Chelsea Harper, Yoga Teacher
Chelsea Harper, Sampoorna Yoga
‘Chelsea Harper offered me her perspective, one that I feel honoured to have glimpsed. She teaches yoga with deep authenticity and a genuine desire to share a clear vision with her students. She became a friend, someone I can truly trust; she cares deeply andloves fully.’ Karma Yogi, Charlotte
I met Chelsea during my Hatha 200-hour YTT at Sampoorna Yoga in Goa, India, January 2026. Chelsea Harper’s relationship with yoga began early. As a child, she came across her aunt’s yoga teacher training manual and started copying the postures she saw on the page, without any sense of where they came from or what they meant. Around the same time, her mother took her to meditation classes, giving her an early introduction to stillness and reflection.
Movement was always part of her life. Chelsea trained in dance from the age of four through to her A Levels, before stepping away from it as she grew older. Yoga returned in her mid-twenties. At first, it was the physical practice that drew her in. Over time, it became clear that yoga offered far more than strength or flexibility. It gave her structure, perspective and a deeper understanding of herself.
That shift led her towards teaching. In 2020, Chelsea completed her 200-hour Hatha Yoga teacher training. She began teaching soon after, while continuing to prioritise her own practice. Wanting to deepen her knowledge and confidence, she went on to complete a 300-hour training at Sampoorna Yoga. The experience had a lasting impact and she stayed on as a Karma Yogi for a further four months.
Chelsea teaches with honesty and care. Her focus is on creating a space where people feel supported, steady and encouraged to listen to themselves. She guides from experience rather than performance, helping students build a practice that feels personal, sustainable and rooted in self-trust.
What is your favourite yoga book?
My favourite yoga book is probably a very simple version of the 8 limbs of Yoga. I believe that the 8 limbs, when applied, can teach us anything and everything. Although I do love ‘A New Earth’ by Eckhart Tolle and I really feel the connection between yoga and what he teaches.
What has been your most difficult teaching moment?
My most difficult teaching moment was when I had received sad news from home, while in India, just before teaching a 6:30am class. I put my best teaching mode on as I could in that moment, but it was a struggle. This had an impact on other students and unfortunately my vulnerability landed in the wrong hands and was taken advantage of. This left me questioning my ability to hold space. Although I would say this was one of my biggest growing points as a teacher too. I learned a lot about myself as a person, a teacher and other people within that time frame.
Where to next?
That is the ultimate question. When I came to India I didn’t see my life unfolding in the way that it has. It has exceeded my expectations and fulfilled my wildest dreams. As far as I know, UK & back to India…. let’s see :)
Where do you see yourself in ten years’ time?
Ouff in 10 years time… where I’ll be in 1 year’s time is a hard enough question :D - I’d love to say with my own home in India, still teaching yoga and on trainings, but with a deeper sense of knowledge and experience. With my own children and husband, too, preferably. I don’t aspire to reach great heights, but to share the practice with as many people as I can and, in some way, have a positive impact on others' lives is the ultimate goal. I like the life that India has to offer me, especially here in South Goa. I’d just love to share it with someone and enjoy raising my own children.
5 yoga myths:
Yoga is about complex asanas and gaining flexibility - absolutely not! Asana is only a small part of yoga, and actually, just staying seated in one asana while combining all the other limbs of yoga, is the practice of yoga.
For meditation, you have to have a completely quiet mind - not entirely true, this is more like a side effect. First, we bring balance through concentration, then the meditation happens. If a thought arises through stillness this is still meditation. What makes it different is that the thought is intuitive rather than a forced or looping story.
Everyone should meditate - if the person it ready, then yes. But to say everyone straight away is not entirely true straight away. If someone is experiencing a deep sense of depression, actually, what they need first is movement. The energy needs to shift and transmute into positive energy before mediation can happen. When we meditate, thoughts will come. This is natural as the mind is made to think. Although the types of thoughts we have are what create the benefits, or a lack thereof, through meditation. If our thoughts are clean and positive, we can sit and meditate in peace. If our thoughts are spiralling downward, then we move into more suffering, and it can lead to harmful effects.
You can’t practice yoga and have a good time - not true at all. Yes, yoga teaches us to lead a healthier lifestyle. But it is also teaching how to manage everyday life as it shows up raw and authentically. It shows us how to face the heaviness we may carry and handle that weight without reaching for something outside ourselves. Through the practice of yoga we face, rather than escape. And in that facing, we set ourselves free. And that liberation actually permits us to have the best time of our lives. Literally.
You can drink alcohol & smoke (and other stuff) and do yoga - this may be more of an opinion, but from my experience, it’s a myth. Yes, a yoga practitioner may do these things. But the moment a substance is taken, a shift is created by an external force. Yoga teaches us to make the shift happen from within ourselves. Reaching for these vices means we are reaching outside of ourselves. To reach outside means we are not united with what is happening inside. Yoga is not about escaping; it’s about experiencing. When our practice is solid, we allow ourselves to experience all shades of life. All texture - the rough, the smooth. The dark & the light. We don’t differentiate it - we allow it to take up the space it needs to live its own experience, and then naturally it releases on its own accord. Reaching for vices creates a chain reaction on a physical, mental & emotional level. Can we just drop the vices and let ourselves be…
Favourite yoga discipline and why
My favourite yoga discipline is not anything to do with asana, meditation or pranayam. Although I have my own discipline within these parts of the practice, too. My discipline is how I show up for myself and others every day. And within that, the required disciplines come. I have my daily routines, small rituals I do every day. But beyond that, if I don’t show up authentically or in a way that harms others, I feel I’ve already done a disservice to the practice. And over the years, what I have learned is that no matter how disciplined you may be, life will always tell you what you need to focus on if you are present enough to observe it, acknowledge it, and act on it. Consistency is absolutely 100% key - show up to the practice, that is the discipline. But the practice itself will change depending on the phase, stage, or state you are in.
