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On 7th April we moved the School into a new Shala, in the heart of Blackrock village, near the Dart station. The official address is 16 Main St. Blackrock, though the entrance is at the rear, in Idrone Lane. It is probably more appropriate to say that the Spirit of Ashtanga Yoga moved itself, as we seemed to have been swept along on an irresistible tide that brought us to our new home. It was inconceivable that we should find a space in the centre of Blackrock which fulfilled all our needs, but in February just such a space provided itself! It really gives meaning to Guruji's oft repeated 'Practixe and all is coming'.

The new space has a large reception area, Ladies and Gents changing rooms, each with shower, loos, and the Shala itself, with spanking new wooden floor etc. We are really excited to have found the school its own home at last but would like to express are sincere thanks here to Sr. Kathleen, Sr. Una and Sr. Veronica at Sion Hill for having given us a home for so many years. We will forever be grateful to them for looking after us when the school was in its infancy and we remain close neighbours so will not lose touch.

We first moved into Sion Hill in the Autumn of 2003, at the same time as Gwendoline first came to work with me to begin to establish a traditional Ashtanga yoga School here. For those of you who did not meet her back then, Gwendoline Hunt was a very sprightly 73 year old from New Zealand who took up the practice of Ashtanga at the age of 60. Initially a student of John Scott, and then of Guruji, by the time she came to us, Gwendoline was practising 3rd Series and dedicating her life to teaching the traditional method of Ashtanga Yoga and in particular to helping establish new schools for this purpose. She stayed here for three months from September to Decembr before she, Paula and I travelled to India to spend 6 weeks on retreat there. 

During those months she lived in my flat in the house in Blackrock Market, and it seems totally fitting that the school should have found its home directly across the road from where she felt so at home. Gwendoline's contribution to the school in its earliest days was so significant, providing a huge impetus to the inception of Mysore style clsses and also to the format of the Beginners weekends. It was she who convinced me to start them off and they continue to be the lifeblood of the school. I know that Gwendoline would be thrilled with the new Shala and with the fantastic growth and development of the school in the intervening years. Her premature death in November 2004 means that she is not with us in body to enjoy it, but we have no doubt that she is with us in spirit and always will be. We offer her our thanks and dedicate our continued efforts to promote the tradition of Ashtanga to her memory.

We would also like to say a big 'thank you' to all our students, who have helped us to make this possible  by coming to class over the last years! Thank you and Namaste, see you all soon at class. David and Paula