About

Alex Nathanson has played competitive sport his whole life, particularly football, tennis and rugby. His cousin introduced him to yoga whilst preparing for a swimming race in Italy.

He was fascinated to discover a vigorous physical activity that didn’t involve competition and didn’t leave his body beaten up.

As he explored yoga in his local gym one teacher there (Tracey Mansell) helped him discover the power of synchronising breath and movement and how breath control (pranayama) could positively influence one’s mental state. This set him on a yoga journey exploring the myriad options available in London. Initially drawn to a dynamic Ashtanga based practice, he has subsequently come to see all forms of Yoga as paths leading to the same place: a healthier body and a happier, quieter mind.

Alex is wary of any strict orthodoxy. Everyone’s journey will be different and full of various guiding lights who help along the way. He hopes to help those seeking happier and healthier lives to question and explore joyfully.

Some physical cultures embraces a mantra of seeking pain to achieve gain.  Yoga turns this mantra on its head and reveals the beauty of taking the instruction literally: no violence or harming, (ahimsa), no gain (aparigraha).

In 2017 Alex took his teacher training with The Power Yoga Company and is very grateful to Mona Godfrey, Pete Cherry, Caroline Pegna, Sophie Dear, John Collins and Cal Wansbrough who have all shared their knowledge and experience so honestly and generously. 

After teaching almost every day for nearly ten years, sometimes 5 times a day, Alex has evolved his teaching so his classes are accessible to all levels of experience. Further reading and training in Breathwork, Pilates and Yin Yoga (100hr training with Cal Wandsborough) have helped Alex support his students wherever they are that day.

The vigorous Ashtanga practice of linking victorious breath to flowing movement, remains a foundation of his vinyasa and power yoga classes. Alex has also created his own unique fusion of Pilates, breathwork, and Yoga: Yogalates; a movement practice which provides a foudation of strength and stablity to more free flowing yoga classes. He also teaches restorative and yin classes for those equally important times when the body needs to recover and we require stillness to observe the balance of our energy.

Classes are often accompanied with music: eclectic playlists which follow the energetic arc of his squences. There will always be a strong emphasis on breathing mindfully, being in the moment. Alex’s classes are carefully designed to celebrate our ability to move, however much it may be that day, and when the time is right, embrace the opportunity to surrender and be still.

Alex’s other job (the one that paid the mortgage) was as a local estate agent, helping people navigate one of the most stressful moments of their life: moving house. Alex has a first class honours degree in Classics with Study in Continental Europe from the University of Bristol where he played 1st XI football. He is a keen open-water swimmer who has escaped Alcatraz, swam from Asia to Europe across the Bosphorus, and from Britain to America (in the Virgin Islands).