My Crew

Tracy Donachie

Sport and exercise have always been a big part of my life since childhood. I have played and coached football in different countries including Iceland, Australia and United States. In addition to coaching, I have managed various sports programs both in the UK and abroad. My interest is in how sport can help communities, groups and individuals who need additional support; In 2012 I developed and implemented a programme in Edinburgh dedicated to providing physical activity opportunities for over 700 looked after children and their carers, which continues to this day. 

I have also worked as a mental health counsellor; this included using physical activity to aid mental health.   I have a Masters in Performance Psychology and am currently undertaking my PhD in perfectionism and overthinking in athletes. I am also a visiting lecturer at York St John University, teaching on a number of undergraduate sport- and exercise-related degree courses.

Additionally, I deliver performance psychology skills and techniques to a wide range of people across various sectors and walks of life, primarily to improve well-being. My aim is to inspire and motivate people to reach their full potential by teaching them  psychology skills and techniques.  I have worked with a number of sports teams (including the Scottish national women’s football team), individual athletes, coaches and organisations to help them (or for them to help others) flourish within performance settings. 

I first tried hot yoga in the USA when I couldn’t play football because of an illness. Although that experience was short-lived, I tried yoga again in Edinburgh on my return to the UK and I loved it. Sadly, because of my intensive training schedule for football, this was also short-lived.

Yoga came to my rescue a year and half into my PhD, when I discovered Yogabomb. I arrived in a pair of baggy football shorts and I couldn’t touch my toes. Despite my lack of flexibility, I was hooked instantly and began practicing daily. Yoga has helped me in many ways. It has taught me of the importance of breath, many funky arm balances but more importantly it has taught to me to just be in the moment. I cannot overstate the impact of yoga on my stress levels and overall mental well-being. Teaching at Yogabomb is a privilege and I am always striving to develop my experience and knowledge. I have attended workshops led by Dylan Werner and a yoga retreat in Thailand which have had a huge impact on my own practice and teaching. Teaching gives me an opportunity to bridge psychology and physical activity in the hope that I can instill passion for yoga in others.

I started with yoga in 1998 in the Czech Republic when I picked a correspondence yoga course book by Svami Gitananda Giri. Practising for 17 years made me realise the learning process never ends. Living in modern society and getting on with everyday life, accepting all it has to offer can come as pleasurable but can also be a whirlwind experience at times.

Being spiritually aware made me very vulnerable to the outside world and yoga helped me with troublesome late teen years when I questioned the life purpose from all perspectives. The grounding effect of yoga is undeniable. The connection it creates between the mind and body is outwordly and although being also a fitness enthusiast (HIIT, running, swimming, circuits) I admit it is always yoga which reconnects me with my inner self and rebalances me for everyday life.

I started my teaching journey in 2009 with Zen Buddhist Daizan Roshi.  I love teaching meditative classic hatha yoga but also creative fluid vinyasa. I promote self focus, moving with ease, and independence to help students discover their practise that will best serve them as individuals. Trained in other modalities (Indian head massage, Quantum touch, Angelic Reiki, Theta Healing, Art Therapy) and being enthusiastic about raw food nutrition and juicing is strengthening my belief that all can be helped and healed with changes in life-style.

Stay happy, healthy, flexible, strong, balanced and blissful!

See you in the class. xx

Clare Plunkett

My first yoga teacher was in her sixties, proving age was not a barrier to flexibility, strength and well-being. I mixed yoga with other sports over the years and realised I never felt as healthy or as happy than when I had conscientiously made practising yoga a regular part of my activity.

When I was first introduced to hot yoga, I became hooked! 

I realised heat and humidity was a friend to yoga - not only did my flexibility improve, but my breathing technique too. I became a keen student of Hot Yang and found my body strength, posture, shape as well as physical and mental wellbeing improved.

Since then, I have also discovered a need to counterbalance the ‘heat’ of stretching and strengthening muscles and slow down the physical and mental activities with chilled Yin yoga, focussing on calming the mind and nourishing joints and ligaments.

Finding the yin and yang of yoga has brought a positive balance to my life that I wish to share with other yogis.

I have 200-hour Yoga Alliance Hot Yoga Teacher Training, 50-hour Yin Yoga, and 50-hour Aerial Yoga qualifications and teach in Thailand and in the UK.

“What comes easy won’t last. What lasts won’t come easy.”

Caitlin Pollock

Yoga has always been a form of escapism for me; to switch off the “monkey mind” and to find time to truly connect with my breath and body and to appreciate the energy of the universe. I love to share this in my teaching, creating a welcoming space where yogis of all ages and abilities can come to escape and connect too. I like getting creative with my sequencing, building flows that both calm the mind and challenge the body.

My yoga journey began in the States, about 8 years ago, after attending many classes in Chicago, searching for the perfect balance of energy, challenge, and relaxation. I found and fell in love with Vinyasa flow and have been practicing this style ever since. As I’ve traveled and while living and working abroad in Australia and New Zealand, I’ve built on my yoga practice at various studios, continuing to discover a deeper connection to the practice and a better understanding of the need for balance (the yin and yang) in all areas of life.

I completed my 200 hr teacher training with Yoga Alliance in November 2017, in Ecuador, and continued to teach whilst traveling throughout South America. As you can tell, I love to travel but York is where I will be based for the foreseeable future! I am originally from York and have just completed my PGCE in English at York University so will be teaching at a local secondary school from this September. Teaching is another passion of mine (clearly)!

When I’m not practicing yoga or teaching, you will find me in coffee shops, getting out into green spaces or I will be somewhere eating peanut butter straight from the jar.

Kate Wiggins

As a yoga teacher and life coach I believe that yoga can transform lives…it has and still is for me! 

After dabbling in a few styles of yoga it wasn’t until after the birth of my two children that I tried hot power yoga for the first time, from that moment there really was no going back. I instantly felt at home and knew that I’d found the yoga practice that I’d be looking for. A powerful practice that not only challenged me physically but mentally as well.

As a family our lives had taken us to three countries in four years, with seven different homes and I’d begun to feel unsettled. I wasn’t really sure of who I was or where home was, until stepping through the doors of the studio around the corner from our house in Virginia, USA. Thousands of miles from ‘home’ I found a whole new sense of belonging in a wonderful yoga community and in myself. 

In 2014 I undertook my 200hr teacher training at that studio I’d come to call ‘home’ Dancing Mind, a Baptiste affiliate studio). Shortly after, I started my certification in coaching from the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching and completed further yoga teacher training in Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra (with Jennifer Reis).

I’m excited to be back in York (where I grew up!) teaching at Yoga Bomb. I like to teach fun, yet thought provoking classes that challenge you to move beyond your comfort zone to transform yourself physically, mentally and emotionally. I’m a firm believer in the idea that how we show up on our mat reflects how we show up in life off the mat. And my aim is to help you take yoga beyond the time you spend in the studio to positively impact all aspects of your life.

Interested in joining the Yogabomb team?