Esmée Halliday: From The Himalaya to Tresco

Being a dancer, movement has always been such an instrumental part of my life. It’s all I wanted to do growing up, so making the decision to move to London and pursue this profession was an exciting one.

Dance is such a beautiful expressive art form, but with most of the arts industries it can also be pretty brutal. Within periods of my training, phases of auditioning and even whilst performing and touring, I found myself struggling with a sense of self. At times I felt rather empty, constantly doubting if I was good enough and searching for external validation. I realise now that it was a crisis of consciousness.

In terms of my experience with yoga, it never really exceeded something that I did on the mat. It was a way to maintain my flexibility which supplemented my dance training. How things have changed.

In March 2020, I found myself at the foothills of the Himalayas, admittedly not really knowing what to expect. I cannot be more grateful for taking that trip.

Learning the true depths of the yogic tradition from its very birthplace was rather magical. Working with practices from the Himalayan vedantic tradition such as Pranayama, Meditation, Kriya, and Mantra have revealed the continuous layers of self. As I gain deeper access to the subtle dimensions within my being, I gain more and more clarity. This is a process of continuous evolvement meaning that I am forever refining and aligning. I am no longer bound to a myopic vision, I have access to an expansive reality.

To see the yogic practices intertwine themselves so effortlessly within my dance and movement is a beautiful synchronicity. It has brought me full circle to why I started dancing in the first place.

I am thankful for this continuous journey I’m on and feel so passionate to teach and share these practices with anyone who is seeking answers.

Sattva Yoga is a whole practice, encompassing a range of techniques rooting from the Himalayan Vedantic tradition. These techniques are holistic, integrative and deeply transformative. Bringing Eastern knowledge from the Vedantic lineage of Yoga to the Western ear, these practices are more than 'yoga' as we know it, they awaken you to the power within.

Yoga doesn’t discriminate, it truly is for everybody. Whether you are simply searching for a place to start or looking to deepen your practice, I can support you through a range of techniques rooting from the Himalayan Vedantic tradition.

Hatha Yoga creates balance and a sense of wholeness in an aligned, healthy body, incorporating static and dynamic postures as well as vinyasa flows. Hatha asana refers to positions and postures used to open the body’s 72,000 Nadis (energetic pathways). Hatha yoga unifies the body’s systems to create balance in each system individually and in the body as a whole.

Kundalini Kriya allows you to realise your infinite potential. These teachings are sacred to the lineage of the Himalayas, so much so that they are only taught orally. Kundalini is the infinite potential of energy that each of us have inside ourselves (based at the bottom of the spine). ‘Kirya’ means evolutionary action. Kundalini kriya practice begins to release this energy, moving it from the base of the spine to the crown. In the process, we begin to release what no longer serves us, on the level of our bio-memory. We transcend our reductionist approach moving towards expansion. Kundalini Kriya - evolutionary action. I know, I was sceptical too. Take action and see for yourself.

Pranayama practice helps you to refine and align your energy. Prana is the fundamental source of who were are, it is the life force energy within us. Yama means tuning, so essentially pranayama is the fine-tuning of our energy. In the yogic tradition, the doorway to Prana is through breath, so pranayama allows us to cultivate breath control to access the subtler dimensions of our being. For without having access to the energy within your body, you cannot refine your nervous system and so fully understand the vitality and health which transcends body image. When yoga is limited to purely the value of the body, it really has no value. When we breathe consciously, we are expanding energy in our physical and spiritual body. Without breath, there is no yoga.

Meditation is more important now than ever; within the modern world, moments of true silence, true stillness, are hard to come by. It is easy for life to ‘take over’ and for us to lose sight of what really matters. Meditation brings you back to your centre, it brings you to that place of true stillness where you reconnect with who you are. A lot of people are interested in meditation but don’t know where to start. We download an app, have a go and then decide its ‘not for us’. I offer meditation initiation sessions, where I will guide your through a personal sattva meditation. Setting you off on your own meditation journey.

Nothing is out of reach - It’s amazing how deep this practice can take you. It begins now.

Find out more about Esmée at her website.

Click below to explore Tresco Yoga Classes with Esmée Halliday and Gem Hansen.