Pamela Toy, owner of The Studio.
It has been my dream to open a Yoga, Pilates and Wellness studio in the East of the Island for many years.
My yoga journey started over 20 years ago doing yoga whilst living in Bermuda, to help turn a posterior baby before birth (successfully) and to help me labour naturally without using pain relief (thank goodness it was quick). But it quickly evolved into a way of life, trying all sorts of different styles of yoga over the years, until 5 years ago when I tried my first Yin yoga class. I experienced a feeling of complete connection with my body, nourishing my physical and mental health. I was hooked, I had found “my thing”.
As someone who is always busy, being a full time mum, wife and dog mum, as well as always staying very active in the gym, cycling and running it is a perfect complement to my yang lifestyle. It adds balance to my life and grounds me. My practice became my centre, allowing everything else around to fall into place. Every time I step onto my mat it not only gives me strength and clarity, but it keeps me humble with its challenges, much like life. I enjoy the feeling of rejuvenation and steadiness that arise from a Yin yoga practice. It is a meditative form of yoga that cultivates awareness of one’s inner silence. It is a wonderful way to learn the basics of meditation and stilling the mind and is particularly helpful for those distracted by mind chatter.
I went on to complete my first 200hour RYS Functional Yin to not only learn more about yoga, but to help others feel the benefits I have.
I believe a well-rounded yin yoga class consists of breath (pranayama), movement (asana) and meditation (shavasana). I teach functionally, focusing on the uniqueness of the bones of everyone. My classes aim to bring self awareness, understanding of the postures and what they are doing to our body, intention to feel a particular way, to use the pose to get into the body and moving in ways which nourish the mind and fits every type of body regardless of age, sex, body shape or flexibility. There is no Perfect Pose. Expect it to be intense at times, we need to feel stress, but in a safe and deeply delicious way, breathe and learn something new about your body. Yin yoga can be transformative, to ease and deeply release held tension in the physical body and unleash stagnant and blocked energy.
My practice integrates the ancient yoga teachings with meridian theory as taught in Chinese medicine. engage the body’s natural healing power as you actively nourish and harmonize the body’s life force or chi the subtle energy improving organ health, immunity, and emotional wellbeing.
I offer group classes, private yin classes, assisted yin 1-1, yin for sports, men only, myofascial release & yin (not for the faint hearted) using trigger point balls and foam rollers.
Certifications
200hrs RYS Functional Yin Yoga (Teacher Training): Anatomy, Chakra studies, Upper Body Anatomy and Meridians. Delivered in Bergen, Netherlands by the incredible Anat Geiger and Marcel van de Vis Heil – The Fat Yogis (Senior assistants of Paul Grilley, the Founder and developer of Functional Yin Yoga as we know it today).
20hrs YACEP Yin Yoga – The Functional Approach (Teacher Training) – Paul Grilley
Favorite yoga pose and why:
Snail pose – It deeply releases the whole spine, relaxes the heart, brings more blood flow to the head, drains the lungs and compresses the internal organs, effectively giving them a ‘massage’. It makes me feel really calm.
What music will I hear in your class?
Anything from Thievery Corporation to Olafur Arnalds or Michael Kiwanuka, it very much depends on my mood. I like to get lost in music when doing yoga and it can also ease your mind into those intense poses.
Favorite yoga myth?
The old “I am not flexible enough for yoga” one always gets me smiling.
What do you like to do when you are not on the mat or teaching?
Family is very important to me. I love my Saturday night BBQ Pizzas with all my boys or a walk on the beach with my dogs.
If you were going to be stranded on a remote island, what 3 things would you want to take with you?
My yoga mat of course, a pot of marmite and one of my many yoga books. It would be a toss up between ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’ by Paramhansa Yogananda or ‘Bhagavad Gita’ translated by Eknath Easwaran.
What is a ‘fun fact’ about you?
On a trip to Madam Tussauds as a young girl, I pinched Kojak’s lolly (which was real) and my mum made me put it back half chewed!