Penny Collie (Padmavati), the founder of YogaJaya, has been practising and teaching yoga, meditation and yoga philosophy for over 25 years, living within the Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres & Ashrams in India, North America and Europe as a senior teacher, ashram director and teacher trainer. She is an accredited Yoga Teacher Evaluator with the prestigious Yoga Certification Board of India, a Government of India department and an accredited Senior Teacher with UK Yoga Alliance.  As well as being a highly experienced teacher, Penny has been closely involved in the production and editing of publications of the world-renowned Sivananda Yoga Centres, among them the hugely successful The Sivananda Book of Meditation and YogaLife Magazine. 

Penny has a natural ability to present the sacred teachings according to Indian tradition, at the same time bringing the teachings alive to be relevant to daily life.  Her many years of teaching are reflected in her classes—she teaches with clarity, humour, humility and wisdom.  After 25 years, she has recently left ashram life and is currently based in London.