The teachers

Nichi Green

Director and founder of the Yoga space Nichi has been teaching in Leeds for the last 6 years. The space was the next natural progression for Nichi who wanted to provide a centre for her students. Nichi has been practicing Astanga yoga for 9 years and did her training with Brian Cooper of Union Yoga in Edinburgh. Nichi continues further training in 2007 working towards her 500 hour Yoga Alliance diploma as well as assisting Brian on his teacher training course.

Over the years she has found her students and her practice to be her greatest teachers. And she seeks inspiration also from other styles of Yoga enabling her teaching to be creative and challenging. A registered Dramatherapist and arts practitioner Nichi is able to use her experience and intuition in these fields to inform her yoga teaching and finds many parallels between the two.

Therapeutically yoga helps to release emotional blocks as we also hold trauma in the physical body. She has a particular interest in baby yoga and children's yoga, both of which she has taken specialist courses in.

Peter Finch

Peter Finch (Ph.D.) came to yoga at a later age than most. With an academic background in literature and the history of art, he nowadays combines work as a busy educational organiser with his own literary writing projects. He remains deeply drawn to Astanga yoga, practising most days, as the best complement to a lifestyle otherwise imbalanced by a too-sedentary body and a habitually engaged mind.

Yoga restores balance, and brings union, energy and poise to both. Pete approaches yoga as a joyful, transformational practice, working powerfully on body, mind and spirit. Pete is a committed teacher with many years' experience. His teaching style is focused, lucid and hands-on, with an emphasis on breath, alignment and the interplay between movement and stillness. He has completed Astanga teacher training with David Swenson and Brian Cooper.

Krissy Bonner

Krissy has three children and has practised and taught yoga throughout her pregnancies. She has been practicing yoga for 10 years and qualified with the BWY to teach in 2001. She completed BWY Yoga For Children module in 2004 and Yoga for Pregnancy in 2005. She has been teaching Yoga For Pregnancy at the Yoga Space since April 2004 and brings a real sense of care, nurture and consideration to her teaching. Her gentle and thorough approach enables her students to feel calm and supported.

"The class really helped me prepare for the birth..I was much calmer and more focused..."

"I was feeling uncomfortable and suffering with back ache. Krissy was able to advise me of some positions to help ease the aches and pains..I have a very chilled baby.. I'm sure its down to the yoga!!"

Liz Stephensen-Payne

Liz Stephensen-Payne has been practicing Yoga for 12 years and teaching Yoga for 4 years.

Liz follows in the tradition of Sri Krishnamacharya and has worked with teachers from the Iyengar and Pattabhi Jois branches of this noble root. Amongst the teachers that Liz has worked with are Shiva Rea, David Williams, David Swenson and has taken teacher training with Brian Cooper.

She is committed to learning about and teaching Yoga through her regular attendance at workshops and classes. Liz is currently undergoing training with the British Wheel Of Yoga under the guidance of Diana Kendal and with Philip Xerri on his Pranayama Foundation Course.

The wide variety of training and experience that Liz has gained through working with sports centres, Yoga Centres, companies and private lessons enables Liz to tailor classes to the requirements of the students. Whether it is a quiet relaxing class at the end of a hard working day or a strong physical practice to wind down after a stressful set of meetings.