Meet Aisling
Aisling is a 500-hr Yoga teacher and Communications Studies graduate. She is a certified Strength and Conditioning coach with experience in personal training and social media management. Aisling also has qualifications in Kids Yoga and gymnastics coaching. She has a background in dance, athletics, boxing, rowing and Crossfit.
My Intention
Wellbeing is at the heart of every class I teach. My goal is to spread the gift of Yoga far and wide, especially to people who never felt like they belonged in a Yoga class. If you have a body and you can breathe, you can do Yoga. My mission comes from a very personal place of experiencing the empowering benefits of Yoga for my mental health. It is my intention that students leave my class feeling good and more comfortable in their own skin.
Yoga has been something that I have continued alongside any sport I have been involved in as a means to promote recovery and longevity. This is why I am so passionate about working with athletes. I have also had the privelege of working with children at a time where Yoga and meditation are being recognised for their efficacy at improving wellbeing and are being introduced during these early years. I appreciate how important this is as I started Yoga in my teens and it has been an anchor during the rollercoaster of these formative years.
I practise Yoga to keep my present self in alignment but more importantly, for the version of myself decades down the line who will enjoy an amazing quality of life.
Continued is a summary of my personal journey into Yoga.
Happy Student
“Aisling’s practice is kind, welcoming, warm and full of light energy. I left the class feeling refreshed, re-energised and re-aligned.”
Happy Student
“The minute you walk into the class, you feel at ease. I feel completely relaxed from the minute I go in. Aisling is an incredible instructor, who makes you feel so welcome and confident to try all the Yoga moves.”
How it all began
My Yoga journey began at the age of 14 after losing my Dad to suicide. After a series of traumatic events, I was in a very dark place at this young age with no way of knowing how to cope. While other girls my age spoke animatedly about One Direction, I was more concerned about how to make it through the day. My Mam suggested that we start Yoga together. She used to sneak away on a Thursday night for her own practice when we were younger and enrolled my brothers and I in Kids Yoga.
After our first class, I was immediately struck by its mood-enhancing effects. This was at a time where my inner world was very unbalanced and I found that moving my body and learning how to use my breath was making a difference to how I felt. I was attending counselling at the time, but I was at a loss about how to look after myself in between sessions. What was I supposed to do when I was left alone with my thoughts for the other 167 hours in the week?! I had found my answer in Yoga.
My first teacher had a strong and assured presence that made me feel at-ease. She always checked in with us and even pulled me aside at the end of class when she noticed I was rapidly losing weight. She taught by example about the power of having a unique teaching presence and the impact you can have on every single student’s week during the time they spend in your studio. I wanted to become a Yoga teacher. I couldn’t see a better way to help people that were like me.
I decided very shortly after my Dad died that I never wanted another person to go through what I had experienced alone. Growing up, it felt like we were case 0 of a family that had been affected by mental illness. We had no idea how to handle it and it was a very isolating experience. It was easy to find the courage to share my story when I felt the significance of it firsthand. I wrote a letter to Ryan Tubridy’s breakfast show on 2fm when I was 15 and appeared live on air to speak about mental health. A few years later at the age of 18, I delivered a speech at the Cycle Against Suicide in front of over 1,000 people. Public speaking was my biggest fear as a young lady who had been silenced for so long but I knew the message mattered more.
At the age of 16 I found a love for running. What started as running laps around my house evolved into rigorous training, entering road races and finding ways to constantly improve. Running made me feel good and the consistency I applied to it helped me to do the same in my studies. Unfortunately, running quickly became obsessive. I began to restrict my food intake alongside my training schedule and developed an eating disorder. In subsequent years I also struggled with binge eating disorder. I was an alien in my own body and had no idea how to be ‘normal’ again. In hindsight, nothing ever was ‘normal’ or steady and every new phase was just another way of coping with the cyclical trauma that I had endured.
I started my first year of an engineering degree with high hopes of changing the world and proving to myself and others that I could be a ‘woman in STEM’. I started rowing which I loved and tried my best to embrace student life. In reality, I was completely burnt out and couldn’t focus on what I was there to do – get a degree. I ended up dropping out of my course and found myself going back to square 1.
I enrolled in Communications Studies in DCU and started to go to the gym more frequently as well as taking up boxing. My inner and outer strength started to improve. I began to save up for my Yoga Teacher Training.
In October 2019, I flew to Koh Samui, Thailand to train with ‘The Yoga Mat’ school. This school is owned by the vivacious and warm-hearted Tania Winstanley Heritage. It was a dream come true! Yoga all day every day. Our days consisted of 6am starts with 3 hours of Yoga before breakfast, afternoon lectures and evening Yoga to finish. I was exposed to many styles and teachers. I deepened my knowledge of Yogic Philosophy and refined my practice. I learned about the way my body and breath can work in unison to create union. I began to feel like I inhabited my body again. I started to fall in love with life and most importantly, I had my own practice to take home with me. I loved Thailand and the way that just by virtue of being there, I settled into a more free way of living. I was excited to come home and share what I had learned.
