she traveled to Rishikesh and enrolled in a 200-hour teacher training. A lifelong learner who will always be a student on this journey to discover self.
The atmosphere Anna creates is friendly and conducive to students learning and growing in their own lives.

Leon

Leon’s journey into movement began at age six with a passion for martial arts, earning him numerous titles across various disciplines. He discovered yoga in 2003 as a perfect complement to his martial arts training in London. The blend of movement, mysticism, and magic captivated Leon, who delved into yoga, tai chi, and qigong with great interest.

He integrates Eastern healing arts with cutting-edge research in his therapeutic practice as a physiotherapist pursuing a PhD. Upon completing his 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2020, he expanded his knowledge to teach qigong, somatic movement, and Pilates.

Leon’s teaching aims to enhance human movement and energy potential, promoting healing, connection, and superior athletic performance. In his classes, he fuses scientific knowledge with ancient wisdom, helping you flow elegantly, powerfully, and pain-free.

Emma

A runner and swimmer, Emma started practicing yoga during her nursing training, and after qualifying as a registered adult and mental health nurse, she continued to practice because yoga helped her cope with the stresses of work and improved her mental health. Yoga’s positive effects on her everyday life led her to complete a 200 hour teacher training program at Arambol Yoga School in India, in addition to her Reiki certification.

Emma is a firm believer that yoga can benefit mental wellbeing and aims to convey this message to her students.

Ella

The practice of yoga has been a part of Ella’s life for more than ten years. Her passion for yoga and nature led her to complete a 200-hour YTT in Costa Rica. With its vibrant biodiversity, her training became a pivotal experience in shaping her holistic view of yoga.

Practicing yoga has been her greatest guide to a more radiant life, and she hopes to share this with others.

Emily

Emily first discovered a love for yoga at the age of 16 and gained her 200hr Ashtanga Vinyasa qualification in 2019.
After more than 12 years practising, she’s hoping to encourage everyone in the pod to be kind to themselves as they explore and celebrate what their bodies are capable of – with plenty of smiles and giggles along the way.

When she’s not on the mat, Emily works as a journalist for BBC South and has been at the heart of some of the biggest local news stories. She believes this experience has given her a greater respect for the people around her and the incredible challenges life throws at us all.
Emily is very excited to help guide you through your yoga practice.

Mel

All through Melissa’s life health and fitness has been at the core, spending many years in the world of dance. After starting a family and a career change, Melissa discovered Yoga and quickly realised that it was not only rewarding as a physical practice but also a mental and spiritual one. She had found a new passion! In order to immerse herself fully Melissa flew off to Rishikesh India to complete her 500 hour yoga teacher training.
Melissa is excited to be part of the Hot Pod yoga team and is looking forward to guiding you in your practice as you explore all that yoga has to offer.

Paul

Over the past 20 years, Paul has practised yoga all over the world. In 2022, he travelled to Rishikesh, the birthplace of yoga, to train in the classical Hatha yoga tradition and yoga philosophy. His teaching is grounded in Ashtanga vinyasa. He is fascinated by the science of yoga and brings his study of physiology and neuroscience underpinning yoga to fellow yogis.

He first discovered Hot Pod Yoga in Berlin and fell in love with how heat deepens the practice and makes you feel amazing. Meditation, breath work and cold water immersion are important parts of his personal practice.

In his professional life, he teaches English at Winchester College, where he is also the yoga instructor and swimming coach. Paul believes that yoga is for everyone and he is passionate about how yoga heals, transforms and enriches lives.

Becca

For the past six years, Becca has practiced yoga as a means of achieving inner peace and self-help. She qualified as a yoga instructor in Nepal in 2020.
She is passionate about yoga philosophy and the Eight Limbs of Yoga, which offer guidance for leading a peaceful life and encouraging us to achieve our full potential. As an avid advocate of staying connected to the inner child, she teaches laughter yoga and yoga for children!
“Yoga is a never-ending journey, and there is nothing I enjoy more than watching my own and other peoples’ lives unfold.” – Becca

Gaynor

Gaynor has practiced yoga for over 10 years, but her real passion for it, kicked in 4 years back. Having 3 children, she loves the strength, flexibility and relaxation that a regular practice brings and is passionate about sharing these benefits with others. She has always loved fitness and sport and holds a personal training qualification. Gaynor is certified as a Vinyasa and Rocket yoga Instructor.

Vee

Since 2001, Vee has been practicing yoga as a huge part of her fitness and wellbeing routine.
Yoga teacher and certified personal trainer, she is passionate about sharing how yoga & physical activity can positively impact both physical and mental wellbeing.

She enjoys keeping in touch with nature by taking her dogs for long walks and runs in the forest.

Aloysia

Taking the plunge and becoming a yoga teacher was one of the best decisions of her life! A yoga practice has greatly enriched her life, and she is passionate about sharing it with others.

Aloysia was in her early twenties when she first began practicing yoga. A good stretch followed by deep sleep made her fall in love with the warm, fuzzy feeling. She loves yoga for more reasons than just keeping her body strong and flexible. Connecting with ourselves on a deeper level enables us to better contend with life’s challenges.

As you embark on your own personal yoga journey, she will be there to guide you into the positions that are right for you and your body, so you feel the benefits long after the mat has been rolled up. Your everyday life will be infused with that blissful feeling of tranquility after attending a class.

Sarah

Sarah has been practising yoga for thirty years and teaching full time since 2011. Over this time she has developed a warm and compassionate style of teaching incorporating the therapeutic benefits of asana along with mindfulness practice. Her teachers are many and varied which is evident in her style. Originally training to teach vinyasa flow she has since qualified to teach yoga for people with cancer; adults and children with disabilities; pregnancy and post natal; yin and mindfulness. Expect to be gently challenged and have a lot of fun with yogic philosophy woven throughout. Classes are welcoming for all levels.

Kat

Kat discovered the magic of yoga at a very early age through her mum who has been practicing yoga for many years. Right from that first sun salutation as a kid (pretending to be a hissing cobra – how exciting!) she was hooked. Practicing regularly through her teens and early 20s, Kat wanted to spread this magical practice to anyone who would listen and qualified as a yoga instructor so she could do just that.

Kat believes that yoga is for everybody and has been a regular at Hotpod Yoga Southampton ever since it opened. She is very excited to be able to welcome people into this space as a teacher!

Nora

Nora began her yoga journey during her exchange program in India in 2011. After practicing Hatha yoga for a number of years she came across vinyasa after moving to the UK, in 2018. She’s a certified hot dynamic vinyasa yoga teacher, and firmly believes in the life changing power of yoga.
From trusting yourself, to challenging your mental and physical limits, coming out the other side empowered, her personal experience taught her that any practice is a journey that begins with believing in yourself.
That is the foundation of every class, along with a strong desire to respect the culture Yoga comes from in all its aspects.

Shennon

Her expertise in Ashtanga and Vinyasa Yoga is enhanced by her years of practice in both the UK and Singapore, where she lived and worked. Shennon’s dynamic personality and passion for the subject leave students entertained and filled with humour during classes.
A strong advocate of Yoga as a physical and mental discipline, she believes yoga offers us the tools necessary for lasting transformation.