Our Team

All of our Yoga teachers are trained to the highest standard at our Yoga Alliance registered centres around the world.

Our teachers partake in a rigorous and intensive 200 hour training with Lalit and his expert team of teachers gaining a well rounded education that includes Anatomy, Ayurveda, Pranayama, Yoga Asana, Meditation, Adjustments, Alignment, Modifications, Yoga philosophy and much more.

Our teachers pass on these ancient teachings of yogic science through the traditional lineage of Lalit’s masters in India ensuring you receive a truly authentic  and professional yoga experience. Our teachers are warm, welcoming and committed to sharing this knowledge with people of all backgrounds. We are passionate about sharing Yoga from the Source – with everybody!

Our Team in Cork

Yogacharya Lalit

Founding Director

Lalit is the Founding Director of Himalaya Yoga Valley Centre and the Hon. Secretary for International Yoga Federation for Ireland & Dharamshala. He has over 15 years experience teaching nationally and internationally. He is a…

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Lisa Fahy

Senior Teacher

Lisa is from Cork where she commenced her yoga practice in 2007, initially to help with back problems. Following a yoga lifestyle is now an integral part of Lisa’s daily life and she believes that…

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Sonya Clifford

Teacher

Sonya began her yoga journey in 2001 stumbling into a class feeling stressed and exhausted from life in the corporate world. Looking for something new to try and not knowing what to expect, she left…

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Bernadette Cronin

Teacher

Bernadette Cronin is a lecturer for Drama & Theatre Studies at University College Cork. She is a theatre-maker with GAITKRASH Theatre Company. Bernadette has always been interested in exploring the links between yoga and performance…

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Mary Breen

Teacher

I was in my early sixties when my daughter brought me along to my first yoga class. Being passionately involved in competitive sport all my life I believed that yoga would be too slow for…

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Edina Lebhardt

Teacher

Edina discovered yoga in 2006 while working abroad. During her travels, she has tried many different styles of yoga. She started practising Iyengar yoga regularly after moving to Ireland. To this day,  she continues studying…

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Iva

Teacher

Iva, a spirited individual from Croatia, embarked on a life-changing adventure when she moved to Ireland several years ago. In 2018, she initiated her transformative journey with yoga. Despite facing some private challenges that led…

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Stefanie Blech

Teacher

Stefanie Blech, used to practice Yoga together with her sister in Germany when she was small, watching the old tapes her mother brought with her from abroad. For a while her focused changed to practicing…

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Shauna

Teacher

Shauna fell in love with yoga in her teens and has been practicing since. She originally start practicing to help relieve stress and anxiety but the practice then led her on a spiritual journey. She completed…

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Cassandra Carey

Teacher

Cass has been teaching for over 4 years and has accumulated over 800 hours in training within the modalities of Hatha, vinyasa, yoga Nidra, restorative, and pranayama. She loves hosting breathwork ceremonies and workshops where…

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John Poland

Teacher

John embraced Yoga at the start of the global pandemic. Free online classes provided by Himalaya Yoga Valley were very much appreciated at an uncertain time in all our lives. Regular Yoga practice provided John…

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Pablo de la Medina

Teacher

Pablo de la Medina has been practicing yoga since 2015. His passion for yoga continued to grow and lead him to complete a 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training course in August 2019, with Yogacharya Lalit…

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Madeleine

Teacher

Madeleine’s yoga journey began in 2015 when she was seeking a way to relieve job stress and find mental separation between work and home life. In yoga, she found a way to center total energy…

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Elena

Teacher

Elena grew up in the sunny Mediterranean island of Cyprus. She was a national gymnast up to the age of 17, when she moved to the UK to study biology. She lived there for 9…

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Laura Dempsey

Teacher

Laura fell in love with the practice of yoga while studying for her masters degree as a way of managing stress. She has always been interested in health and fitness, but this was the first…

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Lindsay O’Leary

Teacher

Lindsay O’Leary, Cork, Ireland, discovered the transformative power of yoga whilst pursuing a BA in Contemporary Dance. Discovering the practice led her to complete her 200hr Yoga Teacher Training with Himalaya Yoga Valley in 2022.…

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Regina

Teacher

Regina was a late comer to yoga who has fully embraced all the elements of yoga and has extended her passion by undertaking her teacher training with Himalaya Yoga Valley. She brings her authentic self to…

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Gavin Demarines

Teacher

Gavin initially trained as a yoga instructor in 2013 where he completed his diploma in fitness yoga where he taught for two years. In 2015 he travelled to Himalaya Yoga Valley to complete his 200hr…

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Bríd O’ Mahoney

Teacher

Bríd began her yoga journey as a teenager in 2011, seeking stress relief through the practice of ashtanga yoga. Over time, she discovered yoga as a profound path to self-discovery and homecoming. In 2023, Bríd…

