Darvina has been practising yoga for over 20 years and teaching for close to a decade. Guiding over 15,000 classes across studios, community spaces, teacher trainings, and retreats in the UK and internationally.
Hi, I’m Darvina — Founder of The Yoga Plante.
I was born and raised in South London, the daughter of immigrant parents, and grew up navigating multiple cultures, identities, and ways of moving through the world. As a mixed-race woman of Saint Lucian and Irish heritage, inclusion has never been an abstract concept for me — it has shaped how I listen, how I lead, and how I create space.
Before yoga became my work, my professional background was in the entertainment and performing arts. I trained as a professional dancer and singer and worked across West End theatre, as part of original West End casts, film, recording studios, and international tours in the US. In my twenties, I moved to Los Angeles to continue my career, recording background vocals on albums for a range of artists, and working across live and recorded mediums. That world demanded discipline, adaptability, physical intelligence, and presence — qualities that continue to inform how I teach and hold space today.
Yoga had always been part of my life, but it was during a period of major personal transformation that the practice became something deeper and more essential. At that time, I was living with debilitating anxiety. Stress had begun to affect every layer of my life — mentally, physically, and emotionally. Returning to the mat offered structure when everything felt overwhelming, and over time, the practice became an anchor that helped regulate my nervous system, reconnect me with my body, and slowly bring me back to myself. What began as personal support evolved into a vocation rooted in steadiness, inquiry, and sustainable wellbeing.
Alongside teaching, I’ve worked extensively within the wellness industry at a structural level. I’ve served as an advisory board member for Lululemon on diversity and inclusion. I’ve collaborated on campaigns with Spotify and Vivo Barefoot, and have supported studios and organisations with guidance around equity, inclusion, and diversity within wellness spaces.
This work is deeply personal to me — I’m passionate about creating environments that are genuinely inclusive of all bodies, cultures, and races, not just in theory, but in lived experience.
The Yoga Plante was created from a desire to build something far bigger than myself. It exists to support teachers, studios, communities, and workplaces through intelligent, grounded yoga that is rooted in tradition yet responsive to modern life. My vision extends beyond studio walls — into community spaces, retreat settings, and corporate environments where stress, burnout, and disconnection are increasingly common. The Yoga Plante is a growing home for movement, breathwork, education, and connection, offering classes, teacher trainings, retreats, and wellness initiatives that prioritise accessibility, integrity, and long-term impact.
With over 15,000 hours of teaching across studios, community spaces, corporate settings, teacher trainings, and international retreats, my work is shaped by depth, repetition, and relationship. This is the beginning of a wider ecosystem — one that supports not only individual practitioners, but the communities and structures they move within.
“My classes are thoughtful, grounded, and adaptable, rooted in tradition, but responsive to real bodies and real lives.”— Darvina
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