Elena's Yoga Biography

Elena Riu- Author--BWY/Yoga Alliance Senior Teacher/Piano Professor Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Menstrual Leadership Programme Facilitator, CDG Facilitator, JOYW Mentor, Well Women Yoga Instructor-Yoga for Musicians-The Embodied Pianist.

Elena has been practicing yoga since her teens.

After arriving in London, Elena was introduced to the Shadow Yoga school by John Evans and has continued to practice and study with Shandor Remete, Emma Banalves & Karen Watson. Elena also has a very successful career as a concert pianist, piano professor and recording artist.

Since obtaining a Yoga Campus (The Life Centre/ British Wheel of Yoga) Teacher Training Diploma in 2007, and a Children and Teens Yoga and Mindfulness teacher certification, Elena was fortunate to receive Titch Nath Hahn’s Five Mindfulness Trainings at his retreat in France where she also led Children’s Yoga workshops.

She taught kids classes at The Special Yoga Centre and Yoga Home and directed the Yoga for Kids, Tweens, Teens & Families activities at Santosa Yoga Camp.

Her extensive training in female health includes being mentored by Dr Uma Dinsmore-Tuli for many years on a comprehensive training in yoga wellness for women of all ages. Elena is an authority on this field, and for two years she was the specialist trainer for the Yoga Teachers Forum where she offered a very popular online training for yoga teachers and therapists on 'How to run yoga & mindfulness coming of age circles for tweens'.

An experienced facilitator, Elena offers regular workshops for Mothers & Daughters, perimenopause & menopause at various venues in London and online. The founder of 'Yoga Buds, Yoga Blossoms, and Yoga Flowers' Coming of Age Circles for girls, these weekly sessions were also inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh’s sacred ecology as well as Anthroposophy principles.

Elena completed Red School’s Menstrual Leadership Training and also gained a certification in Mentoring Girls Circles with JOYW. She is also a certified facilitator for Celebration Day for Girls, devised by Jane Bennett.

Elena completed a Trauma- sensitive training for refugees and asylum seekers with Ourmala and taught a weekly yoga class for refugee and asylum-seeking women in London.

Besides all of the above, her work as an international concert pianist drove her to research the benefits of yoga & mindfulness with regards to MSKD’s and PRA for pianists and she devised a pilot study project at Trinity Laban jointly funded by ‘Better Practice: Musical Impacts’, Trinity Laban Teaching and Learning and the Keyboard Faculty.

Recently Elena completed both a foundation and a Level I teacher training with Breath-Body-Mind, led by Dr Gerbarg and Dr Brown who practice integrative psychiatry focussing on mind-body practices for reducing the effects of stress and trauma.

Elena has led many workshops in yoga festivals and gatherings including Santosa Family Yoga Camp and at various yoga venues.

Elena regularly offers workshops on 'Creativity and your Cycle' For Female Performer's and runs the Yoga and Mindfulness classes for the Keyboard Faculty at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and also Departmental Classes for the Dance Department. Her article about mother and daughter circles was published by both the BWY Spectrum Magazine and The Chalice Foundation's 'The Leak' and one of her meditations is featured in Celebration Day for Girls training manual.

21st December | 3-4.30pm UK time

Where: The day will unfold at my home in North London in my Garden Sanctuary Studio.

For more info please contact me at riuelena@gmail.com  or 07812208631