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Hannah

Teacher

Hannah attended her first yoga classes in around 2012, with Himalaya Cork. From early on, she knew that she wanted to travel to India one day to complete her 200-hour yoga teacher training. In 2023,…

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Kate O’Loughnan

Teacher

Kate started practicing yoga in her 20s when she was working as an Occupational Therapist in a highly stressful environment. She has since completed her Masters in Applied Positive Psychology Coaching and yoga teacher training…

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Melissa Stark

Teacher

Melissa is a Mysore Level 2 Authorised Ashtanga Yoga teacher. Melissa is a teacher and practitioner of many forms of yoga including vinyasa, ashtanga, prenatal, and restorative. After many trips to India, she received her…

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Lauren Marples

Teacher

Lauren was first introduced to yoga in 2013 when she started attending hot yoga and vinyasa classes in university. She fell in love with the fast-paced creative flows that challenged her strength & mobility. Her…

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Tanya Buckley

Teacher

Tanya’s love of yoga began as a connection to the physical aspect and matured way beyond that into a more spiritual journey. On returning from a yoga retreat in Goa, she decided to enroll in…

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Brigid DeBarra

Teacher

My name is Brigid DeBarra. I’m originally from Canada and have been living in Cork since 2015. I first started practicing yoga in 2014 out of an interest in spiritual philosophies, meditation and holistic wellness.…

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Taylor Leslie

Teacher

Hi, my name is Taylor and my yoga journey began during lockdown in 2020 and I fell in love with this practice ever since. I started practicing yoga to increase my strength and flexibility but…

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Katie Ann McCarthy

Teacher

Originally from Cork, Katie-Ann started to practice Yoga at the age of 21 while travelling in Canada and absolutely fell in love with it. Over the years yoga has become an important part of her…

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Chloe Nagle

Teacher

Chloe Nagle’s yoga journey began in 2015 when she took a tentative step into the practice by nervously attending free Vinyasa classes offered in her college canteen. Initially, she turned to yoga as a refuge…

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Niamh McGrath

Teacher

Niamh started yoga for the exercise and relaxation aspects and have stayed for the lifestyle and life lessons it teaches. She completed her Yoga Teacher Training in Goa with Himalaya Yoga Valley and has been…

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Joy O’Leary

Teacher

Joy found yoga in 2016 during her final year of college. The routine of waking early and practicing yoga every morning brought her a peace and sense of focus she had not experienced before. Wanting…

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Anna Bridge

Teacher

Anna’s movement journey began with studying ballet from the young age of seven. Originally from New Mexico, USA, she earned her BFA in Ballet and Modern Dance from Texas Christian University in 2012, then went…

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Lisa O’Driscoll

Teacher

Lisa’s journey with yoga began over 15 years ago, when she lived in the UK. A lower back injury in 2013 lead her to restart her journey with yoga and movement with a different mindset.…

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Eve O’Flanagan

Teacher

Eve O’Flanagan was first introduced to yoga in primary school, where she practiced bumble bee breath and asanas. After a period of disconnect, her interest in yoga was reignited during a few classes in Transition…

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Our Team in Goa

Viriam Kaur

Philosophy Teacher

Viriam has been teaching yoga philosophy for Teacher Training courses with Himalaya Yoga Valley since 2011. She is from the UK and has lived in India for the last fifteen years. Having trained with the…

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Yogita Mehta

Teacher

Yogita was born in Delhi and studied Arts at Kurukshetra University graduating in 2007. Yogita is a RYT 300, having completed 200 and 300 hour and Teacher Training courses with Himalaya Yoga Valley in Goa.…

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Maeve O’Brien

Programme Director

Maeve is originally from Ireland , then after spending a considerable number of years in Australia now divides her time between Ireland and India. She is a 300 RYT, graduating from the 200 & 300…

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Adam Devine

Anatomy Teacher

Adam hails from the UK but has lived in India for 10 years. He has been teaching Anatomy with Himalaya Yoga Valley since 2010 and is a valued teacher and team member. Adam is a…

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Dr. Rohit R. Borcar (B.A.M.S.)

Ayurveda Lecturer

Dr. Rohit was born in Goa and completed his Bachelor of Ayurveda Medicine and Surgery (B.A.M.S.) degree at Goa University. He practices medicine in his North Goa clinics, renowned as an Ayurvedic physician, panchakarma and…

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Tony Healy

Senior Teacher

Tony first encountered yoga while on a working holiday in Australia in 1995. After numerous trips to India he decided to combine his passion for yoga and teaching by completing a two year hatha yoga…

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Mandeep Kaur

Teacher

Mandeep was born in Punjab and grew up in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, nestling on the foothills of The Himalayas. Mandeep’s Yoga journey started in 2003 while recovering from severe back pain when…

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