Our team
Meet our team
FOUNDER, DIRECTOR, YOGA THERAPIST
Joanna Bogacz
Joanna Bogacz is a qualified Yoga Therapist and experienced yoga teacher. Holding a 500-hour BWYQ Level 4 diploma and a 550-hour BCYT-accredited Yoga Therapy qualification, she meets National Occupational Standards and is registered with CNHC. Joanna specializes in trauma-informed yoga therapy, with expertise in women’s health, older adults, chronic pain, and mental health.
Since 2013, Joanna has taught yoga full-time, blending her deep personal practice—rooted in meditation and influenced by Scaravelli-inspired approaches—with professional skills. She teaches ethics and professional skills on a BCYT-approved yoga therapy training and is committed to ongoing development and supervision.
Joanna’s background includes holistic health, reflexology, counselling, nutrition, and legal training as a solicitor, enriching her compassionate, client-centred approach. She has worked extensively in mental health advocacy and community outreach, bringing this experience into her therapeutic work.
As a founder member of the Yoga Therapy Association and active BWY Wales Chair, Joanna champions yoga therapy’s role in health care. Based in Cardiff, she designs tailored yoga programs supporting conditions such as long COVID, chronic pain, stress, trauma, and musculoskeletal issues, fostering healing through compassionate, integrative practice.
DIRECTOR, RESEARCHER, YOGA TEACHER
Dr Sheena Carlisle
Dr. Sheena Carlisle is a qualified Yoga Teacher (375-hour IYN accredited) and Somatic Movement Teacher with over 30 years of personal yoga practice. Trained at Agniyaana School of Yoga and Radiant Star Yoga, she integrates somatic and therapeutic yoga techniques to support conditions such as osteoporosis, arthritis, stroke recovery, and joint injuries. Sheena currently expands her therapeutic yoga classes at Cardiff University’s Wellbeing programme and Sbectrwm Community Centre, drawing on her Higher National Certificate in Dance Movement Therapy and extensive volunteer work with disability and mental health groups.
With a PhD in sustainable tourism development and 18 years as a senior lecturer at Cardiff Metropolitan University, Sheena brings strong expertise in quality assurance, skills development, and sustainability education. She has led projects enhancing educational quality and advised on integrating digital and sustainability skills into tourism qualifications.
Now focusing on developing YHC, Sheena works as a Research Associate at Cardiff University School of Social Sciences, building academic and community links. Her additional qualifications include First Aid at Work, Prince 2 Project Management, and PM4SD for sustainable development. Her broad experience in project management and quality processes complements her therapeutic yoga work, emphasizing holistic wellbeing and sustainable practices.
DIRECTOR, NURSE, YOGA ENTHUSTIAST
Rowena Myles
Rowena Myles is a retired NHS nurse with a diverse 40-year career spanning clinical nursing, education, management, and public health. Qualified in both general and psychiatric nursing, she trained at the Maudsley Hospital in London and worked as a ward sister on an acute psychiatric ward before moving into nurse education.
Returning to Wales, Rowena improved care standards in a psychiatric hospital and later held senior nursing management roles in acute and community hospitals. She advanced to senior nurse planner at Wales’s largest Health Authority, leading commissioning services for vulnerable groups, including homeless people, ethnic minorities, and those with learning disabilities.
Rowena played a key role in improving care for residents at the Ely Learning Disability Hospital, facilitating their resettlement into community care. Later, she worked with Public Health Wales coordinating child protection services and contributed to NHS guidance following the Children Act 2004.
Committed to community support, Rowena volunteered 16 years with Cardiff Samaritans and served as Chair of the Cwm Taff Morgannwg Community Health Council, advocating patient voices. More recently, she volunteers as a befriender for domestic abuse survivors.
Practicing yoga for 10 years, Rowena values its role in maintaining her fitness and flexibility while enjoying the community it brings.
DIRECTOR, YOGA TEACHER, PHYSIOTHERAPY STUDENT
DIRECTOR, FINANCE PROFESSIONAL, YOGA ENTHUSIAST
Lynne Williams
Lynne Williams is a dedicated yoga practitioner with 35 years of experience and a recently retired finance professional with over 40 years in the industry. Her extensive financial career spans roles in large corporations, SMEs, and running her own bookkeeping business for 14 years.
Starting with an accountancy apprenticeship at GKN, Lynne worked in product and process costing, including a role with SASOL in South Africa. Back in the UK, she managed accounts and payroll teams in an IT software company before running her bookkeeping business while raising her children.
After relocating to Cardiff, Lynne became Head of Finance at MLT Research (later Gen-Probe Cardiff), leading the UK finance team through a US GAAP transition and managing finance, HR, buying, facilities, and administration for a £4 million turnover subsidiary. She managed financial statements, budgets, grant applications, and compliance controls.
Later, as Financial Controller at Circle IT Limited, Lynne implemented financial reporting systems and helped grow turnover from £2m to £9m, securing a £300m Welsh Government grant. At Howells Legal Limited, she managed financial compliance, reporting, and tenant account reconciliations until retirement.
Lynne’s finance expertise complements her long-standing yoga practice, reflecting a balanced approach to wellbeing and professional excellence.
Clare Strange
Clare Strange is a qualified yoga teacher with a 500-hour Level 4 diploma from the British Wheel of Yoga, teaching gentle, slow yoga in Whitchurch, Cardiff for the last six years. She creates a supportive, non-competitive space, especially welcoming beginners and those seeking an accessible practice.
Clare views herself primarily as a lifelong yoga student, continuously developing her skills through courses in ayurveda, pranayama, philosophy and yoga nidra. Her teaching is deeply informed by her personal journey: diagnosed with ME and fibromyalgia during university, she found yoga essential in managing her physical and mental health. This lived experience shapes her compassionate and inclusive approach.
After a decade working in NHS and Higher Education administration, Clare is now studying Physiotherapy at university, further bridging her passion for holistic health with clinical practice.
Clare is committed to supporting YHC’s mission to expand the evidence base for yoga therapy and deliver accessible, effective yoga therapy in partnership with the health sector to diverse communities.