our story & ethos
From London to Brighton & Back to the Heart…
Embodied Beings was founded by Calli Popham (Calli Yoga) after her move from London to Brighton in the Heart of lockdown.
Up until this point, Calli had been writing & teaching yoga teacher trainings alongside Carl Faure with Stretch London, the progressive East London yoga studio founded by Carl in 2010. Together they had trained 100’s of yoga teachers at both Foundation and Advanced levels and created a style of yoga that was progressive, dynamic and at its heart Embodied. They were some of the first teachers in the UK to move away from strict alignment based practices and to start to teach a more Somatic approach to yoga and movement, which in turn shifted the world of yoga in London at that time.
where it all started…
Embodied Beings was built on the belief that teaching yoga isn’t about performance, perfection, or replicating shapes, it’s about presence, autonomy, authenticity, and being in relationship.
Rooted in Non-Dual Philosophy we weave Science and Somatics, supporting modern yoga teachers to step into their authenticity and teach from their heart.
Since its inception in 2022, Embodied Beings has trained 500+ yoga teachers from across the world in how to teach a more somatic, inquiry based, trauma-informed and inclusive practice.
We share 200 Hour Foundation Trainings, Pre and Postnatal Trainings and our signature Embodied Rest ™️ YTT and Advanced CPD as well as the popular Embody & Flow CPD - guiding teachers back to a more authentic, embodied and heart-lead way of teaching.
We have an incredible team of teachers and a large, passionate community of graduate teachers out in the world sharing the magic.
Embodied teaching isn’t about better words or tools it’s about going in, listening and guiding others to do the same.
What we stand for:
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Autonomy & Authenticity over Aesthetics
We teach our trainees to trust their bodies, their voice, their experiences.
We won’t ask you to fit into a mould, we invite you to break one open for yourself instead
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Passion over Performance
Your passion - your lived story, your nervous system, your values, is what makes you a powerful teacher. Not the depth of your backbend or the angles of a pose.
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Teaching People, not Postures
Our curriculum is rooted in nervous system intelligence, trauma awareness, inclusivity, somatics, and science.
Because when you can truly see the person in front of you, not just their alignment, everything changes.
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Brave enough to go against the grain
We’re not here to follow outdated traditions blindly.
We’re here to question, evolve, speak up, and use our hearts and voices for change, both on and off the mat.
Equity, humanity, and integrity aren’t add-ons for us; they’re at the centre of everything we do and share.
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Embodiment as a way of living
To be embodied is to listen & feel deeply.
To move honestly.
To lead from sensation, not performance and to be actively engaged in the world we live in, willing to be part of the change, heart, voice and soul.
why does embodiment matter?
Embodiment shifts the way you listen, respond, and relate. Not just on the mat, but everywhere else too.
When you reconnect with yourself through your practice, it begins to ripple out into the rest of your life. You begin to recognise your reactions as they arise, you feel your body with more clarity, you become more aware of your patterns and you stop forcing and pushing through and start trusting your intuitive intelligence.
When you’re more connected to yourself, you in turn become more awake to the world around you including the systems, and conditioning that shape our experiences.
This is why embodied yoga matters.
It gives you back the capacity to feel, rest, choose and show up for yourself and for others.
Why embodied yoga?
Every body is different
Students are the ultimate experts of their own experience
The goal of yoga isn’t perfect shapes, but deeper awareness
Yoga without embodiment is just shapes. Yoga with embodiment is transformation.
The Yoga Sutras remind us that asana is only one of eight limbs — a doorway into something bigger. Embodiment opens that door, allowing yoga to become a practice of union, healing, and liberation.
