"If you can breathe, you can do yoga."
- T. Krishnamacharya"
FOUNDER & SENIOR YOGA TEACHER TRAINER
ALEXA KHO-HINKSON
Alexa has been developing her personal practice in the Art of Yoga for over twenty years, and teaching for over eighteen. Always inspired by her Grandmother's Yoga practice, she first stepped onto the mat while studying for her degree at Brunel University. She soon realised when starting full-time work in London that a regular yoga and meditation practice was the best thing for her. Having suffered from bouts of anxiety and depression, Yoga gave her the sense of peace that she had always been searching for and she wanted to share this with as many people as she could. Leaving a stressful hedge fund working environment, she decided she wanted to learn to teach Yoga.
So she ventured to Vrindavan, India for her first yoga teacher-training course in February 2008 where Alexa was named “Ambika” by her teachers, after successful completion of her 200-Hour Sivānanda Yoga Teacher Training course. Ambika means "the sweet mother of the universe", and with this name she was further inspired to create ‘Ambika Yoga™’.
Alexa has trained internationally with yoga teachers including Anodea Judith, Judith Hanson-Lasater, Shiva Rea, Simon Low, John Friend, Bridget Woods-Kramer, Lisa Sanfillipo, Doug Keller, Sianna Sherman, Carlos Pomeda, and Ross Rayburn. She intelligently weaves her training in Sivānanda Yoga, Anusara Yoga, Yin Yoga with her training in therapeutics to bring balance to the nervous system yet experience, and respect the tradition of the practice. From her MA yoga studies at SOAS University she has learnt from renowned scholars James Mallinson, Mark Singleton and Ulrich Pagel.
Over the past eighteen years, Alexa has created and delivered expert bespoke Private Yoga programmes for those who are in need of expert 1-1 tuition for chronic, minor and everyday health issues. She manages a team of excellent, fully qualified and insured yoga teachers who teach classes across London, and she mentors each teacher individually to ensure that all classes are delivered to the highest possible standard.
Alexa has taught Yoga Retreats across the globe for many years. She is highly experienced in offering tailor-made programmes and services to suit and adhere to individual needs whether it be a week-long Retreat, or shorter weekend Retreat. Her retreat events can therefore be found at beautiful locations in intimate settings with a sure feel of luxury, delicious cuisine and world-class massage therapists and guests.
Alexa is fully accredited with Yoga Alliance Professionals as a Senior Yoga Teacher and Yoga Teacher Trainer training teachers from across the UK and internationally. Alexa’s specialist training in yoga therapy in the modern world imparts highly in depth, intelligent and experienced knowledge into how health conditions, injuries and mental disorders can be managed naturally through yogic practices. She believes deeply in respecting the tradition of yoga and meditation from an authentic and safe space. Teaching students from all walks of life, and ultimately positively changing the outlook of their lives Alexa teaches with deep passion, authenticity and grace.
Alexa was awarded ‘Highly Commended’ from the NHS Confederation in 2010 for improving NHS Corporate workplaces having taught regularly at the NHS Confederation offices and exhibitions. She furthermore taught at the NHS Confederation Annual Conference & Exhibition in June 2009 at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, as well as the NHS Employers Annual Conference & Exhibition in 2010 at the ICC in Birmingham. Alexa remains an NHS Approved Practitioner teaching Corporate Yoga classes for NHS Providers from September 2012 - September 2025, in Westminster, Central London and virtually online since the Coronavirus pandemic.
Alexa has also gained recognition as ‘Yoga Teacher of the Month’, for OM Yoga & Lifestyle magazine in 2012 and she has also written informative articles on the benefits of yoga for Natural Health Magazine. In 2024 she became a Contributing Writer for Om Yoga and Lifestyle magazine and continues to research and write on topics that are at the forefront of global yoga studies including yoga therapy.
Alexa has taught a number of Charity Yoga events and classes over the years to raise crucial funds for those who have suffered loss of lives, families, homes and belongings. These include the DEC Earthquake Appeal for Nepal in 2016, Grenfell Tower Fire Fundraising in London, 2017 and a Special Charity Yoga Class for the Australia Bushfires in January 2020, where all classes took place at Yogabase in Islington, London, UK.
Alexa also recently in June 2021 on International Yoga Day, led a virtually Charity Yoga Class for India to support those who have suffered throughout the Coronavirus crisis, where she jointly worked with Yoga Alliance Professionals to offer a wonderful cakra based class via Kuula TV. All funds were donated to ActionAid India and for their work on the ground there in India. Alexa also offered a very special online charity yoga class in for Ukraine British Red Cross in March 2022 and raised a large amount of funds for those in need of shelter, clothing, food and water.
