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, Kino McGregor & Tim Feldman, David Swenson, David Williams, and Tim Miller) and continues to deepen her learning of all forms of yoga, most recently Lotus Flow with Dana Flynn and Jasmine Tarkeshi of Laughing Lotus, NYC and San Francisco.

A native of New Jersey, USA, Heidi has lived in Dublin for 18 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, swimming, 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 17,15 and 13.

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 Levels 1 and 2 (Second Series) 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

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.  

Cindy Ireland

Cindy Ireland recently qualified with Yoga Therapy Ireland, after completing two years training. She has been teaching at YogaVillage since January and is interested in all aspects of yoga. Cindy believes that yoga is for everyone.

Mari Kennedy

Mari has been teaching yoga since 2005. For the past 3 years she has been practicing Anusara Yoga and this summer completed Anusara teacher training with Sianna Sherman. She also teaches mindfulness yoga, meditation and movement. Yoga keeps her sane, strong and open to the messiness of life! That what she shares in her teaching. Her classes are about being real, having the craic and playing. She is also a Life and Leadership coach, meditator and singer. marikennedy@eircom.net

Paula O'Shaughnessy

Paula provides yoga classes for the mere mortals among us. Her approach to yoga is known as “Viniyoga” and is characterised by its versatility and emphasis on matching the yoga to the individual respecting their unique condition, needs and interests. This deep and subtle yoga is rooted in the traditional eastern wisdom and principals of practice inspired by the teachings of T Krisnamacharya and TKV Desikachar. Paula believes that by using the many tools of yoga we can create space and ease in the body and we can make this space a place of well being and joy.

Paula is a graduate of Sadhana Mala (viniyoga) and Yoga Therapy Ireland.

www.yogaformeremortals.com   086 3428132