About Leela

Leela is more than a yoga teacher. With over 35 years of teaching experience, she is a pioneer, educator, innovator and integrator. Unbeknownst to many, Leela Miller was instrumental in the latest wave of yoga which began in the 1980s. Already a teacher for six years, Leela segued from Sivananda to Ashtanga yoga in 1992 when she began studying under the guidance of Danny Paradise. Shortly thereafter he gave her her first private client. In a new twist to the spiritual tradition of lineage, she introduced Leela to Trudie Styler who in turn introduced her to Madonna who in turn introduced her to Gwyneth Paltrow, all of whom she taught regularly for many years.

Leela’s emphasis on precision and alignment appealed to her students. Through Leela, Ashtanga yoga was introduced to many other internationally influential people – from actors to aristocracy - who contributed to giving Ashtanga specifically and yoga in general recognition and status on a global scale.

Leela went on to become Director of triyoga and of their Teacher Training Program. With these mandates, Leela introduced London to the teachings of formidable American teachers including Dharma Mitra, Anna Forrest, David Swenson and Danny Paradise. Many of the teachers Leela taught, mentored and hired to teach at triyoga are now some of London’s top teachers. In her role as Director of their well-respected teacher training programme, she was also creator, author, and teacher. 

Around 2009, Leela turned to Biodynamic Craniosacral therapy to help her tap into dynamic stillness, the source of all movement and healing; and to Yoga Nidra and restorative yoga in order to apply these principles to asana practice. In this capacity, Leela has worked with people with HIV and other physical and emotional conditions that a physically challenging approach might preclude. 

Leela’s greatest teachers are her restless mind and temperamental body, both great motivators in her pursuit of peace and well-being as she navigates life with glaucoma and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. While Sivananda is her spiritual lineage, she has managed her many physical challenges through ongoing study of Iyengar yoga since 1994. Leela is deeply indebted to Danny Paradise, David Swenson, Alaric Newcombe and Judy Smith for their generosity, guidance and wisdom on and off the mat.

Leela regards the evolution of consciousness and the exploration of Who We Really Are as the most meaningful and intimate journeys one can take. She considers it the highest privilege to accompany her students on theirs and realizes that for every one of us it is a very private practice.