Testimonials
Rachel Barn
“Rachel is an extremely experienced yoga teacher who can adapt her classes to suit any level of competency and ambition. Her instructions are clear and her techniques varied ensuring each class member can enjoy yoga and be challenged to whatever level they want. And on top of all that she makes the sessions fun and inclusive. While every muscle is stretched and toned in turn, the mind is relaxed and meditative.”
Mandy Hall
“Rachel’s yoga classes are exceptional, both because of the excellent standard of teaching and, crucially, the warm and tranquil ambience she creates. When my lovely previous yoga teacher retired I searched for a new class for over a year without success. It is so exciting to have at last found the experience I was looking for. Thank you, Rachel.”
Carol James
“I am a student of Rachel James’ Yoga class at the NOA Centre in
Summertown. I think she is an excellent Yoga Instructor. She often asks for feedback from her students and her classes are varied from week to week to meet their needs as well as covering core exercises and postures. She is very friendly and I find it a delightful class and feel privileged to be part of it.”
Elizabeth
“My husband and have been attending Rachel’s class at the Wolvercote yoga barn for about a year and feel that we have found our ‘yoga home’. We appreciate the calm atmosphere that Rachel creates in the class and her welcoming and inclusive approach. She is also very knowledgeable about the various aspects of yoga and about anatomy, managing to work some very far-from-obvious muscles! We enjoy Rachel’s classes so much that we have signed up for one of the yoga retreats in Italy that she will be teaching this year are very much looking forward to it.”
Alan Craft McTimoney (DC Chiropractor)
“Rachel’s teaching is helping me reach ever better understandings of my body. Highly recommended.”
Anita Lloyd
“I have had Rachel as a yoga teacher and attended her weekly class at Ferry Centre, Oxford over a 10 year period. I have watched her develop from a tentative student into an extremely competent and helpful yoga teacher.
As one of Rachel’s older members I have to thank her for helping me maintain a good standard of physical fitness and flexibility. She has helped and encouraged me through postures relevant to my hip and thigh infirmities and to maintain body strength – vital as one ages.
Rachel has a gentle approach, always mindful of an individual’s difficulties and adjusts postures appropriately. She does not follow a set pattern and as students we are always introduced to a variety of postures and this makes the class interesting.
Rachel is a friendly and approachable and extremely competent yoga teacher who clearly loves what she does – and this transfers itself to her students.”
Pat & Jeremy Barrow
“I first met Rachel in 2013 when I had just been diagnosed with cancer. Yoga was recommended as therapeutic when going through chemotherapy. A friend gave me Rachel’s name and we have been working together ever since. At that time Rachel said that she had limited experience of working with cancer patients, particularly one like me that had a PIC line fitted. However, she was undaunted, and when my husband was also diagnosed with cancer a few months later she had two patients to deal with.
She was marvellous, both understanding and challenging, gentle but always encouraging us to do more. Four years later, both fine and thankfully cancer free, we continue to work with Rachel every Monday evening, she always has something new and continues to find muscles we did not know we had!. She has enriched our lives in so many ways.”
Ria Lay
“I have attended Rachel’s yoga classes and workshops for the last 6 years. Rachel is my all-time favourite teacher and I always look forward to her classes. She is professional and mindful. Her instructions are very clear, and she will give options for both beginners and the more advanced. Her practices are varied, and she does challenge her students to try new things but always within their abilities. There is a good balance to the classes of relaxation, postures and breathing exercises.The workshops I have attended have been lovely too. Rachel usually has a theme and follows this throughout the workshop. Again she follows through with a good balance of postures, relaxation, meditation and chanting. On a personal level I have come to know Rachel as a very open and welcoming lady with a passion for yoga and great integrity. I would recommend Rachel’s classes to anyone who would like to try yoga or is looking for a new teacher. I would also recommend her to any future employer who would wish to employ her as a yoga teacher.”
Judy
“Newly retired, I started yoga with Rachel in January 2008. I was the end of a career, my new teacher Rachel was at the beginning of her career. That I am still going, every Monday, to practice with her and to learn from her is a testament both to her as a person and as a teacher. Rachel’s classes are always planned, always challenging and always rewarding. Each week the focus is different and each week Rachel guides us through an experience that is enriching. The time is used not only to explore the body in different postures but also to explore the effects of breathing and silence. I have learned through her classes to listen to my body and to become aware of how mind and body can work together in harmony.”
Richard
“I’ve really enjoyed the sessions we have been doing on posture and balance over the past few weeks. Your classes have been a really important part of my life in Oxford, they’ve added hugely to my sense of wellbeing and I can’t count the number of times I have turned up stressed from the day and completely in my head, to find myself an hour or so later, relaxed, present and suffused with a warm energy circulating through my whole system. I can’t thank you enough for everything that you bring so wholeheartedly to the class; it feels like a reckless act of generosity to all of us every week!”
Richard
“I love your classes for putting me back in my body and out of my busy mind for the best hour of my week. You have an unerring, gentle presence that invites me to be aware of my body and feelings without the need for a story. Your deep love of yoga is always in the room and the rhythm of your teaching seems as natural as breathing. Thank you for all the wonderful classes. I could go on… I really love your classes!”
Jane Bower
“I have known Rachel James for a number of years and have regularly attend her classes. Her knowledge of anatomy and physiology is very detailed, and I have gained enormously from her careful instructions and empathetic approach when we all attempt new asanas. She is without doubt the best yoga instructor I have worked with and our group would agree that she has helped our practise at all levels.”
