My Story

I came to yoga at a time when life was moving quickly.

I had just qualified as a doctor and was immersed in a world that rewarded hard work, resilience and responsibility. Like many people in the caring professions, I wore several identities at once: caregiver, professional, achiever - someone who could be relied upon.  

When I first stepped onto a yoga mat, I approached it in the same way I approached most things: as something to improve at. A way to get stronger, fitter, calmer. Surely enough, those things did happen. I did indeed get strong. My mind quietened. But the most meaningful gifts of yoga were less obvious and far more profound.

Yoga gave me something precious that I didn't even realise I needed: space to listen.

Through consistent practice, I began attuning not just to my outward body but to an inner voice. Parts of myself that had been overshadowed by my achievement and responsibility began to re-emerge. Beneath the pace of everyday life and expectation was a simple longing: a desire to live more consciously, connect more deeply with myself and others, and to align more closely with what truly matters.

Yoga helped me rediscover parts of myself I’d forgotten to cherish: intuition, presence, simplicity, breath. These qualities - available to us all if we learn to tune in - now feel more meaningful to me than knowledge, perfection or outward achievement, although I am still learning that lesson every day.

Over time, yoga reshaped my understanding of wellbeing. Rather than something to chase, control or optimise, it is something to nurture and cultivate, small step by small step, one choice at a time, through how we move, breathe, pay attention and learn to relate to ourselves and others.

Why I Teach

Today, my work sits at the meeting point of two worlds: medicine and yoga.

For more than twenty years, I have worked as a doctor, supporting patients through illness, stress and the realities of everyday life. Early in my career, I believe my role was primarily to diagnose well, find solutions and restore function, then move on to the next thing to fix.

But over time, I’ve seen the limits of that model - both for my patients and for myself.

Many of today’s health challenges are not simple problems to fix. They are shaped by the complex realities of each unique human life: our stress levels, sleep, relationships, habits, environment, culture, beliefs, sense of meaning and more. Addressing these deeper layers - physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual - requires more than a quick solution. It requires awareness, participation, and time.

Yoga offers a framework for exactly that.

Where medicine often focuses on fixing what’s visible or urgent, yoga invites us to pause and explore what lies beneath - the patterns of mind, breath, movement and attention.

This is why I continue to teach alongside my work in medicine. Yoga is not simply exercise; it is both practical and philosophical, offering perspectives and tools that help us become intelligent, engaged participants in our own health and wellbeing.

How I Teach

My teaching is informed by five core values: alignment, empowerment, embodiment, service, and lifelong learning.  

I begin with the body, because for many of us - myself included - it is where we first lose connection.

Through precise, compassionate attention to physical practice (asana), we begin to rebuild that relationship. The body is a wise and honest mirror, reflecting how we live, how we hold tension, how we react or respond to ourselves and the world around us.

In practice, this means my classes emphasise:

Thoughtful sequencing that respects individual physical history and safe biomechanics

Clear guidance that supports accessible movement at any age

Deliberate pacing that offers time to feel and integrate

Blending Eastern philosophical insight with modern scientific understanding

Practices that support nervous system regulation and resilience

Space for curiosity, humour and play - because joy is medicine

Who I Serve - Life In Between

Over time, I’ve noticed my classes tend to attract people who care deeply, take responsibility seriously and often give a great deal to others.

Many are professionals or caregivers - including fellow healthcare professionals and other yoga teachers. Many are women navigating midlife, discovering that ageing is not a decline but an opportunity for a new chapter of freedom, vibrancy, and evolution. 

For a long time, I felt like I lived "in between" - between cultures, professions and ways of thinking. Between the scientific training of medicine and the contemplative traditions of yoga. Between East and West. Between doing and being.

And for years, I thought that meant I didn't belong anywhere at all, or that I had to find the perfect balance in between these worlds. Now I see that the space in between is where life unfolds tenderly. It’s a place of nuance and uncertainty in a world that often encourages us to choose a side and think in black-and-white.

Much of my work lives in the middle ground.

Because real life rarely offers simple answers and quick fixes. We move continually between effort and ease, control and surrender, thinking and feeling, structure and freedom. There’s no final point of arrival - only the ongoing practice of showing up, paying attention and learning as we go.

If something in this perspective resonates with you, perhaps we will explore that space together.  

Credentials & Background

Yoga Training

Foundational 350-hour Teacher Training - Triyoga London 2017-2019, Anna Ashby and Tony Watson

Restorative Yoga levels 1 & 2 - Anna Ashby

Yoga for Cancer - Vicky Fox

Medical Practice

General Practitioner (NHS & Private)

BSc, MBBS, MRCGP, DFSRH, DRCOG, DipIBLM

Specialist interests: women’s health, mental health, lifestyle medicine, student health, health coaching

NHS practice

https://www.kclnhshealthcentre.com/

Private practice:

https://www.cienciahealthcentre.com/

Trustee

Yoga In Healthcare Alliance

🤝 Ready to practice together?

👉 [Join a class]

👉 [Email me at infochangyoga@gmail.com]