Testimonials
Reiki Healing with Rowena has been such a life-transforming experience for me. I feel reborn.
The energy and outcome of the breathing exercise was amazing! Even though I’ve read about it before, it was my first time having someone guide me through it, and I feel like that was the missing piece. Thanks again for such a great experience! We’re definitely planning to come back for more.
Yoga and wellness is full of hyperbole and extremes today. Rowena’s space is the opposite of all this noise – there are no expectations, you are not being funelled into a certain way of being or thinking in her beautiful little studio perched above the bay in Sheung Sze Wan.
Instead, Row offers a safe haven, a place where you can consistently come back to the mat and learn something new about yourself each day. Together with Rowena you form a partnership of sorts – she is there to guide you to where you need to be, for each day and in each mood and each physical need. And the sole expectation she has in return is that you show up and learn to face yourself and love yourself more fully.
I’ve practiced with many teachers but I’ve very rarely been able to learn from someone so intuitive and in touch with the energies in the room. Rowena has been extraordinary in taking me step by step from post-natal recovery to a 4 times a week ashtanga practice, while making it feel like a flourishing of myself physically, mentally and emotionally. Sometimes she sits very quietly [I am pretty certain when she goes quiet she is doing reiki cause you can feel the heat coming off of her!], and sometimes she’s very dynamic and pushes you hard – but each time it always feels like the right solution for that particular day.
Her teaching is also built on deep study of philosophy, breathing and anatomy. Rowena understands how small shifts in your practice can build into huge changes. For example, who knew lifting the arches of my feet would change my standing series so much, which has then helped tremendously with my tight post-natal hips? Well… Rowena did!
Thank you Rowena for all you have done, for giving me the space and the tools to learn to heal myself this last year.
I am a former dancer and teach the best dancers in the world, yet working with Rowena and getting re-connected to myself has given me more energy & motivation in my life.
I really enjoy the small class and attention to detail in Rowena’s work. The small corrections and the awareness they create makes a huge difference in the yoga practice. I also enjoy that the goal is self-practice, so although you are being guided in a very detailed manner you are not just following the teacher through the movements, you actually do it yourself in your own flow.
As I am a shallow breather the attention to the breath and the connection between breath and movement is really helpful for me.
When I am in HK and get to work with Rowena regularly my body aligns in a totally different way, this means I have much less aches and pains and feel a better flow of energy through my body. My goal is to maintain this when I travel.
For anyone thinking about starting practice with Rowena I wouldn’t hesitate for a second, from the 1st class you will be thinking “why didn’t I start this earlier?”
At a very difficult period in my life, Rowena taught me pranayama yoga breathing exercises. Although I tried many things, including counselling and psychotherapy, Rowena’s help made the biggest difference in improving my mental health. By practicing breathing once or twice a day, and especially when my anxiety and stress levels peak, I can ground myself with mindfulness and bring calm to my state of mind.
Rowena’s calm demeanor, her kindness and her non-judgmental approach will help people with whatever their goal is. Breathwork has been a life saver / changer for me. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you do so, especially with Rowena.
I started yoga with Rowena with a sceptical mind which has truly been transformed. I have disc problems in my lower back and working with Rowena helps massively. She is a calm, nurturing and very positive teacher. There is an aura of calmness and positivity in the class and whatever level you are working at you gain a great deal. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.
A good friend of mine recommended Rowena’s yoga class about 8 months ago. I was a bit reluctant to try it as I felt happy with the class I was already attending. Anyway, I came along and I haven’t looked back. Rowena’s classes aren’t like anything I have experienced before. As a class i feel like we are all moving on a journey together. My flexibility and strength has improved massively. My understanding of the yoga postures is growing so this enables me to carry on at home. I have noticed how much more chilled out I am – not worrying and just taking each day as it comes. I also have 1:1 classes with Rowena which again I have hugely benefited from.
