Who are we?


 Angus Ford-Robertson
Angus has been teaching Hatha yoga and meditation since 2001. His contemporary approach draws on many teachings and has been influenced by Scaravelli, Sivananda, Iyengar, Yin Yoga and more dynamic styles. He is indebted to a number of spiritual teachers, particularly Eckhart Tolle, Ajahn Sumedho, Donna Farhi, Fausto Dorelli and the late great Duncan McColl.

Angus is a qualified practicing Clinical Hypnotherapist and holds a Diploma with the London College of Clinical Hypnosis. He is a Member of the British Society of Clinical Hypnosis and specializes in the treatment of stress-related conditions.

Beyond yoga, motorbikes and exploring foreign lands, Angus' other loves include his partner Nadia, his two boys Rohan and Conor & his daughter Freya.

Phone: 07771 548160
Email: angus@batterseayoga.com



Nadia Raafat
Nadia's interest in yoga began with her training as a national rhythmic gymnast. She completed her first yoga teacher training in Hatha Yoga with the International Sivananda Vedanta School of Yoga and is about to complete a further teacher training with the British Wheel of Yoga.

In her own practice, she has explored many other styles and schools of yoga including, Ashtanga Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Scaravelli Yoga, Yin Yoga and even, briefly, Kundalini Yoga. She remains firmly in the Hatha yoga tradition and is dedicated to showing how the teachings of Hatha Yoga can be applied to bring about transformation on all levels in our lives.

Nadia is also a qualified antenatal and postnatal yoga teacher having completed her basic and advanced Diplomas with Birthlight under the tutorship of the inspirational Dr. Francoise Freedman. She is also a fully trained and accredited Birthlight BabyYoga teacher. More recently she has completed her doula training with Liliana Lamis and Dr Michel Odent and holds a Certificate in Hypnotherapy from LCCH, the London College of Clinical Hypnotherapy'.

Nadia is also a mother of three beautiful children, a pregnancy and birth specialist, an occasional doula and a writer (when she has the time).

Phone: 07771 687128
Email: nadia@batterseayoga.com



Lon Gibbons
Lon was introduced to yoga in 1996 while training to become a massage therapist and she has been teaching yoga in the UK and New Zealand since 2001.  She trained in the Satyananda tradition with Ashram Yoga in Auckland and completed all levels of their teacher training programme between 2001 & 2005, including Pregnancy & Postnatal Yoga.  She continued her training with Judith Lasater (Yoga Therapeutics), Françoise Barbira Freedman (Postnatal Yoga) and is currently furthering her Postnatal and Mother and Baby training with Uma Dinsmore-Tuli.  She is registered with the Yoga Alliance RYT500. 

Lon’s teaching is firmly based in the Satyananda style where the breath guides the practice and leads to deep internal awareness.  She is passionate about supporting women through pregnancy, helping them prepare for birth and motherhood and is particularly enjoying seeing so many new mums and babies benefiting from the healing power of practising yoga together.

Lon also works as a massage therapist, specialising in The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Massage, and as a Birth and Postnatal Doula.  And when not working in London, you will most probably find Lon in India or New Zealand!

Phone: 07871 479965
Email: longibbons@gmail.com



Olivia Flaxman
Olivia’s journey with yoga began in 1997, marking the beginning of deep self investigation and experimentation of holistic and complementary therapies, resulting in an awareness of how when we don't 'let go' the minds thoughts become reflected through the body and its movements.

Olivia encourages clients to listen to the internal voice of their body, believing that through movement we are able to experience a new found freedom and harmony that spreads beyond the body, into mind, spirit and environment. Yogic influences to her practice and teaching include: traditional hatha yoga, scaravelli, kundalini, donna farhi and yin yoga, somatic movement, pranayama (breathing techniques), meditation, visualisation and guided relaxation.

Trained in Egypt, Dublin and South India as a Hatha Yoga Teacher (Yoga Alliance 200hr) and Somatic Movement Educator. An RSA in Person Centred Counselling (Thames Valley University 2004), Spiritual Life Coaching (Holistic Healing College 2006) and Theta Healing Practitioner (2010). She is an experienced yoga teacher, life coach and trainer/facilitator in the areas of personal development, empowerment and lifeskills.

Phone: 07947472135
Email: olivia@batterseayoga.co.uk




Vanda Szuromi
Vanda qualified as a Sivanader Yoga Teacher in 2008 and completed her SMART Yoga Training for Toddlers in 2009.

A nanny and aupair for over 9 years, vanda has a love for children, yoga, veganism and home cooking (a qualified chef whose food is renowned in the Battersea Yoga household as the best in London!)

Phone: 07845 295077
Email: vandaszuromi@yahoo.co.uk





Emma Thistleton
 Emma has been a massage therapist since 2001. She believes strongly in the power of massage therapy and her extensive experience enables to her to provide everything from a fine foot massage to some serious back work to the most indulgent head, neck and shoulder therapy, including for pregnant mummies.

One of her greatest passions is baby massage, which she began teaching in 2005 after studying ‘Developmental Baby Massage and Movement’ under the legendary Peter Walker. She has 2 little ones which has enabled her to see the benefits first hand. She is also training to become a doula in the Spring of 2010, having been inspired by her own experiences to help other mums-to-be.

Phone: 07949 833810
Email: emma@emmathistleton.co.uk



Mel Wood
Mel has been studying yoga and meditation for five years with Angus and Nadia. She also owes a big debt to Donna Farhi and Eric Shiffman, the Benedictines, and Buddhist mindfulness teachings.

A back injury last year became an opportunity to deepen her meditation practice, study psychotherapy and hypnosis, and begin teaching mindfulness. Mel is also a part time neurologist within the NHS.

Phone: 07715421984
Email: mel@mel.org.uk



Joe Cang
Has been studying Yoga for 20 years. Trained in Iyenga, Sivananda and Bihar schools of Yoga in both India and Canada, and with Fausto at London's Innergy Yoga centre where he has been teaching for 6 years.
His classes are focused on facilitatating personal experience of the practice through increased inner awareness.

As a professional singer and musician he is also proficient in Vedic chanting and mantra.

Phone: 07931 753049
Email: joecang@manjomusic.com



Lee Carter
Lee has been practicing hatha yoga for 20 years and became a full time teacher 8 years ago. Her inspiration for yoga came from Faustomaria and his 'Innergy' centre in W11. "He continues to be a great teacher to me." She did her teachers training with Sivananda and now teaches a very fluid style of yoga working with the basic hatha yoga postures and the breath to open and align the body and mind.

Lee has been teaching pregnancy yoga for the last 3 years and feels passionate about yoga as a birth preparation programme: "I gave birth myself last year - all my practice and understanding of yoga totally supported me and allowed me to embrace the whole experience of pregnancy and labour with complete trust and openess, it has to be the best yoga practice ever!"

Phone: 07796 595919
Email: rawfruits@hotmail.com