Our Teachers for IYOGA Fest 2025
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Garth McLean (USA)
Based in Los Angeles, Garth's credentials are impressive to say the least. He has studied annually with the Iyengar family in Pune, India since 2000.
He is a senior level Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher “CIYT” (Level 3 – Intermediate Sr III), a Certified Yoga Therapist and Approved Professional Development Provider with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (C-IAYT), and a Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500) and Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) with Yoga Alliance.
In addition to regular intensives, Garth offers workshops on the positive effect of yoga on MS and other neurological conditions. He regularly offers workshops in Europe, the United Kingdom and South America. In April 2024, Garth was a co presenter at the European Congress of Physical Rehabilitation and Medicine in Ljubljana, Slovenia (April 2024). Garth has also taught in Canada, Australia, Russia Federation and Tunisia. Garth has served as a guest teacher at the France Iyengar Yoga Teachers’ Convention (2009), the Spain Iyengar Yoga Teachers’ Convention (2011).
Garth McLean’s story is an inspiring one. In his own words, he was “blessed with a diagnosis of MS” in 1996, an event that disrupted his career trajectory as a Hollywood actor and that changed everything for him – as he says, instantly, forever and continuously.
Yoga helps him manage his symptoms and the stress of these huge changes. While yoga is not a cure, he is living proof that a well-informed practice can help lessen symptoms and safely empower the practitioner to enhance their quality of life, whether dealing with a condition or convalescing from an injury or illness.
Garth is a published author of Yoga and Multiple Sclerosis, A Practical Guide for People with MS and Yoga Teachers, (Singing Dragon Books, London 2020).
We are so excited to be welcoming him to IYOGA Fest 2025. More details on his programme coming soon but we envisage that there will be a special session for teachers and trainees on how to utilise the therapeutic aspects of Iyengar Yoga to help those with neurological problems.
Contact Garth: https://yogarth.com
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Jayne Orton
Jayne Orton is the Director of The Iyengar Yoga Institute of Birmingham (the name was suggested by BKS Iyengar himself ) when it opened in 2002 with his full blessings. She is an Advanced level Iyengar teacher. She was a direct student of ‘Guruji’ since first meeting him in Oxford in a Master Class when she was only a teenager – a pivotal moment that completely changed her life…..Jayne subsequently made annual trips to Pune to study with him and the rest of the family. Since the early 1980s she made over 25 trips to the Institute. In 2010 BKS Iyengar awarded Jayne an Advanced level certification which only a few teachers worldwide received from Guruji in the last few years of his life. Jayne likes to think that the Institute she opened in Birmingham is unique in that it is the only privately owned building of its kind in the Midlands dedicated solely to the teachings of her beloved Guru.
In Jayne’s own extensive teaching career of 45 years she has taught all around the globe including intensives at many Iyengar Yoga Institutes in Europe and the US and Canada. More recently she taught the main Belgium Iyengar Yoga Convention and also the one in Holland. She has taught the main conventions in Scandanavia and trained many of the teachers there too and in other parts of Europe. She will be teaching the Spanish Convention in 2025. She is honoured to teach Iyengar Yoga including particularly her own regular local students in Birmingham many of whom have been with her for decades. Over the years she has taught all kinds of classes from childrens, teenagers, pregnancy classes to sessions for severely disabled students. She has also taught many famous people too who went on to practice Iyengar yoga long term – including film stars, rockstars, top sports teams including the England Cricket team, football teams, amateur and professional golfers and professional ice hockey players. She has a particular interest in Indian Philosophy and leads study groups on the subject. She also runs the medical class at the Institute and trains other Iyengar teachers in Therapy Work and guiding them through level 2 and 3 certification.
For many years Jayne has been the teacher to the first team at Birmingham City Football Club where she teaches at the training ground in Birmingham on a weekly basis alongside the physiotherapy team and backroom staff and assists the players with specific injuries on the recommendation of the team doctor.
Apart from being a lifelong BCFC fan, her interests also include Indian Philosophy, reading and writing poetry and walking in nature with her beloved Jack Russell – Sparky (aka ‘Spark of Divinity’)
Contact: https://www.iyengaryoga.uk.com/our-teachers/jayne-orton
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Rachel Lovegrove
Founder and director of IYOGA Festival and Orange Tree Yoga, Rachel is a highly regarded Iyengar Yoga Teacher with over 30 years experience of teaching and practice. She runs online and in person classes from Southampton, is trained in yoga therapy and is also a teacher trainer , mentor and assessor.
Rachel is passionate about helping people navigate through mental and physical health issues through the application of yoga in their daily lives. She cares deeply about the discipline that she has devoted herself to and knows personally about its transformational and curative qualities.
She shares the wisdom, potential and precision of Iyengar yoga with humour, extensive experience and with a warmly supportive and skilful attentiveness.
Rachel created IYOGA Festival (formerly Yoga Camp) to bring people together to practice, study, learn and share their love for yoga in a nurturing and creative environment. Her mission is to continue to bring senior Iyengar Yoga teachers, steeped in the knowledge of BKS Iyengar's teachings, to the festival, to inspire practitioners of all ages and levels of experience to continue with their yoga practice and to share BKS Iyengar's teachings for many years to come.