Rowena is a dedicated, experienced and kind person. She offers a great wealth of knowledge in her yoga, breath and meditation classes. I am a 46 year old who is definitely suffering from peri-menopausal symptoms and recently a bad back, which is nearly completely better from some great stretches given to me by Rowena.
Rowena’s classes are so meditative and soothing for the soul. I truly feel I now understand the big picture yoga creates for an individual – the on and off the mat philosophy.
Rowena welcomes us all with the same kindly interest because that is part of her personality – warm and friendly. There is never pressure to compete; respect for each other is part of her ethos. The classes themselves are whatever you want them to be with gentle encouragement from Rowena. I have felt energised and rested and come away with a renewed sense of empowerment. Rowena may be running a small business but this is part of its appeal – she makes small a beautiful experience.
I just wanted to thank you and say how very grateful I am for your wonderful teaching. After forgetting yoga (and myself) for twenty years, our sessions have really been life changing for me. And, without a doubt, doing yoga together with you and the girls is the highlight of every week for me. Your teaching has helped me through a difficult year and taught me to be brave, forgive and move forward with positive energy and love, and for this I will be forever grateful.
My experience has been very enjoyable, positive and a learning curve! Despite initially not being very flexible in my joints, I’ve definitely noticed an amazing difference the day after and during the week after one of Rowena’s yoga sessions. The breathing exercises in particular are something I’d never really studied before and make a huge difference to how you feel and move. I’ve also found myself adjusting my posture at work or when relaxing, having become more aware of this due to Rowena’s classes. Also like the fact that there is no distracting background music so one can focus better of what one’s supposed to be doing in the class.
“I am partially paralysed down one side of my body from a spinal cord injury 20 years ago. Over this time I tried various yoga classes but always gave up, frustrated that I couldn’t access the postures or make progress at the same speed as others. Until that is I started practicing with Rowena. Over a number of private sessions she took the time to develop a practice designed to suit me and to help me overcome my physical limitations. I was originally reluctant to join the mysore group but with Rowena’s gentle encouragement I took the plunge and it is without doubt it is the best thing I’ve ever done.
Rowena cleverly creates a strong sense of community and structures the sessions so that while our practice develops at our own pace, we have the support and extra motivation from each other to keep improving. Her knowledge of physiology is impressive- I feel safer in her hands than I have with many spinal injury physiotherapists – but it is her focus on yogic philosophy (often neglected elsewhere) that has allowed me to move towards acceptance, to the point where I can happily practice next to a professional dancer without making personal negative comparisons. It is not just her extensive experience over decades that allows Row to be so effective but her natural kindness and intuition that shines through in everything she does. She has enriched my life in so many ways – if you get a chance to practice with Rowena take it!”
I was 14 years old when I first had sessions with Rowena. I am now 20 and still remember what she taught me and how seen she made me feel.
Back then, I struggled with panic attacks related to school exams. I distinctly remember feeling very comfortable in her presence and releasing a lot of pent-up emotions during her sessions. Thanks to the breathing techniques Rowena taught me, I was able to take my exams comfortably and have control over my anxiety for the first time.
Rowena is incredibly kind and understanding and she creates a space where you feel safe enough to pour your heart out to her.
I leave Rowena’s feeling calm, energised, and always glad to have turned up on the mat. Row is very observant and wholly unobtrusive, she instinctively knows what you and your body need, and how to communicate that so you can really hear it. She pushes you when you can and supports you when you can’t, without judgment and with kindness.
It’s a beautiful studio overlooking the water. The green, the hills, the birds, the beach all add to the enjoyment of my practise. Oh and the towels smell of lavender – who doesn’t want that during Savasana?!
I wholeheartedly recommend Rowena as a yoga teacher. I’ve been attending her weekly sessions in our workplace for more than a year, and she is always warm, welcoming and calm. She is excellent at ‘reading the room’ and identifying the needs of our mixed age, mixed ability group!
