Hi, and thanks for visiting Di Hickman, (formerly Workout With Di), and welcome to my home on the web. Who am I? In a nutshell I’m a yoga fanatic teacher, movement educator, vegan, anatomy nerd, dog lover, photography enthusiast, foodie, artist, geek, entrepreneur, DIY diva, travelista, writer, explorer and so much more. I believe in not putting yourself in a box, constantly learning new things and questioning everything. You can learn more about my life here, but for now let’s dive into my yoga journey. How I ended up being a yoga teacher and movement educator. And how I can help you!
My first yoga class
Almost everyone has a “my first yoga class” story and here’s mine. When I was around 13 years old I went with my neighbor to a yoga class at the local church hall. I was the youngest participant and loved it immediately. However, yoga teacher was never on my radar as a career. It was something fun, and an activity I would do on and off for many, many years to come.
Fun fact about this yoga class is that I found out years later that my mother-in-law also attending this same class!
Working in Fitness
Back in 1996 I started working in the fitness industry. Those able to do math will realize that’s over 20 years! Whoa, where did that time go? My journey to finding a career in fitness was one of the pivotal points of my life. I had a job in retail that I hated, and I discovered I had stage 1A cervical cancer. Thankfully it was caught early and treatable with surgery, but that made me rethink my life big time. I was no longer prepared to stagnate in a job I hated so it was time to begin a career I was passionate about. But what? I really loved my twice weekly jazzercise class, I’ll do that! And the rest, as they say, is history.
I’m a NASM personal trainer, AFAA certified group fitness instructor, and NESTA Lifestyle & Weight Management specialist. Over the last 20+ years I’ve been certified in numerous other fitness programs including Les Mills, PiYo, P90X, Spinning, and TRX. Yes, I love learning about health and fitness! I’m truly fascinated by the human body. It’s amazing.
Rediscovering Yoga
Yoga was something I really began to gravitate towards in 2010. Around 2011 I was working at a local gym that needed a PiYo teacher, so I certified in PiYo and then a year later, took the AFAA yoga certification. But my goal was to teach at a yoga studio. After 3 years of debating I decided to do my yoga teacher training, found Yoga Nook RYT 200 program and signed up! With a heavy focus on anatomy, the Yoga Nook teacher training program was right up my alley. Plus, the owner was British like me. It couldn’t have been more perfect!
The teaching journey so far
I graduated the Yoga Nook RYT 200 program in 2015 and began teaching at the studio two weeks later. After teaching at gyms for 5 years it was a welcome change to be around people wanting to switch from working out, to working in. Since graduating I’ve done lots of continuing education including my RYT500. After putting in the work and hours to attain my E-RYT200 (and E RYT500) I became a part of the Yoga Nook teacher training faculty, and a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider. In 2017 I stopped teaching other class formats and decided to niche down on YOGA, and rebranded this website and social media. I went all in on yoga and have gone from strength to strength, and enjoyed every single day sharing something I am truly passionate about: living yoga, and loving life.
How I can help you
Whether you’re just curious about yoga, or are looking to expand your existing yoga practice I can help.
I’ve worked with people of all age ranges, and with a variety of health conditions. With over 20 years of education and experience, I have a big bag of tricks to pull from. No session is ever the same, except maybe some of the jokes. Being an anatomy and movement nerd I continuously strive to educate myself further. And when I learn, I share.
If you have a physical injury, disease or limitation, I am proficient in a modality called somatics, and AIM. Through awareness integration and movement working together we can discover if you are using your body in a way that is causing stress or tension, leading to discomfort or pain. The techniques I use can help to release chronically contracted muscles and relieve pain. Then re-educate the body and eliminate poor movement habits. Quite often we need to do less, so we can do more.
Interested in working with me? On this website you’ll find my class schedule, workshops, and privates. Recently I’ve launched a Patreon to provide full yoga videos online. I realized that not everyone can get to a yoga studio so for a small monthly fee [less than a studio drop in!] you can access my yoga class video library, with new exclusive editions every month.
I’m always looking to connect with like minded people, and this website is a way to do that. By sharing my journey, my knowledge, my story, and my experience here I hope to inspire, and motivate others to not just DO yoga but to LIVE yoga. Love their life, and spread the message of good karma.