Ali Glenny did her first yoga class 24 years ago and is today a devoted practitioner of astanga vinyasa, finding in this intensely physi cal form of yoga a deep sense of the spirit. She trained to teach astanga with Abby Daniel in 2002 and Tim Miller in 2003, and is accredited as a yoga teacher by the Yoga Alliance. She teaches astanga in south-east London and beyond.

While maintaining the inherent dynamism of the astanga practice, Ali takes a gentle and undogmatic approach to what is probably the most challenging form of yoga in terms of strength and flexibility, encouraging students to listen to their bodies, honour their emotions and relate their experience on the mat to their whole life. She endeavours to bring sensitivity and respect to adjustments, recognising that each individual is different.

Ali also practises yin, the quiet yoga - a counterbalance to the more assertive, muscular energy of astanga vinyasa - and has recently begun to teach yin in south-east London.

In 2003, Ali undertook the inspirational Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy training in the USA, and is now one of a small number of accredited Phoenix Rising Practitioners in Britain. She works with clients from all over the country and also offers occasional Phoenix Rising workshops.

Ali was born to move, got hijaced by words, and after a long involvement with ballet and contemporary techniques has been dancing Gabrielle Roth's 5Rhythms for the past four years. She is also a Buddhist practitioner and has received refuge from the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism.