The experienced teachers at yoga darśana have trained under senior teachers in the tradition of modern yoga, which stems from a common guru, T. Krishnamāchārya (1888-1989). BKS Iyengar, who was his student, and Sharath Jois, via his grandfather, developed their particular schools of Iyengar and Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga from this lineage. All the teachers instructing classes at yoga darśana have completed a minimum of 200-hours training. Many have continued with further training over the years and have taught classes to students with a range of abilities and experience.
Photo of BKS Iyengar and T. Krishnamāchārya from
Light on Yoga HarperThorsons edition 2015
Sara Falvey
Iyengar Yoga (All-Levels, Beginners, Gentle)
Sara started to practice yoga in 2000 and became a certified Iyengar teacher in 2007. She trained in Dublin with the Iyengar Yoga Association UK, under Grainne Gilleece. Since then, she has taught yoga in various locations in Galway. Sara has attended many intensive retreats, workshops and trainings with Senior Teachers, in particular Rajiv and Swati Chanchani in India.
Sara’s teaching style is clear and informed. Her weekly classes are always varied and blend a strong and steady alignment based practice with slower restorative poses. She ensures everyone’s needs are met in a safe and comfortable environment. Sara uses props to help students deepen their practice, to offer support during rest or to help students get into poses that otherwise might not be possible.
Sara is also a Yoga for Kids teacher - trained with YTTC, 2011. Her Kids Yoga classes at yoga darśana introduce children to yoga in a simple, structured and uniquely effective way that help children calm themselves and feel happy. Children learn the basic postures and concepts of yoga in a fun and supportive environment. Sara also runs Kids Yoga and Art Summer Camps.
Eva Du
Gentle, Men’s, All Levels Flow
Eva attended her very first yoga class when she was 15, here in Galway. It wasn't until she went to Pune, India that her passion for yoga was truly ignited. There she started to practice with local Iyengar teachers twice daily, alongside completing her Law degree. In 2014 she went to Mysore to train, knowing nothing about Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga. She soon fell in love with the practice and completed her first 200-hr TTC (teacher training certification) with Vijay Kumar in Mysore.
From 2019-2020 Eva completed 500hrs more of RYT (registered yoga training) in Hyderabad India. She has worked and taught in India, China, Dublin, UK and Portugal. And has since completed further yoga teacher trainings.
She has a master's degree in Holistic Science from the esteemed Schumacher College in Devon, England and holds also Bachelor of Law. Eva is first and foremost a student life and lover of nature. She adores teaching and sharing the practice of yoga-and gets the upmost joy out of celebrating life with all those that she meets! She now manages our beautiful studio and continues to create community events for all to attend in Galway.
Eimear O’Leary
Yin & Vinyasa Flow
Eimear is a dedicated Yoga teacher of Yin (130YTT), Hatha and Vinyasa (600YTT) and Athletes (28YTT). She is a registered public health nurse and avid runner who brings a holistic approach to health and wellness. With well over a decade of experience in nursing and a lifelong passion for fitness, Eimear understands the profound connection between body, mind, and spirit. Her journey into yoga began as a personal quest for injury prevention and balance and has since evolved into a deep passion for mind-body awareness , functional mobility, rest and recovery.
Eimear's classes are a sanctuary of positivity and rejuvenation, where she encourages students to embrace stillness and find inner peace. Her nursing background provides her with a unique perspective on the importance of recovery and self-care. As an enthusiastic runner, she recognizes the essential role that rest and mindfulness play in running longevity , maintaining physical and mental well-being.
With a warm and uplifting teaching style, Eimear inspires her students to listen to their bodies and cultivate a deeper sense of self-awareness. Eimear’s classes offer a welcoming space to unwind, heal, and rejuvenate.
Fionnuala Ni Mhairtin
Iyengar
Fionnuala is a trained Iyengar Yoga teacher, Nutritional Therapist and Consciousness Medicine practitioner. She started her yoga training back in 2011, in Dublin with Aisling Guirke. She studied under Aisling Gurike and Eileen Cameron up until 2020. She has completed and achieved her Intermediate Level 3 examination in Iyengar Yoga. She has attended many yoga workshops led by senior Iyengar teachers including Jane Orton, David Meloni and Eyal Shifroni and therapy teachers Stephanie Quirke and Gareth McLean.
Her approach is really about you connecting your body in the present moment. Learning to be able to meet yourself where you are at, in each moment and finding the peace there. Fionnuala's deep connection to Mother Earth and heart centred presence, as well as her connection and curiosity to the cosmos really centres her to hold a very expansive and safe space for people in their transformation and growth. She has over 10 years of training, holding workshops, running classes, giving talks and seeing one to one clients.
Mia Nguyen
Vinyasa Flow, Yin Yoga
Mia Nguyen completed her 200HR Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training at Om Factory Yoga School in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2018. Since then, she has practiced and taught Vinyasa, Hatha, Yin, and Acro Yoga.
Her classes are based on flows and transitions between poses, focusing on building strength and awareness of the body and the breath. Mia completed a 16HR Yoga Nidra training with Shakti Yoga Method in early 2024, enabling her to integrate Yoga Therapy elements into her Yin and Restorative classes.
To her, the practice of yoga and mindfulness is powerful and transformative. It empowers her to be aware of the physical body, mental body and spirituality. Being aware, through every practice, the self grows bit by bit while still being grounded in the present moment.
Eilis Dillon
Yin Yoga & Restorative
Eilis' love for Yoga started at aged 16 by discovering a yoga book in a library, then dabbling in different styles in the southern hemisphere, to finally completing her 200hr Vinyasa Flow in 2019 at Green Lotus Yoga with Carol Murphy. Ever-evolving, Eilis' current passion is fusing Restorative & Nidra with folklore and Womb Empowerment.
Eilis' teachings alchemise her grá of nature, folklore & yoga in various styles. Combining her experience & studies in Vinyasa Flow (Green Lotus Yoga), Restorative & Yoga Nidra (Alchemy of Yoga), Yin & Menstruality (Kitty Maguire), Chair & Special needs adaptive yoga (Special Yoga), Gender & Inclusivity (CC Darlington). The focus is to teach the fundamentals of mind, body & soul connection. To help people find their inner peace, to feel comfortable in their own skin, to tune into their beautiful bodies. No matter who, what, where or how you got here. We come in different shapes & forms, but we all have the same basic needs.
Erin Dunne
Vinyasa Flow
Erin discovered yoga to help her find peace through the busyness of life in London in 2013. Over time pranayama healed her asthma and so her fascination with and passion for yoga began. Practicing with some incredible teachers including Stewart Gilchrist, Laura Farrier, Ajay Kumar and Celeste Pereira in London and Dubai led to her completing her 200 hours YTT in 2018 in an effort to learn more for herself initially.
Erin is aware that being a yoga teacher means being an eternal student and that the two roles are inextricably intertwined. Erin moved to Ireland during 2020 to be beside the sea and beautiful Irish landscapes which allows her to swim and hike in her free time. Currently studying additional YTT hours with Celeste Pereira, Erin is an artist and is training to be a psychotherapist at ICPPD. The practise of Vipassana meditation is also a staple part of her life. Erin loves to incorporate inspiration from all of her curiosities in life into her moving meditative flows, with thoughtful themes, joyful expression and cues that inspire a greater awareness of the body mind connection.
Tara Duffy
Founder of Yoga Darśana
Tara has been practicing Iyengar yoga for 24 years, and teaching since 2010. In 2021, she founded and established Yoga Darśana as Galway’s first not-for-profit yoga studio. Tara now lives with her daughter in the United States, where she continues to share her knowledge of Iyengar Yoga with students there.