The West Cork Yoga Festival Collective is a group of yoga teachers and willing volunteers living and working in the West Cork region. This core group, as well as the local teachers and practitioners who are involved, form the heart of the festival and make it what it is: a celebration of life! As a collective we work together to achieve our common vision of creating a beautiful event in the spirit of Yoga; compassion, truth, unity and devotion. The people involved support each other, learn and grow together, and create unity within the diversity of their various styles of practice.
The efforts of all the people bringing their unique skills to the table are what make this event the success that it is. We would like to offer huge thanks and appreciation to the committee members from previous years, whose life and work commitments mean that they can’t be so involved this year and whose shoulders this year’s organisers now stand on: Claire Osborne, Fiona Ashley, Clair Rosewood, Bella Hancock, Aine Brosnan, Ellie La Trobe-Bateman and Patrick Cotter. (Most, if not all of these yogis and yoginis continue to teach at the festival).
As well as the main organisers we have had some wonderful people helping us behind the scenes: Corinna Thornton, Dink, Maeve, Aine, to mention but a few, and many more volunteers who have given valuable assistance during the run up to the festival and during seed camp.
2018 organising committee:
Clair Lalor, Corinna Fisher, Corina Thornton (core group)
and support team: Melissa Murphy, Chani Wates, Mukhande Kaur (Aine Brosnan)
Corinna Fisher teaches Yoga regularly in West Cork from her home in Schull and An Sanctoir plus The Yoga Diploma for new trainee yoga teachers in Cork City and Waterford. Corinna started her interest in all matters of the moving body 30 years ago during extensive dance training. This included the Alexander Technique which she studied at degree level. Her Yoga teaching is complemented by her work as a professional massage therapist in the healing arts. Spirituality and self development have been ongoing over the years. Corinna has worked extensively in various community settings here and abroad, teaching and learning. She is a parent and active community member.
Contact : corinnafisher@hotmail.com
Clair Lalor has been a yoga teacher since 1995 having trained with the British Wheel of Yoga. She has been influenced by the work of Vanda Scaravelli, Iyengar, and Satyananda Yoga. Her interest in Living, as reflected in being the best that we can be, in trusting our nature, and the felt sense of that nature, has deepened from her practice and study of embryology and early experience. She is a Shiatsu practitioner and a Somatic Movement Educator and Practitioner, having studied with Linda Hartley, Joan Davis. She is also trained as a Process Oriented Psychotherapist which is a body oriented psychotherapy. She teaches Circle Dance, dances of Universal Peace and is a Laban Community Dance teacher.
Contact : clairlalor@gmail.com
Corina Thornton (Thorn) - For the past 25 years Corina Thornton (A.k.a Thorn) has worked in the arts and practiced yoga and personal development. After 7 years working and living with her mentor, immersed in shamanism, she found her own path, and has been teaching for the past 17 years; placing great value on finding your unique style, methodology and imparting techniques which work for your individual expression. She is proficient in watercolours, pen and ink, oils, acrylic, drawing skills, decorative techniques, mixed media and sculpture. Her style ranges from classical to abstract, fantasy to realism and this variety imparts a limitless scope of possibilities for individuals attending her class. Corina runs the White House Wine bar & Gallery in Kilcrohane on the Sheep's Head Peninsula.
Contact: corina@nutbagcity.com
Melissa Murphy - I'm a perpetual student of yoga and hope my body vessel allows for a continued lifetime of practice. I was raised in upstate New York, USA moving to Southern California in 1999 where my personal yoga journey began. With studios on nearly every corner, I was exposed to a cornucopia of teachers, styles, and traditions. I also love trying anything new so SUP (yoga on a stand up paddle board), yoga among the vines (at a winery/vineyard), hiking yoga, yoga in an art museum, & at a zen monastery are a few favorite memories! These days, a simple & slow, deep & mindful practice brings much contentment! I relocated to Glengarriff, West Cork with my husband in November 2016 and enjoy the abundance of yoga and retreats found here while developing more time for home practice. Currently I'm also reestablishing myself as a Social Worker and feel deeply passionate about end of life care, doula work, and the death positive/death cafe movements. This is the second West Cork Yoga Festival I'll gratefully attend and volunteer!
Contact: starsbeyondourskin@gmail.com
Chani Wates - Chani is a passionate yogini and has been practising since 2010. She teaches Vinyasa Flow and Hatha Flow Yoga in West Cork. She trained with Esther Ekhart, and recently completed her training as a somatic movement exercise coach. Her background, before becoming a yoga teacher, was in environmental advocacy and communications. Her role as a volunteer for the festival is to manage the website, facebook and communications side of the festival.
Contact: chani.wates@gmail.com
Aine Brosnan (Mukhande Kaur) - I have been practising various types of yoga since the 1980’s first attending classes while studying in UCC. I discovered Kundalini yoga 10 years ago and was immediately hooked on the natural fast acting high vibrations that I felt and have had a constant daily practice since. I love this tradition of Yoga as it has a very long and deep lineage and it’s so powerful and direct, providing advanced tools to heal and develop mentally physically and spiritually. It creates a state of balance and neutrality that can allow us to fulfill those deep human desires of good health, prosperity and love. I did the teacher training in 2009 and have been teaching in West Cork since 2010. I recently moved to Kerry and living very rurally I teach one to one sessions, workshops and retreats, hoping to open my own rural retreat centre here at home in the not too distant future!!
Contact: mukhandekaur.ie@gmail.com
