I’m Subhanaya

Dance and movement are at the heart of my life and Buddhist practice. I’ve practiced different forms of conscious dance and movement meditation for 10 years and have learned to come home to my body, to understand my past and my habits, to lean into connection with others and to move in my life with greater ease and flow - and this journey continues!

I qualified to teach Open Floor Movement Practice in 2024 and am a member of the International Conscious Movement Teachers Association.

Open Floor is a resource based movement practice - meaning that we develop in movement richly nourishing and deeply embodied resources that support us off the dance floor too. We get to know ourselves, we learn and grow, we change and we can connect - with ourselves, with others and with a bigger sense of soul or spirit.

Creating spaces for people to move, to share themselves and to be witnessed feels very meaningful to me and I bring qualities of kindness and deep listening, as well as thoughtful reflecting and inquiry to my teaching space.  

Trauma-informed practice is another important aspect of how I teach and hold space, with a sensitivity to all we bring to the dance floor and how that can affect us. I’m a student of my own nervous system and understand how it works to support us and how we can develop our capacity to regulate and to respond with flexibility and resource to life’s difficulties.

I’ve practiced Buddhism for 10 years or so and in 2021 was ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order. My name means ‘she whose leading is beautiful’. I work at Dhanakosa Buddhist Retreat Centre in central Scotland, where I look after the garden, am part of the management team and lead and support retreats.

I’m also an artist and photographer - all the images on this site (apart from those of me) are mine. The images of me are taken by Beth McDougall of Digital Design Consultancy.