She always provides alternatives – both for those that have more yoga experience/flexibility, and for those of us who don’t or have injuries that prevent certain movements. Rowena is fantastic! I cannot recommend her enough!
If you are looking for peace, love, harmony and healing, there is nobody else that could give you that more than Rowena does! A ray of sunshine, a warm hand, an incredible human and healer! That’s who she is! Couldn’t recommend her more! Love this amazing woman!
Rowena has been through so many lifetimes and can call upon heaps of experience in working with others. I would (and do) highly recommend anyone to take her up on her services. This is such a great opportunity to move towards balance with a truly dedicated and insightful lifestar!
Rowena’s classes involve a perfect combination of movement and mindfulness. I always leave her classes feeling refreshed.
Rowena has a unique approach, healing bodies and minds, something no other gym in Bath can offer. She is generous and spiritually connected, lifting us and taking us on this path of inner peace, while helping us get this yoga body!
Her classes are therapy, starting with meditation, I would say a targeted meditation, since each one of us feels it is answering her day’s concern, and this is already a little miracle. Meditation is followed by postures we can only improve since she corrects us individually. And this is Rowena’s beauty, with her open mind and precious advice, sharing her journey and the teaching she received, a holistic approach for the benefit of our group, advancing and improving together, in synchronicity, and this makes her class ‘stand out from the rest’. Thank you for showing the way and helping me in my journey to a better me.
Classes with you online this last year have made a huge difference to me physically and mentally and opened up a new way of coping with life’s challenges. Because of your classes, I’ve been taking some time to breathe and meditate first thing in the morning as this has really helped me cope with these strange times (*during Covid). Your classes also mean I’ve introduced my 14 year old daughter to yoga through you – she’s been in the background on some Tuesday mornings and we’ve been doing a Sunday morning practice together – she is really enjoying it and feeling the benefits.
And, I just wanted to say a heartfelt thank you for introducing me to yoga. I’ve always felt too intimidated to try it before but you were so warm and welcoming. I’ve found so many positive mental and physical benefits from doing yoga and now do it two or three times a week.
Working with Rowena has been nothing short of amazing for me! I’ve not only learned techniques to reduce my sky high stress levels, I’ve achieved some personal goals I didn’t even know were possible. I’ve come off 50% of the stress meds I was on in a year which I attribute to the work we have done together – incredible. Rowena is a great listener who has empathy and understanding of what it’s like to operate in the real world, with real life stresses. She’s full of targeted advice, is super organised, calm and always positive. I look forward to our Yoga practice and the ‘zen yet energised’ feeling I have afterwards. I can’t recommend her enough to anyone looking for a long-term solution to life!
I have been attending Rowena’s yoga classes since they started over a year ago – the classes have been exactly what I needed and have become a vital part of my week. I hadn’t done any yoga for over a decade and those previous sessions had been more like exercise classes so it was wonderful to now be in a small class with positions being expertly taught, their purpose being carefully explained and being gently helped whenever I needed. Rowena‘s planning and structuring of the sessions means your practise develops at your own pace, but with the extra motivation that I know I need to keep improving. She designs the routines so you can practise at home which I’ve found very useful when I haven’t been able to attend the classes.
Rowena’s yoga classes have helped my body become stronger and more flexible. Just as importantly, though, they have been wonderful at destressing me during intense periods of work. Although my body might ache (in a good way!) afterwards my mind is always in a much calmer state after the session than before. Rowena is a highly knowledgeable and effective instructor but she is also very friendly, approachable and considerate, making sure everyone is comfortable and enjoying the session. She is attentive to diverse needs and is very helpful in offering guidance and support. She has helped to foster a sense of community across the classes, including hosting a Christmas dinner herself. I’m so glad that I found her classes and would highly recommend them to anyone.
I wanted to thank you – you really helped me get over my life blur after turning 40. I stopped being hard on myself, stopped trying to figure my life out, forgave some friends and now have a lot less expectations. I’ve also applied for full time uni to start a new chapter!
