Macha Yoga is a boutique yoga studio in the heart of Bray, Co. Wicklow founded and directed by Alice Vignoles. Macha Yoga offers a full range of classes, workshops and treatments in yoga, meditation and well-being in a warm and relaxing atmosphere.
At Macha Yoga, we honour the flow of nature and our focus is on re-aligning body & mind to the cyclical rhythm of all life. Our approach follows the Wheel of the Year, so whether you are joining us for the first or 500th time, you are progressing a cyclical journey to discover an intuitive, empowering sense of your well-being.
After years of personal and professional experience practicing with the Wheel of the Year, the harmonious relationship between the ancient, local and seasonal traditions of Ireland and the ancient wisdom of yoga's holistic practice became undeniable. The entire programme at the studio is curated to help clients discover and embody this practical approach to yoga and wellness. The studios classes, events and trainings guide you through 8 unique phases of the Celtic calendar, shifting focus through in-depth practice of movement, meditation & breathwork.
We are just 2 minutes walk from Bray Dart station, 2 minutes from the town centre, in a Victorian terrace house at the end of a long garden. Our peaceful studio, full of original period features, beautiful natural light and host to the most unforgettable Monkey Puzzle tree is a space where you can feel at ease. We host intimate classes, where your teacher knows you by name and carefully follows your progress. The studio is fully stocked with props, equipment, and we have a shop for anything you wish to purchase for your home practice.
Macha Yoga was founded by Alice, on the insistence of her mother Rose, after her father passed away from complications of dementia. After Rose died a few years later, Rose left our historic premises on Florence Terrace to Alice in the knowledge that the studio would continue to create something beautiful and meaningful for all who visit us.
We look forward to welcoming you to our community!
Yoga became part of my daily life in 2011, after a lifetime of introduction to all manner of holistic and spiritual experiences from early childhood. I was at a physical crisis point from an extremely stressful and traumatic period in my life, and I put my trust in yoga to support my healing. I started off in absolute exhaustion, full of physical ailments to overcome, barely able to participate in a full class. Within no time at all my dedication to yoga allowed me to undo the harm my difficult circumstances caused and gave me a wider capacity to be able to meet the challenges my life presented me with grace, groundedness and faith.
Deeply inspired by this experience I became fascinated by the healing potential of yoga, I wanted to learn and share. I enrolled in a 2 year, 500 hour diploma with Yoga Therapy Ireland in 2015 while simultaneously pursuing in depth training & mentorship in mantra, meditation and ritual in India and Ireland. By the time I was 24, I was involved in caring for my sick father, holding down a career as a film production designer and teaching regular yoga classes all over North Wicklow and South Dublin. During my initial studies I was apprenticed to yoga therapists and healers, where I spent a great deal of time learning in depth the relationship between anatomy, asana and emotion, becoming an inclusive and caring teacher. All the while my life long practice of acknowledging the Celtic Wheel deepened and enhanced my embodiment of what I was learning and created a thread between the diverse practices I learnt and the land and context I work from.
I went on to study Golden Tera Mai Reiki, to Master & Teacher degree and beyond to Akasha Seichim, to enhance my ability to work with the subtle experiences that I encountered in my work. In 2020, during the Covid pandemic, while pregnant with my first child, I completed my Masters degree in Theology in Trinity College Dublin, presenting my dissertation on yoga as an embodied spiritual practice in post colonial India and Ireland. My dissertation earned me the James Haire Prize for academic achievement and first class honours. I am accredited as a senior teacher by Yoga Alliance, having taught thousands of classes since my original training.
To this day, I am truly touched by the journey between those first classes in 2015 to having the great honour to teach and facilitate hundreds of people through the studio since 2018. It is a dream come true to have created this community, and I am deeply grateful to all of those who have decided to pursue their yoga journey with me.
I look forward to seeing you at a class,
Take Care,
Alice
