About Us
What is Lots of Yoga?
Lots of Yoga is more than just a site with a lot of yoga (although it's that too)! We like to think of it as a community of like-minded people who love yoga and the way of life. People who want to better themselves and live each day to the full. Who search for a little bit of equanimity in a stressed-filled world. At Lots of Yoga, we believe that:- Inspiration is everywhere.
- It is not about just helping ourselves, but how we can help each other to achieve our dreams, one baby step at a time.
- Life is full of struggles. Together we can help make it easier.
We are about imperfect people doing imperfect yoga perfectly.
Who is Lots of Yoga?
Lots of Yoga is every single one of you who love yoga, who read our site, who interact with us, who share your experiences with us, and we are grateful for each and every one of you. We are all Lots of Yoga. This is the section where you get to learn a little bit about the people behind Lots of Yoga, our main teeny-tiny team of three. We also have a few select much loved and appreciated helpers who assist us in making Lots of Yoga what it is.
Founder: Po Ma
Sometimes the most extraordinary stories start from an ordinary day. Originally from Hong Kong, I never understood work-life balance nor explored any physical exercises for the first twenty years of my life. I was the chubby kid that pretended to have knee injuries so I could skip any physical education. But on one ordinary day, a friend of mine brought me along to a yoga class. The class was, typically, Hong Kong style. They crammed more than 50 students in one room, with minimal instructions or guidance for alignment. I developed many bad habits at that studio as well as soreness and sensitivity in my lower back because I did not know what I was meant to do during back-bending. Despite all of that, it was an extraordinary experience. I love the feeling of breathing through the movements. That when I am on my mat, I am on my own.
Fast forward to more than a decade later, I built my career by working across different media companies in Europe and America, from Yahoo! to MarieClaire, from Moody's Analytics to Interbrand. Through business, I understand the importance of quality content and the demand for it is phenomenal. Through yoga, I savour moments of stillness and gratitude. When I decided to take the plunge and complete my own first 200-hour yoga teacher training in London in 2013, I realised there is a lot more that can be done for the practice and the community. And most importantly, I see that a lot of my peers struggle with defining where the business stops and the practice starts. I want to create a platform that helps teachers promote with substances and knowledge, not just images and instagram moves. Lotsofyoga.com is born.
Co-Founder: Alice Ma
Out of Alice’s passion for driving online buzz combined with over 10 years of extensive marketing experience, Zynthesis, a full-service branding & marketing agency was born. The clients of this boutique agency span from retail, beauty, food/ beverages and other industries from Hong Kong, Japan and New York. Her busy schedule has motivated her to prioritise her self-care, not to mention meditate and practise yoga on a daily basis. Equally passionate about well-being, she is a big fan of yoga and detox retreats and constantly travels to Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe in search of different style yoga classes and inspirations.
Editor - Kat de Naoum
I'm just a girl ("standing in front of a boy..." God, I love that movie...). I say 'girl' and not 'woman' although I'm over 30 and should be classified as a woman. The reason I say 'girl' is that I really do feel like one. I lounge around at home most of the day in sweats, play with and talk to my dogs and cats, check social media and surf the internet all day and call it 'research'. Granted, I then have to do actual 'work' which I usually start after midnight but doing something you love (writing) and writing about something you love (yoga) can hardly be called 'work'. That's how I see it anyway. I also get to do lots of yoga (ha, ha, no pun intended) and speak to and hang out with amazing yogis from all around the world. I really am one happy (bad) yogi. (I say 'bad' because sometimes my dinner consists of 3 packets of crisps and a few chocolate bars and I have been known on occasion to cut my personal yoga practice down to 10 minutes so I can watch Downton Abbey. Plus, my language is questionable at times, but stepping in dog poop at 3 am, half asleep on the way to the loo can make one slightly lose their inner calm.)
I was born in Greece but grew up in London from a toddler till I was 20. I then moved back to Greece because: sea, sun and fun. Losing my way slightly for 7 years, I worked in a large international law firm spending most of my days (and very late nights) in the corporate world feeling like I wasn't doing anything worthwhile in this world, or even for me. One day in 2013, without giving it much thought, I hopped on a plane to London and joined a 200-hour yoga teacher training program, something that I had wanted to do for over a decade. There I met and became friends with Po, founder of Lots of Yoga, and she shared her Lots of Yoga dream with me. I jumped on that bandwagon faster than you can say Chaturanga Dandasana. I quit my job, moved out of the crazy city and closer to nature, adopted a bunch of animals and here we are now. Apart from Lots of Yoga, travelling, doing yoga, chasing cats and dogs around the yard and enjoying the Greek lifestyle, I write various bits here and there, as well as a weekly column for StyleLove called Convo. I am also (chronically) working on a novel.
I love hearing from fellow yogis and readers so please do get in touch if you have anything to share or even just to say 'hi' on the links below or email me at kat@lotsofyoga.com. Thank you for being here! :)
