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In 2001, I founded Bay Tree, my own holistic health and yoga centre in the UK, where I treated clients with a range of natural healing therapies for over five years.

Feeling called to deepen my knowledge and explore the roots of these practices, I sold the Bay Tree on to a caring owner, packed my bags and headed East. I spent nearly a decade immersed in the rich traditions of India and Southeast Asia, studying yoga, pranayama, meditation, Ayurveda, and Eastern spirituality.

During my years in Asia, I deepened my practice by studying yoga and pranayama (yogic breath work), becoming a certified teacher of both.

I trained in Ashtanga Yoga under Paul Dallaghan of Samahita Retreat, Koh Samui, Thailand and in the Kaivalyadham Tradition of Pranayama under Sri O P Tiwari at Kaivalyadham, Lonavla, India.

While in India, I also embarked on a number of intensive silent mindfulness meditation retreats, known as Vipassana, taught in the style of S.N. Goenka, which laid the foundation for my meditation practice.

Intrigued by Ayurveda, I took a 21 day Panchakarma or ayurvedic detox, the experience of which I’ll never forget for many reasons! Despite its challenges, the benefits of this ancient healing system were clear and I wanted to learn more. This prepared me perfectly for what was to come next.

After three years of exploring India, I was invited to serve as Wellness Director of Samahita Retreat, Koh Samui. Keen to take up this opportunity, I relocated to Thailand where I was based from 2009-2012.

At Samahita Retreat, I supported hundreds of people in their health transformations through Ayurveda-inspired yoga, detox, de-stress and healthy weight retreats, as well as my Reiki trainings, all while deepening my own knowledge and practices of yoga, pranayama, nutrition and Ayurveda.

In 2014, I returned to Europe and made Ibiza my home—a place of stunning natural beauty, serene country living and a haven for many seeking to explore their spirituality (yes, there’s another side to this party island). Ibiza’s magical and grounding energy has and continues to deeply support my own healing, spiritual growth, and transformation.

Seeking to offer the same possibilities for healing and transformation to my clients, I founded The Wellness Source, offering workshops and retreats here on the island as well as in the UK, Europe and India. These programs blended my Eastern and Western training to create unique and transformative healing experiences.

spiritual influences & Training

psychology

Having always been fascinated by why people are the way they are, I chose to study psychology at university, where I graduated with a BSc (Hons) in 1996. Then, keen to explore the world, I set off on an 18 month trip around South East Asia and Australia, working along the way.

Energy Healing

Upon my return, I felt a strong call to learn Reiki; it was something I’d heard of on my travels that had piqued my interest but I hadn’t understood what it was. Learning Reiki felt like coming home. I immersed myself in this sacred healing art under the guidance of my two Reiki Masters, Wendy Bradley (Level One and Two) and Madeleine Blee (Reiki Master Teacher) and by mid 2000, I was a practicing Reiki Master-Teacher —a role I’ve passionately carried ever since.

My journey with energy healing continued with Sekhem, an incredibly powerful, compassion centred, Ancient Egyptian healing art shared with me by my dear friend and Sekhem Master-Teacher, Sarah Clements. After 20 years of practicing Sekhem to Master Level, I finally took the teacher level in 2023 and now enjoy initiating women into this incredibly empowering and cosmic healing art both on sacred sites of Ibiza and online.

Since 2022 I have been training with Asil Toksal and his foundation for the evolution of human consciousness, Evolution One. Through the guides that Asil channels (angelic beings that refer to themselves as the Elohim, Emmanuel and Raphael), I have received profoundly transformational initiations enabling me to channel a very potent healing energy the guides refer to as the Love of Creation. This very high frequency is deeply healing and is the energy I have the privilege of channelling in my Angelic Healing sessions.

In 2023, I trained in the first level of Integrative Quantum Medicine TM, a non-invasive energy healing system that uses a kinesiology technique to identify and clear imbalances in our wellbeing using the frameworks of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qi Gong, Chinese Energetic Medicine, anatomy, physiology and quantum theory as a guide.

Complementary Therapies

Between 1999 to 2003 I trained in the following complementary therapies, under the guidance of my teacher and now dear friend, Denise Brown:

• Anatomy, Physiology, and Swedish Massage

• Aromatherapy

• Sports Massage

• Indian Head Massage

• Reflexology

Between 2001 and 2006 I also:

• Studied Aura-Soma and became both a practitioner and teacher of this beautiful system of colour healing. The energetically potent products of Aura-Soma are infused with colour, plant, crystal energies that support self-awareness, self-love and elevation of our consciousness.

• Had the privilege of studying flower essences with Ian White, founder of the Australian Bush Flower Essences, the Butterfly and Sea Essences with their founder and my now dear friend, Erik Pelham, Shell Essences with the founders Nancy Parker and Leonie Hosey and the Alaskan Essences with Steve Johnson. Since living in Ibiza, surrounded by such pristine nature I was inspired to create my own range of flower essences which I call, Ibiza Soul Essences of which there are 30 including essences of wildflowers, trees and sacred sites of Ibiza.

• Trained in Thermo-Auricular Therapy (Hopi Ear Candling)

• Experienced ‘The Journey Intensive’ with Brandon Bays where I learned the powerful, healing and transformative Physical and Emotional Journey Method from the founder Brandon herself.

Yoga

I began practicing yoga in 2003 with Sumukhi Webb. Her beautiful, evening candlelit Integral Yoga classes started me on my yoga path and I am deeply grateful to her for this gift. Within two years I had established a yoga studio at Bay Tree, and Sumukhi and other instructors came to teach. We had a wonderful mix of Sivananda, Integral, Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga on offer and I was in yoga heaven!

My journey with Ashtanga Yoga, the style I later went on to train in, was offered by Sonja Lockyer and Helen McCabe. I’ll never forget how they cornered me one evening after my Sivananda class had finished and insisted I try Ashtanga with them. Well I did and I didn’t look back. There was something about the practice I immediately warmed to. The combination of the Ujjayi breath, the drishti (gaze point) the vinyasa (the flow of movement with the breath) and the use of mulabandha, (the pelvic floor or root lock) left me feeling literally quite high, I was hooked!

Soon a few of us were meeting up at Bay Tree at 6am for self-practice before work and going away at weekends to study with well-known teachers such as Danny Paradise and John Scott when they were around. I now had to meet the guru of this practice, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois or Guruji as he was best known among his students, and what luck that he was on a world tour with his grandson Sharath Jois that year. My friends and I spent a few days in London so we could practice with him every day that he was there. The Ashtanga practice combined with Guruji’s energy was intoxicating. I had to go to India!

By the following May, I had sold the Bay Tree and was headed for Mysore to practice with Guruji and Sharath for a month and to have my first taste of India. I immediately felt at home with the 4am Ashtanga practice and I loved being around Guruji’s energy, feeling aglow when I was in his presence. It was an intense first month in India on many levels, yet I was delighted to have connected with the guru and the roots of the practice that I later went on to teach.

There’s too much to say here about how yoga and India have touched my heart and blessed my life. It’s holy people and places, true gurus, fascinating religions and ancient practices have enriched my life in a way that is not possible to put in to words.

I will however, share one more place and yogi that had a powerful impact on me…

Arriving in the city of Rishikesh, a yoga mecca in the foothills of the Himalayas on the holy River Ganga, I felt like I’d walked into a movie scene of how I’d always imagined India to be. I was seeing sadhus (holy men) dressed in orange robes practicing bizarre austerities, I watching fire ceremonies (aarti) by the river, I could hear the constant tinkling of bells on the wind and was taking in the scent of divine incense wafting on the breeze. I felt close to Himalayan Babaji here, the 5000 year old Yogi Christ and guru of Paramahansa Yogananada (whom he writes about in ‘Autobiography of a Yogi’) whose image had captivated me years before and with which I’d been meditating with for years.

There was so much to choose from here it was like a yoga buffet! It took me a while, but eventually I decided to study at the Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama, a centre devoted to sharing the teachings of Swami Rama of the Himalayas, teachings that have been passed down through the Himalayan Masters in an unbroken lineage since the Vedic period. Here, I spent weeks taking in the subtle yoga practices and teachings of the Himalayan Tradition under Swami Veda Bharati, the current lineage holder.

gurus, ashrams and holy places

Inspired by several visits to experience the darshan (blessing) of Mother Meera, the Indian Avatar living in Germany and the darhsan of Amma, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, known as ‘the hugging saint’ when she would visit London, (both believed to be incarnations of The Divine Mother), I was awakened to the power of sitting before a divine incarnation.

On my first trip to India, I travelled to Pondicherry, in Tamil Nadu, the town where Mother Meera grew up under the care of the late Sri Aurobino and The Mother. I spent time at their ashram everyday while I was there, moving on to spent 10 days in Auroville, a place they had jointly established with a vision for a city where people from all over the world would one day live alongside one another in harmony. While there, I had the privilege of meditating daily in the extraordinary Matrimandir (Temple of The Mother); a huge golden geodesic dome with the worlds largest glass globe at its centre, radiating light from the shaft above through the silent, perfectly white inner temple.

I travelled on to nearby Tiruvannamalai, the home of the ashram of Sri Ramana Maharshi and the famous Arunachala mountain, flocked to as a pilgrimage spot by devotees of Shiva. The peace I felt in Sri Ramana Maharshi’s ashram was indescribable, a stark contrast the busyness outside in what I felt to be the frenetic energy of the surrounds.

