YogaVillage

All of our superb instructors have many years of yoga experience, both as practitioners and teachers. They each have their own special styles and qualities and strive to share the countless benefits yoga with their students. They are all fully qualified and fully insured.

 

Founders
Heidi Haenschke

Heidi has practiced yoga for 12 years and is a qualified Hatha (Contemporary Yoga), Ashtanga and Iyengar teacher. Heidi enjoys teaching different styles of yoga to suit different bodies, levels of energy and personalities.  Over the years, Heidi has attended numerous Ashtanga workshops and teacher training courses in Ireland, the USA and India with leading teachers (such as Manju Jois, David Swenson, David Williams, Tim Miller, Danny Paradise, Mathew Sweeney and Kino McGregor) and continues to deepen her learning of all forms of yoga.

A native of New Jersey, USA, Heidi has lived in Dublin for 17 years.  She came to yoga when she was pregnant with her third daughter, and her love of yoga grew to make it an integral part of her life.  Heidi chooses Ashtanga yoga as her personal practice and enjoys running marathons, biking and horseriding, so she knows the benefits of yoga for those involved in sports.

Heidi enjoys sharing the fun of yoga with children of all ages and is a certified YogaKids teacher (CYKF); presently the only one in Dublin as well as a RelaxKids teacher. She is qualified to teach toddlers to teens, as well as children with special needs and does so at YogaVillage and in schools and private groups. Heidi also has 7 years experience working with children as an Irish Girl Guides leader and is a mother of three girls, aged 16,14 and 12.

Heidi is one of the founders of YogaVillage.

Dee O'Rourke

 

Dee started her yoga journey 12 years ago when she was pregnant with her second child. She developed her practice over the years by tasting a variety of styles of yoga. She trained as a yoga teacher with Marie Quail, Y.T.T.C.  She completed a two year intensive Iyengar teacher training with Marion Kilburn. More recently  she completed an Ashtanga Teacher Training with world renowned David Swenson in Edinburgh.  Over the last 2 years Dee has attended workshops with the following teachers: Matthew Sweeney, Kino McGregor, Danny Paradise, Manju Jois and most recently completed the 2nd series with Nancy Gilgoff in Crete. Her adult classes are influenced by all the main strands of Yoga, but Dee is particularly interested in the flow of movement of Ashtanga Yoga.  She is sensitive to the abilities of all levels from beginners to more advanced practitioners

As a mother of four kids Dee understands the difficulty of trying to integrate Yoga into a busy lifestyle. During her pregnancies she became increasingly aware of the huge benefits of yoga breathing and movement during the different stages of  pregnancy, labour and recovery and this culminated with Dee having her fourth baby at home. During that last pregnancy  she co- produced with Sighle McDonnell a Pregnancy Yoga DVD titled 'Labour of Love'. She has also assisted in several births in the role of a birth partner.

Dee is one of the founders of YogaVillage.

Teachers

Gillian Mooney

Gillian is one of a small number of Ashtanga yoga teachers worldwide to have received the official Authorisation to teach from the Shri K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute in Mysore, India. In fact she isone of only two Authorised teachers in Ireland, and the only woman! She has spent many years studying at the source of this ancient practice under the direct supervision of her teacher, Sharath Rangaswamy and Guruji, the late Sri K Pattabhi Jois.

Gillian is passionate about imparting this traditional yoga system as she learned it from her teacher in India. Her unique teaching style is derived from her ability to impart the purity and simplicity of this practice in a way that makes it accessible to people of all ages and levels, from complete beginners to experienced.

 

 

Michael O'Higgins

Michael trained as a yoga teacher in India and Australia and is registered as RYT500 (500 hour Registered Yoga Teacher) with Yoga Alliance. Michael is qualified to teach Ashtanga, Vinyasa and general Hatha yoga. He has taught in Goa & Himachal Pradesh in India, Byron Bay & Melbourne in Australia and at home here in Dublin, where he is currently studying for a B.Sc. in Physical Therapy.

Michael has been practicing yoga for over 5 years. Having experimented and dabbled in many different styles of yoga he primarily practices and teaches an invigorating Vinyasa yoga which combines the physical dynamism of a flowing practice with the longer holds of the hatha style that has been described as "gentle but strong".

 

Lara Dunlea

 

Lara is a certified Hatha, Pregnancy, and Kids’ Yoga teacher who first discovered the benefits of yoga while studying for her Psychology degree in U.C.C. 20 years ago.  In 2004, she began to attend classes with Marianne Jacuzzi in Monkstown, Dublin, where she developed a regular Ashtanga practice and a deep appreciation for the life-changing benefits of yoga.  Her desire to share her love of the discipline inspired her to participate in the first Irish-based teacher training course held by internationally renowned body YogaWorks, which takes an approach inspired both by Iyengar and Asthanga schools of yoga, resulting in classes that focus on alignment, precision, and flow.  

Lara found yoga to be invaluable in helping her to prepare for the home births of her two children.  Having trained in pregnancy yoga with Yoga Therapy Ireland, she is passionate about encouraging pregnant women to trust the wisdom and amazing resources of their body in order to have a positive and empowering birth experience.  

Paula Dunne

Paula has been practicing Pilates extensively since discovering it in her early twenties.  She has many years of experience, gaining her Certification in Mat and Apparatus with The Pilates Foundation in London who are the governing body of Pilates in the UK.  She has worked with some of the world leading Master teachers in this field including; Gillian Hessel and Kyria Sabin.

On returning to Dublin in 2007, Paula opened her own successful Pilates Studio and is also teaching mat classes in the Community ever since.

She is currently a member of the Progressive Pilates Academy in Dublin and is  at present training with Joyce Gavin, Master teacher of Pilates here in Ireland.  She also travels back and forth to the UK for workshops and further training with The Pilates Foundation.

Over the years, Paula has instructed people of all ages and from all walks of life.  In her classes, she will help you to achieve a healthy toned body, and a wonderful sense of well being.

Grainne O'Kane

Grainne has been practising yoga for over 10 years and meditation for 3 years. When she discovered there was teacher training for kids yoga, if felt right and she jumped at the opportunity.   Yoga is a wonderful way for children to learn peace, quiet & presence in a funloving way. Kids are natural yogis and by teaching them I hope they will learn more awareness of yoga and take it with them through their teens (when their natural ability tends to fade) and throughout their lives.