Founder & Co-Director of the Shala & The Shala School of Yoga | E-RYT-500 Lead Teacher Trainer | Senior Ashtanga, Teacher | Aerial & Yamuna Bodyrolling Teacher | Trauma Informed

Co-director of the Shala, Gingi founded the studio in 1997 as one of London’s first dedicated yoga centre. He has been teaching for nearly 30 years and is widely regarded as one of the UK’s most senior and respected yoga teachers. Gingi teaches a variety of classes, including Ashtanga, Mindful/Intuitive Flow, Aerial and Yamuna Bodyrolling, as well as running level 1 (200-hour) and level 2 (300-hour) teacher trainings and international yoga retreats.

Gingi began studying and teaching martial arts in the 1980s with his father, Sensei Richard Taibong Lee. Early travels to India brought him into contact with yoga, inspiring years of dedicated study and personal practice. He apprenticed for two years with the late Derek Ireland after completing a teacher training course in Goa, then continued his studies in Mysore with Sri K Pattabhi Jois. He later undertook a two-year teacher training course with Graeme Northfield of Australia. In addition, Gingi is certified in Aerial Yoga and in Yamuna Bodyrolling (trained by Yamuna Zake) –  a remedial modality he has long been passionate aboutand now weaves into aspects of some of his teaching. He continues to deepen his knowledge through study and practice. He is trained in trauma-informed approaches and brings this sensitivity into all aspects of his teaching and teacher training.

For over 25 years, Gingi has dedicated his energy to teaching at his centre in South London, alongside hosting yoga retreats and workshops internationally. He has played a significant role in the growth and popularisation of ashtanga yoga in the UK, having taught, trained and inspired many yoga teachers. In 2016 he established the Shala School of Yoga teacher training programme working closely with Melanie Cooper, Jennie Wadsten-Sharma, Mark Kan and Norman Blair. Since then his focus has been on nurturing and guiding the next generation of yoga teachers.

Gingi is an exceptionally well-respected teacher who has remained at the forefront of the UK’s yoga community for nearly three decades. He is known for his warmth, humour, depth of experience and his deep commitment to yoga as a lifelong path. His teaching is grounded, sensitive, inclusive and open minded, deeply informed by decades of practice, study and personal inquiry.

Read Gingi’s own personal story here. Click on the links below to find out more about his teacher training courses or scroll down to see his schedule of classes.