Olivier Charles

Olivier Charles is a full-time yoga teacher, a Certified Yoga Therapist, an Ayurvedic Health Counsellor, and a Yoga Alliance Continued Education Provider based in Japan. His teaching is known for providing a dynamic mix of strength, stability, approachable anatomy, and humour throughout his classes across the globe. Olivier provides a practical approach through lecture and asana to understand the anatomy of commonly injured areas and how to frame your yoga teaching to address and prevent such injuries. While striving to find depth in the shallow, “yoga until 100” has become his motto.

Olivier discovered Yoga while living in London in 2003. Suffering from back pain and running injuries, yoga became an essential tool in his recovery and a passion in its own right. Always a student at heart, Oliver has recently completed the Advanced Yoga Anatomy course with Tom Myers, which has built on his understanding of the body and yoga practice even further. Olivier taught at Sampoorna Yoga for seven years, polishing his teacher training skills, then spent five years at Earth Yoga Village, deepening his intention as the lead teacher and also developing the course content for the 200-hour, 300-hour and yin teacher training courses. Over the years, Olivier has found that the key to a successful practice is honouring the physical body’s limitations – and moving fearlessly into the possibilities of greater strength and flexibility through patient and persistent practice. He has a light-hearted, compassionate and playful approach to teaching and helps his students to grow through self-observation without judgment. Having spent time teaching on teacher training and retreats in India, Europe and Japan for the last 12 years, Olivier owns and runs a yoga retreat centre and a yoga studio in West Japan with his wife, Hiromi.

Olivier cherishes his private life and believes privacy is a new age luxury.

Nichiren Buddhist (SGI) for over twenty years. When not in Goa, he brings to the YOGART COLLECTIVE team an extensive knowledge of yoga, integrating the best elements of modern yoga, anatomical precision, and Buddhist teachings.