Ellie Smith

Yoga Instructor

Ellie Smith Founder and CEO of Ellie Smith Yoga Ltd

Ellie first began yoga in 2007, practicing in her tiny living room shortly after moving from the U.K. to the Japanese countryside. Alongside teaching communication and cultural studies at the tertiary level, she quickly developed a passion for yoga, in particular Hatha Yoga, Yin Yoga, and Ashtanga Yoga.

Since obtaining her certification from Akasha Yoga Academy in 2021, Ellie has been teaching yoga in her local community in both English and Japanese, initially focusing on beginners and helping students persist in their practice. Currently, her unique approach guides students towards integrating yoga principles into everyday life, in particular how to apply it to the realm of public speaking.

Ellie rediscovered the transformative power of yoga when she began to incorporate it into her university classroom, with the aim of significantly reducing her students' public speaking anxiety and enhancing their public speaking presence through simple asana, breathwork, and meditation practices. This realization led her to develop her business, Ellie Smith Yoga Ltd, dedicated to helping students and new professionals start and maintain a yoga practice, and then apply its techniques off the mat, particularly to improve their public speaking skills.

She regularly writes about these concepts in her blog, “Foundations for Yoga Beginners,” and conducts online and in-person workshops for university teachers, providing them with practical yoga-based tools to help their students manage public speaking anxiety.

Ellie’s philosophy is rooted in the belief that yoga is for everyone, and that it can be adapted to each person’s unique needs. Her motto, therefore, is “Focus on how you feel, and adjust accordingly” which she uses in both the yoga studio and the classroom. Her mission at Ellie Smith Yoga Ltd is to demystify yoga, presenting it as a collection of practical, science-backed tools that extend far beyond fitness, offering profound and positive impacts on practitioners, especially those looking to improve their public speaking skills.