"Yoga is a light which, once lit,
will never dim.
The better your practice,
the brighter the flame."
BKS Iyengar
Sligo Yoga Centre is Ireland's first fully equipped Iyengar Yoga studio. In 1994, when Helen first opened the doors of the new Yoga Centre in Castle St., Sligo, she was taking a huge leap of faith. Yoga was very much a minority interest then with no dedicated facilities for practicing this discipline.
The rooms at 42 Castle St. are spacious, bright and airy. Helen and her co-instructor, John Callinan renovated the main room as a fully equipped yoga studio suitable for up to twenty students. Other rooms were fitted out to accommodate smaller groups and complementary therapy space.
Sixteen years on and the centre is buzzing with activity. It has grown and developed over the years to cater for the steady growth in the numbers of people seeking natural approaches to healthier living. The cornerstone of the centre has been its specialisation in Iyengar Yoga.
As interest and demand for Iyengar Yoga grew and her students wished to pursue their training to a higher level, Helen began to look for a way of improving training and facilities for Iyengar Yoga in Ireland. In 1998 she began to invite international teachers and experts to her centre to promote Iyengar Yoga and to produce a cohort of qualified practitioners and teachers.
Following this, Mr. Iyengar gave permission for Helen to set up the first teacher training programme in the North West. This led to the development of her second centre at Drumcliff in 1998.
Nestled at the feet of the iconic Benbulben and Dartry mountain range, deep in the heart of Yeats country, close to Drumcliffe graveyard - the final resting place of the poet and adjacent to the stunning Glencar waterfall, Drumcliffe Centre is an ideal location to inspire and refresh the body, mind and spirit. The centre is approximately 5km from Sligo town. It has a state of the art, fully equipped yoga studio which accommodates up to 30 participants.
Drumcliffe Centre attracts visitors from Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Europe. The nearby airport at Knock (50 minutes drive) makes it accessible for international visitors to take part in seminars and workshops hosted by the centre. Throughout the year the centre offers the following:
- Weekly Yoga classes
- International Yoga Workshops
- Teacher Training and Assessment for Iyengar Yoga Teachers
- Newly refurbished accommodation available on site (double and single rooms)
- Facilities available for a variety of activities such as art, music, dance and outdoor pursuits
