Katy McGranaghan from Passage West recently set up her own business teaching Yoga, San Yoga.
Having grown up in Passage, Katy now lives in Cork city with her partner. She is involved in community action in Passage, albeit via Zoom these days. She has been seriously craving a walk on ‘the line’ since her last one on New Year's day!
Having practised yoga briefly as a teenager, Katy ́s yoga journey properly began in her early twenties as a way to take some time out for herself while working as a midwife where she was passionate about mental health and the empowerment of women. Katy attended occasional yoga classes but it didn't take long for her to see the immense value that yoga added to her life.
While travelling, and working in the corporate world in the years that followed, she retained her yoga practice, referring to it as a way of feeling at home anywhere. Katy says that yoga has become a simple way to connect to herself and be in the present moment - knowing that is enough. She is passionate about mental health and self-care, and for her personally yoga covers both bases - the strengthening and flexibility are bonuses!
In the summer the opportunity came up to train as a yoga teacher under the guidance of Yogacharya Lalit Kumar. She knew she had to take the plunge, and though it was challenging to leave a job in the middle of such an uncertain time there was also a sense that nothing was certain, so starting a small business seemed like a risk worth taking. Katy has since set up Sana Yoga and is in business a little over 6 months! Sana is a way of saying heal in Spanish, says Katy, whose Spanish, like her website is still a work in progress.
Katy's classes are currently being held online, and are designed to boost mental health, build strength and release tension, helping each student feel better in their body and mind. She runs two types of classes in 6 week blocks. ‘Move & Improve’ incorporating principles of Hatha Ashtanga and Iyengar Yoga; these classes are designed with both beginners and experienced students in mind, the classes are active, incorporating smooth movements, and the regular classes allow students to develop and increase strength and flexibility in an intuitive and non-competitive way by learning to listen their own body.
‘Care & Repair’ incorporates meditation and restorative yoga which is a slow-paced yoga, known to decrease stress and anxiety, by activating the parasympathetic nervous system, allowing the mind and body to relax using minimal muscular effort. Restorative yoga promotes better sleep, boosts mood, nourishes the joints and connective tissues allowing the body and mind to release tension and heal.
During lockdown Katy is also using her teaching as a way to allow families and friends to connect, who due to COVID otherwise would not be able to do so. By running private custom yoga classes for small groups and leaving the virtual room to allow them to catch up afterwards.
She loves facilitating these sessions, as it brings a sense of community to the classes which is sometimes lost online. Some of her recent groups have been siblings, cousins, friends and colleagues living in different counties and countries, practicing yoga together and then having a cuppa and a chat afterwards.
Central to the ethos of Sana Yoga is the belief that through practising meditation, pranayama (breathing exercises) and asana (yoga postures), we can all come to feel at home in our bodies and develop a compassionate inner voice which can be used as a tool to cope with all aspects of life.
Katy can be found through Instagram and facebook @sanayogaco, or by email at sanayogaco@gmail.com
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