08 · About

About.

Kester Hynds — yoga, movement, integration. SE London and beyond.

I'm a yoga and movement teacher based in South East London. I teach a dynamic, integrated and playful practice — yogic awareness and discipline at the centre, with strength, mobility, and inversions woven through. My practice and approach have been shaped by a lifetime exploring different physical disciplines — and by what my own body has needed at different points.

I came to yoga the way a lot of people do — through injury. A bad bike accident in 2014 left me unable to do most of what I'd been training in (martial arts, aerial circus, dance, calisthenics). Yoga offered itself as a safe, mindful space — somewhere I could rebuild my body and quieten my mind. I soon realised that the practice demanded discipline and humility, and a loosening of attachment to outcomes. More than just a path to wellbeing, it became the bedrock for life.

Over time, the other practices came back — but they came back differently. With more awareness and integrity. Strength, mobility, breath, attention, coordination — you can train these in isolation, but the synthesis is where everything comes alive.

I sat my first 10-day Vipassana meditation course in 2015 and have attended and served several since. Meditation is now a regular part of my practice, and it informs how I teach — what I notice in a session, and how I respond in the moment. The inner and outer work are intimately linked. I'm currently in the early stages of training in transpersonal psychotherapy, working with models and frameworks for understanding our habits, patterns, and behaviours.

When I'm not moving, making is the lifeblood. Music and art. Rhythm, tension, release, composition, structure, improvisation. Like movement, you don't force development — you create the environment and mindset for the work to emerge.

Bodies, minds, music, lives: they grow, expand and evolve when the conditions are right.

Kester Hynds in tree pose

A practice built over time —
the physical and the personal, held together.

· Field notes

The training
behind the practice.

'25

4BEAT Yoga Teacher Training

with Marcus Veda. Sequencing & cueing vinyasa to 60–70bpm music mixes.

50 hr
'24

Handstand Level 1 Teacher Training

with Sammy Dineen, one of the UK's leading hand-balancing artists and teachers.

50 hr
'22

The Axis Syllabus: Human Movement Lexicon

with Frey Faust, creator of the Axis Syllabus.

'19

Advanced Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training

with David Swenson and Ram Jain at the Arhanta Yoga Ashram, NL.

50 hr
'18

200hr Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training

It's Yoga Satellite (now Bright Yoga), founded by Larry Schultz, creator of Rocket Yoga.

200 hr
'17

Ferus Animi // Terra Nova

Movement research with Tom English.

'16

Deltebre Dansa Intensive

Movement & choreography with Roberto Olivan, founder of Deltebre Dansa.

'16

Moving the Environment: Questions Into Form

with Daniel Lepkoff, one of the pioneers of Contact Improvisation & Anatomical Release.

'15

Vipassana meditation

Began practising; extended retreats. The foundation everything else sits on.

Ongoing
'12

Trinity Laban Dance Summer School

Contact Improvisation, Contemporary, Capoeira for Dancers.

pre-'12

The Stuff I Did Before

Muay Thai and judo, with some capoeira, JKD, BJJ. Rope, straps and Chinese pole in circus. Calisthenics, climbing, snowboarding, and surfing then and now — still trying to get good. I need to move to the beach! Mountain biking since the early days of toe clips, rigid forks, and bar-ends — suspension on a mountain bike seemed like crazy talk!

· What students say
“He's a great teacher who has helped me develop and improve my practice over the last 2 years — a portal of restorative calm and strength in my week. Highly recommend!”
— Lizzy A.

Work
together.

If any of this sounds like a fit, drop a line. Tell me what you're working with.

Get in touch