What do you do in your free time?
In my free time, I love spending quality time with my friends and myself. I spend a lot of time alone because for me, this is how I reserve my energy. But when I am surrounded by good quality people who are like-minded, then I love to be with them. On a weekend, I love to dance, sober of course. I love to chill at the beach, and sometimes I like to read, but not always. I listen to music, go on rides or drives. Sit in nature & maybe go to some nice cafés with a good atmosphere. I love to pamper myself and go to the sauna or do a face mask etc. I like the simple life.
What brought you to Sampoorna?
I came to Sampoorna to do my 300hrs Advance Vinyasa TTC. I had started following them on IG because of a friend and was following them for about 5 years or so. The time when I came to Sampoorna I was going through a tough time… my life had done a 360 and it felt like the world was crumbling around me. My intention was to come back to me, to see where the journey would take me and ‘maybe’ I would teach when I got back to the UK. But Sampoorna had other plans for me and I’m truly grateful as it’s transformed my life in unimaginable ways.
Favourite restaurant in Agonda
I wouldn’t say my favourite restaurant for food, but Dunhill is my most visited and most enjoyable place to chill. It’s so simple and easy-going. I think also because they’re open during monsoon, and I was here through monsoon, that I made a nice little connection with the staff and it feels like home.
Swim or gym?
I’m 100% a swim gal! I love to swim! If I’m ever having a hard time or need to gather my thoughts or emotions, swimming is my go to. That then becomes my meditation.
Worst fear
My worst fear is not living my life to the fullest before I reach my time. That’s why I live by the motto ‘Lead with an open mind & an open heart’. Because you never know what doors might open. And I truly believe that some things that this life has to offer are way beyond imagination. The mind is its own 4 walls, and I don’t want to live locked inside 4 walls because society told me to. I want to enjoy my life the way that I want to.
Who do you look up to who inspires you?
There are too many people for me to mention here who inspire me and whom I look up to. But I’ll name a few. I am inspired by one of the Sampoorna teachers, Rowena. Her strength and grace are such beautiful qualities that she carries so naturally. Her energy demands respect, but her personality is so loving, fun and caring.
Steph, another teacher at Sampoorna, inspires me. She made her life here in India, and she opened my eyes to the possibilities of me too having my own life here in South Goa.
Robyn was my initial inspiration to stay in Sampoorna as a KY (Karma Yogi). As our friendship has deepened, I’m inspired by her natural ability to make people smile and laugh. She is always able to lift the energy of the room, even when she doesn’t feel like it.
I’m inspired by all of the people in the world who have chosen the path less travelled. The ones who said no to societal expectations & still managed to have the things their hearts desired, and never took any of it for granted because they know how hard the road less travelled really is.
I’m inspired by anyone who has ever faced their demons and said no to them point-blank in the face. The ones who have fallen down a million times and still chose to rise with a grateful heart.
And I’m inspired by those who choose love over and over again, no matter how many times they got the door closed in their face. Because this is a real strength to me. This is true freedom. And this is the standard I like to live by.
Do you have a guru?
I don’t have a guru. I’m on a path that will hopefully lead me to a guru. But I truly believe that everyone is a guru to some capacity. Whether someone is showing you how to show up, or how not to show up. I used to follow Sadhguru, Mooji, and Eckhart Tolle. I listen to a lot of Louise Hay, Dr Joe Dispenza & Abraham hicks. I read The Secret when I was 16, and then these teachers have naturally found their way to me in one way or another. But I don’t have a specific guru I follow all the time.
One piece of advice
Just show up and be honest about it. First with yourself, and with others. The way in which we show up matters. We can be honest, authentic, and also compassionate and joyful. We’re all here living for the first time. We need a balance of being serious about the fact we’ve only got this one life, but also not taking everything too seriously either. But can we just live life authentically, otherwise we create a lot of mess for ourselves, and then we deprive others of reality too. Which is extremely harmful and unfair. Let everyone be happy and free and contribute to that happiness and freedom by giving the blessing of your own truth. Deliverance is key. We don’t have to be mean or miserable about it. Authenticity didn’t come with an instruction label that says ‘to be honest means you have to be mean or miserable’. You can be sad and say so without being a victim or wallowing in it. You can set a boundary with someone who has crossed many without shaming them or belittling them. You can also be unapologetically happy when you know others may not feel happy, and use that energy to uplift them too, rather than rub it in their face.
Be mindfully authentic and don’t attach to any specific emotion or outcome…. Because your authenticity in one moment will look different in the next.
Favourite Indian film (if you have one!)
I don’t actually have one as I don’t watch TV or movies.