Co-Director

Co-director of the Shala, Ella is the person who quietly makes things happen behind the scenes. She oversees the creative direction of the studio and the day-to-day running of the centre and she finds her way on to her mat whenever her busy life permits. Evangelical about the benefits of yoga, nutrition and holistic health, she has been a dedicated ashtanga practitioner since the late 90s and more recently a convert to Yamuna Bodyrolling and Pilates. Since then, yoga and other mind-body practices have been an integral part of her life: her sanctuary through bereavement; her guide during two pregnancies and her sanity during the early years of motherhood!

In her earlier years Ella, co-directed a travel & lifestyle book publishing business and then went on to work as a freelance communications consultant and events manager. She has worked on a far-reaching range of projects from commissioning travel books around the world, coordinating music festivals in Brazil, consulting for a London-based architects’ firm and project managing Mozambican humanitarian projects. Her most fulfilling role, however, has been in the creation of the Shala as a place of well-being, acceptance and community where people can heal, grow and fundamentally change their lives for the better. In 2016, she was instrumental in setting up the Shala School of Yoga teacher training programme which she oversees.