After having had her first child, Alexa has also offered further Specialised Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training Workshops and Courses and traveled in the UK in 2019 to offer these trainings to reach more teachers. You can find more information about this specialist training on the Yoga Therapy Courses page, and further CPD trainings that took place in the UK, and London in Autumn 2022. Alexa is an accredited member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) and Senior Yoga Trainer with Yoga Alliance Professionals UK (YAP).
Alexa is based in North London, and teaches in different areas in London including Mayfair, Marble Arch, Chelsea, Kensington, the City and Westminster, Islington, Canary Wharf, Hampstead, Finchley, Camden, Kentish Town, Tufnell Park, Archway, Highgate and Barnet, North London. Alexa has also taught in many exotic locations abroad including Ibiza, Sri Lanka, India, Morocco, Singapore, St Lucia, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and France. Alexa loves to deliver high level, informative yoga sessions at popular events in London including leading online sessions at the London Wellbeing Festival in 2021, and in Spring 2022 at Olympia Exhibition Centre in Kensington, London.
Alexa is also delighted to have completed a 3-year Masters Degree programme in the Traditions of Yoga and Meditation at the prestigious SOAS University of London based in Central London in September 2025. During 2023 and 2024 she was the formal MA Representative for the Centre of Yoga Studies. The centre is a globally recognised as the most important academic hub for the fast-growing field of yoga studies and Alexa is looking forward to sharing her new found academic knowledge in neuroscience, history and philosophy of yoga as a therapeutic tool in the modern world. Alexa is now returning to her full-time teaching schedule after the Masters with upcoming 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Course, CPD Yoga Therapy workshops and beautiful Yoga and Meditation Retreats lined up over the next year. Her next CPD Workshop is coming up in June 2026 and you can find more info here!
As an established Yoga Trainer, Ambika Yoga™ offers an highly in-depth and intelligently designed 300-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Course with a great team of Senior Yoga Instructors including dear friend Katie Sheikh, Founder of Yoga Team and Elite Wellness two very successful Private Yoga businesses based in London, UK and Dubai, UAE. Wendy Jupp Alexa’s MA colleague and friend is also joining the team for our 2026 course offering expert teaching on Sanskrit and Vedic Chanting within the practice of yoga. Jaina Mistry a dear colleague and friend will also be teaching Pregnancy Yoga on this 300-Hour YTT course from October 2026. Alexa is excited to have the opportunity to collaborate and share amazing knowledge and expertise, and particularly her specialism of Yoga Therapy, as an internationally renowned Senior Yoga Trainer and Senior Yoga Therapist this autumn 2026.
SENIOR YOGA INSTRUCTORS
WENDY JUPP
Surrounded by yoga throughout her life, Wendy completed her training with the Yoga Academy in 2016. Over time, a series of events inspired her to make Sanskrit sound and Vedic Chanting the central focus of her practice and studies—a passion that now plays a significant and enduring role in her life.
Wendy teaches one-to-one Vedic Chanting online, as well as Sanskrit sound, mantra, and Vedic Chant on Yoga foundation programmes. She is also often invited to practice śrāvaṇam dhyanam (listening meditations) and nyāsa dhyanam (placing your hands to specific areas of your body with sound) with groups at retreats.
Wendy continually studies Vedic chant with two esteemed teachers: Gill Lloyd, with whom she has trained for several years (Gill herself has been a student of TKV Desikachar since the 1970s), and Shobana Srinivasan, head of Vedic Chanting at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (KYM) in Chennai, India. Since early 2020, Wendy has studied online with Shobana and regularly visits KYM every other year for an intensive two-week study programme and additional face-to-face lessons. She considers it both an honour and a privilege to be mentored by these renowned teachers.
Drawn to the sounds of Sanskrit, at the request of her teacher Gill Lloyd, Wendy produced and published the Kaṭhopaniṣad chant book. Previously, this text with pitch marks was only available in devanāgarī format. Wendy transliterated the text with chant-notation to allow students to chant from the Romanised script. Wendy is also a contributing writer for Om Yoga & Lifestyle Magazine writing informative articles on Vedic Chant as a tradition, and sound as healing.
Keen to deepen her studies, Wendy undertook several online courses at the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies. Eventually, this enthusiasm for learning prompted Wendy to take a break from teaching postural yoga to pursue her yoga studies at a Master’s Degree level at SOAS in London. Wendy met Alexa Kho-Hinkson on the degree course and, having now completed the MA in ‘Traditions of Yoga and Meditation’, is thrilled about the opportunity to share her knowledge of Sanskrit sound and chanting in her 300-hour Yoga Teacher Training course. Learn more about Wendy and her Sanskrit Sounds website here!
KATIE SHEIKH
Yoga Team founder and senior yoga teacher Katie specialises in creating private yoga programmes. Having built an on-demand booking platform and a team of Top Tier Teachers, she now oversees the delivery of 100s of bespoke classes. Her clients include large corporations, well known brands, HNW individuals, celebrities and royalty.
