ABOUT DIANE

I am Diane Thompson, a Registered Yoga teacher in Portland, Oregon.

I grew up in the northern part of England and moved to the USA in my thirties. A chemist by education, I worked in the Personal Care industry in Europe and USA, then within the Information Technology industry as a Software Engineer.

My specialty is foundational yoga for those in middle and senior years.  It’s ‘’Yoga, Just As You Are." My classes are taught with compassion and a little humor. I love games and puzzles and compiling creative and careful yoga sequences to suit all body types and characters.

I am trained in trauma informed yoga techniques and volunteer with an organization called Living Yoga that provides yoga to individuals from vulnerable and marginalized communities. 

I am also a Certified Yoga teacher of the Dr. Fishman Method of Yoga for Osteoporosis. I am living proof of the effects of yoga—after just 2 years of committed practice, I increased my bone mineral density back to normal levels in my hips and osteopenia level in my spine. I reversed my own diagnosis without the use of medications.

Have you ever made a seemingly small decision that ended up redirecting everything?

That is what I did.

I took the simple step of going to a foundational yoga class, back in the day when I was stressed out and depleted. I just simply kept coming back and doing whatever my body would allow that day. No goals, no expectations, just doing yoga as I was . . .

I then took the decision to delve more into yoga and embarked on yoga teaching school at The Bhaktishop in Portland, OR USA. By then I had been practicing on and off now for a few years in my 40s.

I studied Asana, Pranayama, Anatomy, Ayurveda, Philosophy, Psychology and Sanskrit to complement the sound Teaching Methodology of providing a safe and comprehensive yoga class experience.

YOGA school taught me a totally different way to live, choosing to put
health, community and passion over status, money and security.

Having Yoga and teaching in my life is my version of what it means to ‘work to live, and not live to work.

The simple practice of turning up for yoga classes in my earlier darkened days of midlife depression, adrenal fatigue and then menopause made these ailments and experiences bearable for me, allowing me to heal and transform. I had to pass on and share my experiences with yoga to others.

With increased balance and alignment, the aches and pains dissipated and I felt alert and fluid. My daily chores are done with ease. I know I will continue with my work and hobbies of gardening, tennis, golf and hiking well into my senior years. I will continue to live with autonomy. I am deeply grateful for the ways in which yoga has enriched my life. Beyond building strength and flexibility, yoga also wound its way into all aspects of my life.

I am joyful and balanced.