Uma Neave

Uma Neave is a yoga and breathwork teacher who has been committed to the path of yoga for more than 20 years. She co-founded Both Yoga, where BOTH stands for "Breath of the Heart", and describes her practice as living devotionally, from the heart, one breath at a time.

Her first trainings were in a traditional ashram in India. She studied yoga philosophy, pranayama and meditation at Samvit Sagar Ashram in Tiruvannamalai, South India, and has since studied with Western teachers including Sianna Sherman, Tara Judelle and Greg Kapps. She is a Registered Experienced Yoga Teacher (ERYT 500+) and says she always strives to share yoga with respect for its source and the roots of its teachings.

Uma is known for her love of Tantrik Shaivite and Shakta philosophy and mythology. She weaves stories into breathwork (pranayama) and moving meditation, so that practice reaches beyond asana. Her workshops, immersions, trainings and retreats are meant to be accessible and inclusive, and to encourage deep enquiry. Her 100-hour teacher trainings centre breath, meditation, mantra and philosophy, and she is passionate about helping teachers deepen their understanding and find their own authentic voice. She also leads breathwork retreats in the mountains of Tejakula, North Bali.

She is an activist for social justice and the Earth. She actively supports wilderness protection and tree planting, as well as the Pay the Rent initiative. She writes blogs on yoga and the spiritual life, on topics such as mantra, tantra, social justice, and why she runs to save a forest. Most afternoons, she says, you will find her in her garden with her kids and a pot of tea.