Ayama is a Sanskrit word meaning ‘extension’, ‘expansion’ and ‘restraint’. It comes from the root word “yam” meaning to control or direct – and is most often seen in pranayama, the ancient practice of regulating and expanding the breath. But Ayama is more than breathwork. It is a metaphor for life, growth and leadership itself.

To expand without disintegrating, we must be held. To lead without burning out, we must turn inward. To become more, we must first become present. Ayama is where breath becomes a gateway to reconnection, regulation and renewal.

My work blends transformational breathwork with research based practices in embodied leadership and burnout prevention. This is a space for all the seekers who want more than coping strategies – they want realignment. I begin with the breath, but I don’t stop there.

My Story

I did not arrive at yoga and breathwork through curiosity. I came to it from collapse.

In my former life as a lawyer, and a woman navigating the demands of high-performance spaces, I was brilliant at pushing through. I knew how to perform, to lead, to ‘cope’. What I didn’t know what how to listen to my body – or even that I needed to. Like many, I found myself in cycles of burnout that no amount of strategy, productivity or professional development could resolve.

Everything shifted when I began listening inward – through breath, through sensation, through stillness. That’s when I discovered that leadership isn’t just what we do – it’s how we are. And the body is the first place that truth shows up.

Though years of study, practice, research, and personal unravelling, I’ve come to understand that burnout is not a failure – its a sigmal. A message from the body calling us home. Breathwork practices became the bridge back to myself and eventually, the foundation to a new way to lead, live and serve.

Ayama is born from that journey.

Today I blend academic insight with somatic wisdom to support others in accessing the inner power they’ve outsourced for too long. My mission is to guide you back to your breath, your body and your own embodied authority – because the world needs leaders who are alive in themselves.

Ready to free yourself from societal limitations and transform from within? Then let’s work together.

With love, light and a little Ayama Magic.

Nikki x

Credentials

Yoga Trainings

500 hr Yoga Alliance Advanced Yoga Teacher – Orange Yoga, Cheltenham
Mantra Meditation training in the Vedic tradition – TM Organisation, Worldwide
Mindfulness Meditation in the Buddhist tradition – Cyndi Lee, Orange Yoga, Cheltenham
Ashtanga Yoga – Sunny Devi Yoga, Cheltenham
Yoga Bodywork – Jambo Dragon – Orange Yoga, Cheltenham
60hr Yogic Breathwork and Pranayama Techniques – Laurent Roure, YogaLaurent, London
Reiki II
Swedish Massage

Holistic Trainings

Lawyer
MBA
Academic
Leader as Coach