Meet Aaron
Aaron was introduced to yoga as a teenager from his father showing him some yoga stretches to do at home. Later while in college Aaron started Yoga and Karate classes for exercise as a way to release physical and mental tension from long hours of study. Aaron really found his passion with these disciplines and has continued to practise them both to this present day.
Aaron has a dedicated commitment to his personal yoga practice which is Ashtanga Vinyasa based though he likes to include postures from other yoga traditions as well. Aaron’s love of handstands lead him to train with circus and hand balancing artists, where he learned the specifics of more technical handstands.
Aaron has an eclectic approach to training that includes Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Pranayama, Handstands, martial arts and tai chi, finding that cross training is the key to a balanced body and mind.
Aaron and Liz were married in Castell Coch in 2002 and they have two beautiful daughters.
Aaron’s Teaching Style & Methodology
Aaron’s approach to yoga is based on the classical teachings of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, where asana and pranayama yoga are used as the methods to integrate the mind, body and soul together, as both a physical and spiritual practice.
Aaron’s skills are in supporting students achieve their peak asanas through adjustments, hands on spotting with inversions, and giving step-by-step progressions for all levels to progress through, as they work towards finding their optimal personal practice best suited to a students own individuality.
Together, Aaron & Liz run a Hotpod Yoga Cardiff, where Aaron teaches hot vinyasa classes and workshops and outside of Hotpod he teaches handstand classes for adults, 1-2-1 sessions for clients looking to work deeper on their physical practice.
Through Diamond Body Yoga School, Aaron is offering 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training and 300 hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training modules with Yoga Alliance Professionals as a Senior Yoga Teacher.
Meet Liz
Growing up in the kiwi lifestyle, Liz excelled in a variety of sports, including track and field, football, rugby, and swimming. Her move to London when she was 25 led her to discover yoga as a remedy for lower back pain, beginning a journey that would change her life. In addition to managing a corporate career and organising international yoga retreats, she completed a 2 month intensive Yoga Teacher Training in Ibiza specialising in Ashtanga, pranayama, and Iyengar.
She underwent extensive training in yoga workshops, meditation retreats in the UK and pilgrimages in India, driven by her passion for holistic health, spiritual growth, and meditation. Additionally, Liz has studied foundation courses in massage, aromatherapy, nutrition and systematic kinesiology.
Whilst raising two daughters, she also fulfilled her dream of opening a yoga studio, launching Hotpod Yoga in Cardiff in January 2016. She leveraged her marketing, business management, and yoga expertise along with dedicated work, care, and passion to make Hotpod Yoga Cardiff a successful hot yoga studio. Her duties include managing teachers, ensuring business, operations and marketing are running smoothly, and ensuring customers are taken care of. Hotpod Yoga Cardiff is a well known Hot Yoga Studio with multiple weekly classes for all levels and abilities.
In 2019, Liz faced a serious health crisis, channeling her passion for energetic healing into a comprehensive health routine. This includes an extensive home health program involving PEMF therapy, infrared sauna, meditation, yoga, nidra, nutrition, herbs and complimentary therapies all of which are integrated into her lifestyle to maintain optimal health. She continues to passionately research in the areas of optimal health, nutrition and emotional wellbeing.
She's very excited to embark on the Diamond Body Yoga Teacher Training journey in supporting students, along with her husband, Aaron, as she continues to inspire.
Meet Claudia
Claudia’s teaching approach is playful and dynamic, and she loves to challenge her students while creating a space where the energy is positive, light hearted and people can just be themselves. Claudia believes “Movement needs to be fun. If we don’t enjoy something then we are so much less likely to want to integrate it into our life for more than just a temporary time”.
Her classes are influenced by a background in Art Psychotherapy, personal training and art. Strongly influenced by the rhythmic nature of Vinyasa, this style is the backbone of her practice and classes, combined with a strong emphasis on developing core strength and influences from modalities such as Pilates and Functional Fitness.
Creative sequencing is her passion. “Our bodies are so adaptable, so moving them in lots of different ways is a great way to keep adding challenge and keep us feeling healthy and strong.”
Claudia is a 500 Hour qualified yoga teacher.
Meet Lauren
Lauren is a fluent Welsh speaker and Welsh television actress with a 20 year television career, most notably playing the feisty character Keely in Welsh soap opera Pobol-Y-Cwm.
Lauren graduated from Paul McCarthy’s Liverpool Institute for performing arts in 2002 with a BA (hons) Performing Arts (Acting). Prior to her drama school days, Lauren was a competitive gymnast and dancer, and is a qualified gymnastic coach and has choreographed for theatre and television.
Lauren began her yoga journey eight years ago realising that she needed a training system that was less impactful on her body than gymnastics, but still physically challenging, which she found in Hotpod Yoga and Hand Balancing training with Aaron.
After her beloved Nan passed away in 2020 Lauren was inspired to continue educating, inspiring and caring for others and completed her 200 hours teacher training in VinYoga, educational accreditations in Trauma Informed Yoga, Rocket Yoga, and is currently studying for a Masters of Science Degree in Psychology and Applied Neuroscience with King’s College London.
Lauren teaches Rocket Yoga classes and Vinyasa Flow at Hotpod Yoga Cardiff.
Meet Ellie
Elle Lewis is a registered Osteopath after studying Masters in Osteopathy in Swansea University graduating in 2014, and since has gone on to have two Osteopathic multidisciplinary clinics located in Caerphilly and Cowbridge.
With a strong belief that movement is medicine for the body and realising the benefits yoga can have for rehabilitation and prevention for injuries for patients, along with practicing yoga during university and feeling the benefits, Elle then went on to do her 200 hr YTT and registered with Yoga Alliance in 2019 and she has also gone on to teaching vinyasa flow classes.
Other than Osteopathy and yoga, Elle enjoys maintain fitness with regularly gym visits, handstand classes and frequently walking the dogs in local areas and at the beach, keeping an active lifestyle.
In her downtime Ellie enjoys travelling to new places and trying local restaurants.