S O P H I E E M M A H O W A R T H
A n i n t e r v i e w w i t h S o p h i e E m m a Y o g a
230 Hour Certified Yoga Teacher
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BA HONS in Contemporary Dance
1. Tell us about yourself
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My name is Sophie Emma and I am a movement enthusiast, originally from the south west of England but have spent the past ten years travelling and making homes all over the world. My journey with movement started at the age of three, competing in Gymnastics for nine years, I then started at a dance centre for advanced training and fell completely in love with movement as an art form, later graduating from one of the world’s leading contemporary dance schools ‘Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance’ with first class BA Honours specialising in Dance Science and the rehabilitations of injuries.
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After traveling and living in Australia my love of movement developed and I found Yoga. I traveled to India and qualified as a 200 Hour Vinyasa Yoga teacher and now live in Edinburgh Scotland where I teach full time in various boutique wellness studios.
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2. How did you begin teaching yoga, and what attracted you to it?
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During my lifetime I have obtained many serious injuries, alongside my previous movement training this interest in rehabilitation of the physical body sparked my curiosity in Yoga. Initially I wanted to understand how the anatomy of Yoga could help the rehabilitation process and learn how to apply that to different bodies. However soon after I started practicing I lost my best friend of 14 years, immediately my appreciation of this practice deepened and enlightened me to the true power of Yoga. I travelled to India to heal from this trauma and left knowing this was my purpose and I needed to create this safe space and share this light for others.
3. Being in a teaching role what are you hoping to convey or achieve with your students? What kind of things do you hope to pass along to those in your classes?
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The main focus of my classes is for my students to celebrate the union of mind, body and soul. Holding space for people to play with the internal dance between breath and movement, feel deeply and heal is of most value to myself as a teacher.
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I want my students to learn and leave my classes with a stronger understanding of their body, for them to let go of any comparisons and feel confident in honouring what works best with their own anatomy. It is also incredibly important to me that my students understand that Yoga is more than a physical practice on their mat and that they leave my classes with the tools they need to implement this into their everyday life.
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4. What style of Yoga do you teach?
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I teach an array of styles, Vinyasa Flow, Hatha, Power Yoga, Hot Yoga, Gentle Flow , Beginners and Yin.
I started my teaching journey offering mainly Vinyasa Flow classes, highly influenced by my dance training my teaching style is very creative as well as dynamic and fun. I recently completed my 30 Hour Online Yin Training which has invited a softer side to my offerings. My absolute favourite class to teach is Beginners, introducing the magic of this practice and being apart of their journey is such a privilege.