By offering a boutique agency approach, which incorporates consultation with clients on each and every programme to advise on specific teacher placements, Katie and her team ensure that clients can enjoy private classes that offer the benefits of both convenience and targeted expertise.
A huge advocator of personalised sequencing, which is both responsive and developmentally focused, Katie’s expertise centres on crafting capsule practices.
A hidden yogi in part and more often in heels than Yoga gear, she's all about time efficient practices, utilising the space of the practice to optimise for everything else we do in life.
JAINA MISTRY
Born into a heritage deep in yogic tradition, yoga came naturally to Jaina who started practising to manage her health in her early teens. Yoga soon became more than a physical practice when she discovered the power of meditation.
With her developing awareness of the body, mind, heart and soul she trained to become a yoga teacher in 2010 realising that she wanted to share her love and passion for yoga with others who can benefit from this age-old tradition.
Through her training Jaina became an advocate for providing safe spaces for women. She went on to host many women’s retreats allowing women to come together to tap into and nourish their inner wisdom.
Jaina trained in pregnancy yoga in 2015 and has gone on to teach pregnancy yoga and become a mother herself. She is a Senior Yoga and Meditation teacher who is a member of Yoga Alliance Professionals UK.
She empowers soulful women through yoga and inner growth to embody and live with truth and strength without compromising their worth. She teaches private yoga clients, events, workshops and retreats.
With over fifteen years of teaching experience Jaina can hold space for women to experience yoga authentically that feels true to their body, mind, heart and soul.
RYAN KAI CALDERON
Ryan Kai is the Founder of Alpha Om and Senior Yoga Teacher. He was born and raised in London, United Kingdom and began his training at the age of seven in the Martial Arts, studying various art forms throughout the years.
He is a thirty-fourth Generation Shaolin Disciple under Shifu Shi Yanzi and Yan Lei of the Shaolin Temple China. In his early twenties he became intrigued by the similarities, historical connections and healing elements of the Yoga & Martial arts, and ventured to deepen his studies.
In pursuit of further knowledge, his journey presented a number of great opportunities to train with many world leader’s, represent various established organisations, and thus obtaining distinguished recognition from the media. In 2006 (until 2017) he became the UK Director and European supervisor for Budokon University.
During this period he gained the position of Master Trainer or Instructor level at Nike Worldwide, as well as Martial Arts school Shaolin Temple UK and Tai Chi UK. He further became a lead instructor for high-end Health Clubs across London including Third Space, Gymbox, Reebok, Equinox and Ultimate Fighting Champions. He also offered a number of specialist programmes within his own community to Haringey Council in London, supporting Youth Offenders and various other organisations in this field. While teaching at a number of clubs and studios abroad in the art of Yoga, Martial Arts and Health and Well-being, he has taught on a number of Yoga Teacher Training Courses for ‘Teach Yoga’, based in London, UK.
His extensive teaching experience and popularity has gained him print and TV media recognition such as the Evening standard, Daily mail, Metro Newspaper, Health and Fitness, Channel 5, OmYoga, How to spend it, Canary Wharf and a number of other health and lifestyle platforms. With a truly unique passion and presence within his work, Ryan offers classes that are rooting and playful, yet athletic and challenging, with sweat and smiles in abundance.
Over the years Ryan’s therapeutic application of yoga and the arts has resulted in his collaboration with an established UK surgeon to provide pre or post-operation training to clients in order to prevent surgery, or help aid in recovery. Here, he continually adds to the offering and syllabus for clients, and students.
With over 25 years of experience in the arts and 14 years teaching, he has grown to become an international teacher with a broad range of clientele. Now an established Yoga Trainer, Alpha Om has offered his expertise on the Ambika Yoga™ 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Course with dear friend and colleague Alexa Kho-Hinkson. Ryan is excited to have the opportunity to share his amazing knowledge and expertise, as an internationally renowned Yoga and Martial Arts Instructor with aspiring Yoga Teachers.
DIANA VARAKINA
Diana has been practising yoga and meditation since 2006. What began as a search for steadiness through challenging years gradually grew into a lifelong practice of awareness. She first discovered traditional Hatha Yoga and meditation, later exploring hot yoga and completing her 200-hour teacher training with Fierce Grace in 2017. Since then, she has continued her studies in alignment, anatomy, assists and adjustments, sequencing, injury prevention, and Yin with teachers including Stewart Gilchrist, Jason Crandell, and Devi Daly.
A dedicated meditation practitioner, Diana regularly undertakes silent meditation courses in the traditional Buddhist Vipassana method — a practice that shapes her mindful, precise, and energising approach to yoga. Her teaching encourages students to move with awareness and bring lessons from the mat into everyday life.
She is active in East London, teaching for community fundraisers and local charities such as Mind, Barnardo’s, Oxfam, and St. Mungo’s, and volunteering in sustainability and outreach projects.