Contact Rachel at www.orangetreeyoga.com
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Hannah Lovegrove
Co-producer of IYOGA Festival, Hannah is a Level 3 Iyengar Yoga teacher from Dorset, UK and has been practicing yoga since the 1970’s. She is an extremely popular teacher both at home and abroad having run several retreats over the years. Along with her regular classes and workshops, she is also a trainer and Mentor for new teachers.
Hannah’s knowledge of anatomy and physiology adds depth to her teaching. She specialises in teaching mixed groups, giving her students the confidence to practice safely, whatever their limitations or level.
Hannah provides supporting teaching for all levels as well as assisting in the main sessions.
Contact: www.hannahlovegrove.com
Previous Years Guest Teachers
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Uday Bhosale (2024)
We are so excited to have Uday join us this year for a special workshop session at IYOGA Fest 2024. Uday is a powerhouse of a teacher. He trained with BKS Iyengar & Geeta Iyengar from a very young age and he taught at the Iyengar Yoga Institute in Pune for 15 years before relocating to the UK with his wife, Sonali. Uday has an infectious joyful teaching style and we can’t wait to welcome him.
Contact: www.yogawithuday.com/online-classes
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Lin Craddock (2024)
Lin Craddock, founder of the Maidstone Yoga Centre, is a senior level III teacher with a deep passion for sharing the transformative benefits of yoga. With extensive experience studying with the Iyengar family in India, Lin is dedicated to teaching students of all abilities. As a therapy teacher, mentor, and assessor for the IYA, Lin is committed to empowering students to connect with their mind, body, and spirit through yoga. Her focus on yoga philosophy and vedic chanting adds depth and meaning to her classes and workshops, inspiring students to cultivate a deeper understanding of themselves and their practice. Join Lin on the mat and embark on a journey of self-discovery and growth with a teacher who is both knowledgeable and nurturing.
Contact: www.iyengar-yoga.co.uk
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Edgar Stringer (2023)
Edgar runs ‘Yoga Tree’ with his wife Lydia Holmes. He started learning Iyengar Yoga in 1991 with Marion Kilburn whilst studying Philosophy at Manchester University. He went on to train at the MDIIY with Jeanne Maslen and became a teacher in 1997. Since then he has mainly studied with Richard Agar Ward and is now an Intermediate Senior level 3 teacher.
Edgar has been a committed member of the AIYI committee for many years helping to organise events in the Bristol area. He has spent two months learning directly from the Iyengars in Pune and is looking forward to returning next year.
Edgar’s enthusiam for yoga is reflected in his classes which are lively, focused and engaging. He enjoys teaching people Yoga at all levels and learns continuously from the students in his class.
As well as teaching Yoga, Edgar is a special needs carer. He enjoys building, restoring and riding his own bicycles. He is also a bee-keeper and a gardener with three allotments to grow fruit and vegetables.
Contact: https://www.yogatree.co.uk -
Lydia Holmes (2023)
Lydia's interest in Yoga began when she was 18 whilst travelling in India. She began classes at Manchester University in 1991. She trained with Jeanne Maslen and Tricia Booth and qualified in 1997. Lydia became a Senior Level 3 teacher in 2015. She is a mentor for trainee teachers, an IYUK assessor and is an active member of the Professional Development and the Therapy Committee.
"After my first class with Marion Kilburn at University I was hooked. I felt so wonderful after class that I decided I wanted to feel like this all the time. The more I practiced the more the transformational nature of the subject unravelled. I feel very fortunate to have spent my life sharing Iyengar Yoga with others."
Whether you are a seasoned Iyengar Yoga practitioner or have just started to practice yoga, you will be in very good hands with Rachel, Hannah and our special guest teachers, all of whom are trained to a high level in Iyengar Yoga and have decades of experience behind them.
IYOGA Fest is all about the yoga! So be prepared to be immersed not just in asana but in the other aspects of yoga such as pranayama, philosophy and group discussions.
If you are new to yoga, we do strongly recommend that you get prepared before you come to the festival - click on any of our teacher links above and you can find access to a whole library of on-demand yoga classes or sign up for a beginners class with any of the teachers featured.
If you are coming with health conditions, injuries or other medical issues, all yoga teachers at IYOGA Fest are trained in Iyengar Yoga Therapy, so they can help you to enjoy your practice safely with modifications as and when necessary. Always check with your medical professional before attending classes and be sure to detail any existing conditions on the section marked on your sign up form.
The Yoga Classes - An Immersion into Iyengar Yoga
Benefits of Iyengar Yoga
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What is Iyengar Yoga?
Iyengar, is a form of Hatha Yoga, named after BKS Iyengar, that has an emphasis on detail, precision and alignment in the performance of posture (asana) and breath control (pranayama). The Iyengar method builds strength, mobility, stability and health through the functional application of asana (postures) and sequences in harmony with the body’s natural anatomy and physiology. No student should ever feel out of their depth at any stage and Iyengar Yoga teachers are trained over years (minimum 6 years to certification) to ensure student safety.
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Mindful Practice
Iyengar Yoga incorporates the other aspects of yoga such as Pranayama (breath work), Philosophy and mindful practice, helping students to navigate through life’s ups and down, twists and turns, with equanimity and poise.
