My Story
Hi, I'm Charlotte Kahn and to start my story I'll take you back to July 2016.
I had completed ten years working in business development roles for some of the world's biggest media companies. I had a great sounding title, a good salary, and a lush flat in London. I had surrounded myself with all the 'stuff' I'd dreamed of.
I was miserable.
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I lived for the weekend and for those sweet 25 days of holiday a year. Even from the beginning of my corporate career I had this gut feeling, some call it intuition, that I was not living my best life and there was something else, something I was meant to be doing...
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During that time, I was dipping in and out of my own yoga practice. I loved how on the mat I could unravel my daily stresses like uncoiling a tightly wound spring. I deepened my practice by going on my first ever yoga retreat. After 10 days of yoga, meditation, and relaxation in the magic mountains of Morocco I remember coming home feeling grounded, connected, and alive. The 'coming home' wasn't just returning to London, it was also a homecoming to myself.
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I took a deep breath (or 10!), and quit my job.
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In the months that followed, I dived deeper into my own yoga practice. In early 2017, I began my yoga teacher training at the Frame Yoga Academy in London to become 200 hour qualified yoga instructor, specialising in Vinyasa Flow.
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In truth, at that time I never thought I would be a yoga teacher but as I navigated through my first months as a newly hatched teacher, I felt pure joy from giving the glorious gift of yoga to others. I loved watching how my students benefited from the wonders of the practice on the mat, and how it positively affected their life off the mat too. I started teaching Private Yoga and small groups where I could tailor a class for an individual and Corporate Yoga for workplace wellness.
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Around the same time that I became a yoga teacher, my father was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. I read books and watched Youtube videos on how yoga could be made more accessible for people who could not get up and down from a mat easily.
My research into the subject left me craving for a better understanding on how I could share yoga with people dealing with conditions, illnesses, and injuries.
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This led me to becoming a Yoga Therapist. October 2021, I completed a 2.5 year yoga therapy course at 'The Yoga Root' institute in Egham UK. I now specialise in running Chair Yoga for students who have injuries and/or conditions such as Parkinson's. With the support of the charity Parkinson’s Care and Support UK (PCSUK), I have run over 80 specialist yoga sessions for people with Parkinson's both in-person and online during the pandemic. Later this year, I am running a Workshop with Yoga Teachers Forum for yoga teachers, "Teaching Yoga for Parkinson's".
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You know a little about my father, so it's only fair I mention my mother too. My mother is a Reiki Master with some 20 years experience of giving and teaching reiki healing.
In early 2020, my mother trained me in Reiki Levels 1 & 2, gifting me with the skills to be a fully qualified reiki practitioner.
Joining forces, my mother and I started running yoga and reiki Retreats in Mijas Southern Spain, as well as running a UK Retreat with another yoga teacher in beautiful Somerset, UK. Wanting to make yoga accessible I created and launched Chair Yoga Retreats; you can join the next one this April in North London.
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Last but not least there's my yoga & wellness company, Maida Yoga.
"Maida" because I grew up in Maida Vale in London, and always adored my home. The "/\" in my logo represents a roof, my homecoming. It also represents a mountain, a nod to my second home in Colorado USA.
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And then there's now.
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During COVID-19 lockdown, I began teaching live Online Classes via Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and launched my YouTube Channel. Inspired to help relieve stress caused by the pandemic I launched a free short course Yoga For Calm; sign up to receive 3 free calming yoga practices straight to your inbox.
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What do my students and clients say? Read my Testimonials.
I would love to teach you yoga too! Email me for more details and to start your yoga journey today.
You can follow my yoga journey across social media via Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin and via my Blog and my Newsletter.
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See you on the mat,
Charlotte
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