Sligo Yoga Centre was Ireland's first fully equipped Iyengar Yoga studio. In 1994, when Helen Gillan first opened the doors of the 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.
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.
24 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.
In July 2017 Helen & John announced a change of ownership for the Sligo Yoga Centre. Tara McEvoy and her husband Dave have taken over the running of the Sligo Yoga Centre.
Tara was a student of Helens for 17 years. Tara has qualified under Helens guidance as an Iyengar Yoga instructor and knows the centre and its ethos intimately.
