Shakira Bouwer

Teacher Bio

Shakira Williams Bouwer, Level 1 Authorised Ashtanga Teacher
Sadhana Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga Jamaica

Shakira first discovered yoga in 1999, while looking for a way to find deep peace and relaxation with her busy work, study and fitness schedules. In her journey of almost twenty years, she studied a number of different forms of yoga asana practice including Vinyasa Flow, Iyengar and Anusara yoga before finding the Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga method. A daily practitioner in this method, she believes in the transformative and healing power of yoga both on and off the mat and that the practice and benefits of yoga practice should be available to all, regardless of appearance, body type, ethnicity, creed or spiritual belief. In 2014, she made her third trip to Mysore, India to continue to study with R. Sharath Jois, the grandson of Shri K Pattabhi Jois and director of the K Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute and was given his blessing to teach the Primary Series of Ashtanga Yoga. She continues to make extended study trips to the source of Ashtanga to deepen her understanding of this transformative method. She has also assisted her root teachers Kino MacGregor and Tim Feldmann in further intensives, taught at the Downtown Nassau Yoga Festival in the Bahamas and at Land Yoga in Harlem, New York, in continuing to deepen her knowledge of practical instruction and application of Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga.

Her teaching style is Traditional Mysore-Style and the traditional Counted Guided Ashtanga yoga as well as a fun and challenging Ashtanga-based Flow called Form, Focus, Flow, influenced by the powerful principles of joyful awareness, safe and healthy alignment, and loving action from other schools of asana practice. Above all, she is passionate about sharing yoga as a healing, sustainable and spiritual practice for life. Since 2020, she has moved much of her teaching to the Zoom online platform and is passionately curious about how yoga intersects with the important human rights issues of the day. She teaches Studio, Private and Online classes out of Kingston, Jamaica.

(I’m in the process of applying for permanent residency in South Africa, so I don’t teach here, instead I go home to Jamaica every year to teach classes and workshops)