My teaching career began with small groups of 2-7 people crammed into our kitchen. I was on cloud 9. I loved teaching and over time I moved into teaching charity ‘Karma Yoga’, Zoom Yoga, Instagram live and courses at my local gym. I also developed my coaching skills and completed my Strength and Conditioning qualification. I was a coach and community and social media manager at Fighting Fit. I started filming weekly mobility challenges that quickly became hit with the most popular one gaining over 1.5 million views on Tik Tok. My charity classes raised €1,000 for families in need at Christmas. I loved the flow I experienced while teaching, the connections I made and how I made my students feel when they left the class. I was becoming more and more confident each day.
In December 2022, I felt called to travel again. I went to Singapore and Thailand with no job, no plan and an open mind. I was invited back to The Yoga Mat school – this time as an instructor. I was over the moon! Ever since I had completed my teacher training three years previously, the owner Tania had made such a lasting impression on me and I thought “I would love to do what she does.” I was reunited with old friends, mentors and had the opportunity to teach classes and lectures to new Yoga teachers in training. During my time there I also completed another 300 hours of study and became a 500-hour teacher.
I was living out dreams that I had envisioned for years, meeting amazing people and learning about the inner-workings of a Yoga retreat. In the background however, I finally had time away from home and all the things I used to distract myself. I was hit with the full force of traumatic events that had occured when I was younger and continued into my 20’s. For the first time, not even Yoga could help. I was scared and so ashamed of how I was feeling so I kept it a secret until I got home.
When I arrived home in March 2023, I had to face reality. I had no job but I wanted to pursue what I was passionate about. My mental state was still worsening. A friend suggested that I host a Yoga class on the beach with cacao. I had only tried cacao twice and had great experiences both times. I had visions in Thailand of creating events at home where people could come together outdoors around a shared activity. The vision started coming to life. In April 2023, I hosted my first ever Yoga & Cacao event in collaboration with Nibbed Cacao. The first event sold out so I added another and ended up signing up 50 people in total! I was amazed at how the flow of life had brought me there.
The beach sessions continued and they were the highlight of my week. I began to branch out into Kids Yoga, staff parties, chair Yoga, athletes, teams, schools. With each new group I spread my core message that anyone can do Yoga. As long as you have a body and you can breathe, you belong in a Yoga class. I loved meeting so many new people and sharing the gift of Yoga together.
2023 was also the year I met Danielle Hayes, owner of Firefly Somatics. In the months leading up to meeting her, I began to hear more about somatic therapy, polyvagal theory and how trauma impacts the nervous system. I was so lucky to find someone that embodied all of this and practised the full spectrum of trauma treatment, somatic therapy and neuroplasticity. I embarked on a program with Danielle in May 2023 and finally began to heal my body from the inside out. It was perfect timing. I received answers to questions I had for my whole life and realised that the way my body and mind had responded to the trauma I endured wasn’t my fault. As I began to physically let go of these traumatic imprints, my connection to myself and to the world began to deepen. This started to reflect in my teaching and how I related to my students. I could teach and begin to help people on the level I always wanted. Most importantly, I began to feel safe to just exist in my own body.
It was the most transformative year of my life – taking deep rest as my body healed and simultaneously starting my own business. I learned to trust my inner knowing, have the courage to carve my own path and block out any distractions that didn’t align with my vision. It is my intention to train to become a somatic therapist and I am very excited to blend it into my existing work and teachings as it relates to Yoga. It offers clear scientific information which crosses over with and complements traditional Yogic philosophy. Aswell as that, I know a lot of people who have followed and found inspiration from my story will benefit from this work. I never thought I would feel ‘normal’. I always thought I would have to fight every day and wear a mask to operate in the world. I never thought I would be free of fear, flashbacks, spiralling thoughts, grief and feelings of depression. Now I know the opposite to be true.
It is also my intention to work with more schools and teams. I am in the process of rolling out my schools program which has seen great success. My Yoga program for athletes has also received brilliant feedback and those students have renewed for many more terms than initially expected.
This is what I always wanted to do and now it has become my reality. Coming from absolute rock bottom from such a young age, I never thought I would be happy again. Now I spread light everywhere I go and help people come home to themselves. “No tree, it is said, can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell” as said by Carl Jung.
Why am I telling you all this? Simply put, I want you to know you’re in good hands. I know people come to Yoga for a number of reasons. It’s important to know that your teacher isn’t just a ‘rubber band’ and the purpose of Yoga isn’t solely to be flexible. It’s about so much more.
I’ll see you in class
Aisling x