Yulia Heaton

Studio Director & Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher

Yulia Heaton, Co-founder of Exeter Yoga Workshop, BSc (Hons), DipDSY, LicAc, MBAcC, MIHHT

Yulia has been a full-time Yoga teacher since 2001, and continued to study with variety of teachers upholding CPDs. She has taught for the Devon School of Yoga on their Teacher Training and Yoga Therapy courses from 2003 until 2015 and now owns and runs Exeter Yoga Workshop with her husband, Chris Croft, in Exeter.

Her style of teaching is informative, unique and playful. She always encourage students to practice from a place of authenticity and joy. The ever-evolving style of her teaching is rooted in the traditions of Ashtanga Vinyasa, Vinyasa Flow and Universal Yoga, and enlivened by the greatest source of inspiration of all – life itself.

After discovering Yoga whilst studying for her first degree in Psychology in 1998, she completed her first Teacher Training with The Devon School of Yoga (DSY) in 2002. Since then her practice evolved through extensive further studies with the likes of Mik Burley, John Scott, Lino Miele, Richard Freeman, and Andrey Lappa.

Yulia also teaches Yoga as part of the Movement Skills module on the BA Acting course at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. She is trained to teach specialist classes, like Pregnancy Yoga, Yoga for Children, and Mum and Baby Yoga.

She has been practicing Chinese Medicine, including Acupuncture, since 2008 when she qualified from the London College Of Traditional Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Since then, she worked both independently and as a full-time employed acupuncturist at several clinics, mostly specialising in women’s health and treatment of infertility. More recently, she completed training in Si Yuan Balance Method acupuncture as taught by the late Dr Tan and is expanding her clinical interests in treating acute and chronic pain with instant results.

Yulia’s fascination with the human body and mind has led her to begin the Structural Bodywork journey with James Earls’ and Tom Myers’ Fascial Release for Structural Balance (FRSB) and John Barnes’ Myofascial Release (MFR) trainings, and to explore Mindfulness and Meditation practices through the teachings of Michael Stone. These are ongoing and ever inspiring, feeding into her regular Yoga classes and workshops.

Yulia’s 11 year old daughter Lydia remains her most loved Yoga teacher to date.