On another trip, I journeyed to Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram, Prashanti Nilayam in Puttaparthi. Here I practiced seva, (ashram duties) in the mornings and sat on the floor with hundreds of other women every afternoon to chant mantras and wait for Sai Baba to appear on to the stage before us to receive his darhsan. I had only planned to stay a few days but ended up spending three weeks in Puttaparthi undergoing what I felt was a powerful inner transformation.

Buddhist inspiration

I was always fascinated by Eastern religions and took the opportunity of studying Buddhism at A-level when it was offered at school. I noticed that the teachings felt natural to me and I was keen to explore further.

As soon as I had the first opportunity to travel after university, I did so and naturally headed East. visiting many sacred Buddhist sites in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia (including Borobudur the largest Buddhist temple in the world) and Japan.

I have followed the teachings of the late venerable Zen Buddhist Master, Thich Nhat Hanh, known as the ‘Father of Mindfulness’ for over two decades now. I have also explored Tibetan Buddhism, attending a 5 day Green Tara Retreat in the Vajrayana Tradition with Khempo Chime Rinpoche in Glastonbury, England in 2003 where I took refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.

In 2006, after completing a 10-day Vipassana silent meditation retreat in Sarnath, the place where the Buddha gave his first sermon, I travelled to Bodhgaya as a pligrimage to the place of Buddha’s enlightenment under the famous Bodhi tree and then travelled to Ladakh in the high Himalayas where I visited many Tibetan monasteries in impossible locations.

In 2007 I travelled to Nepal, visiting many Tibetan temple complexes and monasteries there. In the same year, I had the great privilege of meeting His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama and receiving a blessing from His Holiness, the 17th Karmapa in Dharamsala, India.

In recent years I have continued Buddhist study and meditation practice with my teacher Burgs, (Art of Meditation) attending numerous online retreats including: The Art of Concentration, Connecting to The Sacred, Inner Alchemy, Loving-Kindness, Spiritual Self-Care, The Yoga of Sleep and Dreaming, Vipassana and Love as The Path.

Trauma-informed skills & training

Over the last six years, my work has increasingly focused on trauma recovery and personal empowerment. As such, I have trained in several advanced modalities, attended numerous trauma trainings and continue to do so as part of my ongoing education. These include:

• Applied Polyvagal Theory in Therapeutic Yoga for Trauma Recovery with Arielle Schwartz, PhD

• Brainspotting Phase One with Monika Gos

• Brainspotting: A Neuroexperiential Approach to Trauma Healing with David Grand, PhD and Dr. Diane Poole Heller (ongoing)

• Brainspotting & Spirituality - Brainspotting Specialty Consultations with Heather Corbet

• Breaking the Cycle of Legacy Trauma with Arielle Schwartz, PhD

• Core-Process Mindfulness-Based Psychotherapy at the Karuna Institute, UK (2 years completed)

• Healing Codependency with The School of Trauma Informed Positive Psychology

• Living Recovery Program (recovery from Narcissistic Abuse) with Sandra Brown

• I am a graduate member of the British Psychological Society (GMBPS)

• Narcissistic Abuse Specialist & CPD Accredited Narcissistic Trauma Recovery Programme with The School of Trauma Informed Positive Psychology

• NICABM Trainings- Treating Trauma, Advanced Treatment of Trauma, Mastering the Treatment of Trauma, Reverse Trauma’s Psychological Imprint, The Trauma of Racism, Working with Shame, Clinical Applications of Compassion.

• Somatic Trauma-Informed Coaching and Leadership with The School of Trauma Informed Positive Psychology (Masters Level Training, ongoing)

• Somatic Hypnotherapy with The School of Trauma Informed Positive Psychology

• Transformational Coaching and EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Tapping with Margaret Lynch

• Trauma Treatment Certification Training with Janina Fisher

• The Ultimate Trauma Treatment Certification (CCTP/CCTPII) Course: A Blueprint for Greater Therapeutic Success for Clients with Complex Trauma with Arielle Schwartz PhD and Megan Salar.

• Trauma Super Conference (attend yearly)

• World Narcissistic Abuse Awareness Day Conference (attend yearly)

These modalities bring a grounded, trauma-informed, deeply somatic approach to my work, while honouring the uniquely personal and spiritual nature of healing. Combined with my ongoing commitment to my own healing and spiritual evolution plus my personal experience of healing from trauma—including the trauma of a long period of narcissistic abuse —enable me to work deeply and compassionately with women who are on their trauma recovery journey.

Today, I support women on their healing journey including those recovering from codependency and the trauma of narcissistic abuse. I help them to connect with their true nature, rediscover their innate power, their voice, their confidence and their worth so they can reclaim themselves and create a life they truly love. For me, seeing a woman heal from her past, step into her power, and reclaim her life is the ultimate reward.

If you’ve read this far, thank you so much for your interest. You’ve heard a lot from me. Now, if you feel ready to share, it’s time for me to hear from you. Let’s connect and you can let me know how I can best support you.

I look forward to hearing from you,

Claudia x