Teacher Training Open Day | HYBRID
Gingi Lee, Melanie Cooper, Jennie Wadsten | Price: FREE | 6.30–8.30pm 9 November 2023
We are delighted to be hosting a FREE open day evening for The Shala School of Yoga and we warmly invite you to come and enjoy two practices (flow and nidra) plus time for discussion and questions with our lead Senior teacher trainers Gingi Lee, Melanie Cooper and Jennie Wadsten. It is a rare occasion that all three lead teachers will be together in person at the Shala. If you are unable to join in person then you may also attend via livestream, though we encourage you to come in person if you can. The invitation is open to anyone interested in studying with us on our 200 hour or 300 hour programme or for any of our shorter CPD modules.
The Shala School of Yoga trainings have been described by graduates as transformational, life-changing and mind-blowing. Our carefully crafted 200 and 300 hour programmes and CPD trainings are run by an exceptionally talented team and have been set up to shape and support a new generation of teachers.
Overview
We invite you to join us in the studio to meet three of our lead teachers as well as one or two past graduates. This will be an in person opportunity to practice with the teachers and to have open discussion and ask questions. For those unable to attend in person, you can book a livestream place instead.
The evening will take the following format:
- 6.30pm Introduction to the Shala School of Yoga
- 6.45 Opportunity for Q&A and to talk to past graduates | GIngi, Melanie & Jennie & student graduates
- 7pm Flow Yoga Practice | Gingi Lee & Melanie Cooper
- 8pm Yoga Nidra | Melanie Cooper

Teacher Bios
Gingi Lee
Senior Yoga Alliance Registered teacher Gingi Lee, co-director of the Shala, founded the studio in 1997 and founded the Shala School of Yoga teacher training programme in 2016. He has been teaching yoga full time for over 25 years and is one of the country’s most experienced ashtanga vinyasa yoga teachers.
Gingi began studying and teaching martial arts in the 1980s with his father, Sensei Richard Taibong Lee. During an early trip to India, Gingi came into contact with yoga and spent many years returning to India to study and devote himself to the discipline. For two years in the mid 90s, he apprenticed with the late Derek Ireland after completing a teacher training course in Goa. He subsequently went to Mysore to continue his studies with Sri K Pattabhi Jois and then attended a two-year teacher training course with Graeme Northfield of Australia around 2001. Additionally, Gingi has trained more recently with Yamuna Zake and become certified in Yamuna Bodyrolling, a form of remedial bodywork which has interested him for many years and which he now incorporates into some of his teachings.
For 25 years, Gingi has focused his energy on teaching at his centre in South London, alongside hosting yoga holidays and workshops internationally. In 2016 he established the Shala School of Yoga teacher training programme and he is now hugely passionate about passing on his knowledge to the next generation of teachers.
Gingi has played a key role in popularising ashtanga yoga in the UK and has taught, trained and inspired many British yoga teachers. He is a well-respected teacher who has remained at the forefront of the yoga community. His teaching is characterised by sensitivity, warmth and a deep commitment to the practice.
Melanie Cooper
Melanie has been teaching yoga since 1997 and teaching on teacher trainings since 2010. She is passionate about the ability of yoga to heal and transform peoples’ lives and her deep connection to and love of yoga is evident in her teachings.
On a personal level yoga helped Melanie heal from Chronic Fatigue. As she got stronger, her practice evolved and she became a daily Ashtanga practitioner for many years – making her way through the primary and second series and starting third. Her practice was very “strictly Mysore” at that time. More recently with changes in her own personal practice brought on by the menopause, she started to broaden her practice including yin, yoga nidra and slow flow. Her practice has evolved and grown into something new and beautiful – nurturing and soft but still strong and intense.
Melanie is a genuine and down to earth teacher who brings a vast breadth of knowledge to her trainings. She offers a place where you can find what works for you, a place where you will be welcomed as you are with no judgement or expectations – where you can find the practice and way of teaching that is truly right for you.
Melanie divides her time between the UK and Goa running teacher trainings and retreats in UK, Sweden, Crete and India. Sometimes she can be spotted dancing on the beach. She is the author of ‘Teaching Yoga Adjusting Asana’.
View Melanie’s website
Jennie Wadsten
Jennie fell in love with yoga in 1997 and has been teaching full time since 2005. She has hosted a variety of trainings and workshops worldwide including Nidra, Ashtanga, Vinyasa Flow, Yin, Meditation, Pranayama and Anatomy. She has completed a plethora of teacher trainings and continues in-depth studies with Josefin Wikström, Julie Martin, Josephine Selander, Heather Mason, John Friend, Paul Grilley, Melanie Cooper and more.
Jennie has specialist knowledge through studying psychology, psychiatry and social psychology on how yoga effects mental health and is a member of IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists).
For Jennie teaching is about helping others to cultivate breath, awareness, strength and joy and taking these teachings into everyday life and “off the yoga mat”. Her teaching style is warm, enthusiastic and encouraging, and contains an extensive knowledge of both biomechanics and fascia. She is passionate about how to make yoga safe, enjoyable, balancing for the nervous system and energising. Read Jennie’s full biography here



Course Dates
The course has the following modules scheduled:
-
Thursday 9 November 2023 Day 1
6:30-8.30pm | IN STUDIO or VIRTUAL LIVESTREAM
Pricing
- FREE
- To reserve your place, please >>click the BOOK button below or at the top of the page>> click BOOK NOW >> sign in or input your details and choose payment method