The people who
hold the space.
Expert practitioners with many years of lived experience. These are the people you will move with, breathe with, and be truly looked after by.
Our Approach
Not credentials for
show. Experience you can feel.
Every person on this page has walked the path they now guide members along. They know what it takes — not from a textbook, but from living it. That is what qualifies them here, as much as any certificate.
The Founders
Two people who believed
something better was possible. So they built it.
Co-Founder · Strength, Conditioning & Conscious Movement
James Darlington
Co-founder of Sanctuary Penarth. Strength and conditioning coach with 30 years of experience in physical training and performance. A specialist in male longevity, conscious movement and the body’s innate ability to heal and balance itself.
James Darlington
James Darlington is co-founder of Sanctuary Penarth and has spent thirty years working with human bodies — first as a competitive athlete, then as a personal trainer and strength coach whose practice has always straddled the physical and the philosophical.
A severe neck injury in his thirties became an eight-year road back to full functionality — giving him a visceral understanding of chronic pain, the mental toll it takes, and what it truly means to rebuild. He has felt the frustration and the doubt. That empathy is one of his greatest strengths as a coach.
At Sanctuary, James delivers Mindful Abs — his signature fusion of core training and mindfulness — alongside Sanctuary Breathwork on Tuesday evenings. He is also the strength and conditioning mind behind the gym floor and the Sanctuary timetable design.
Co-Founder · Menopause Coach, Facilitator & Studio Lead
Cora Darlington
Co-founder of Sanctuary Penarth. Feminine empowerment & menopause coach, facilitator and author with over 25 years of experience guiding women through their most powerful rites of passage.
Cora Darlington
Cora Darlington is co-founder of Sanctuary Penarth and one of the most experienced women’s wellbeing coaches working in the industry today. With over twenty-five years of practice — spanning fitness, female leadership coaching, facilitation and authorship — her work has always been rooted in a single conviction: that genuine transformation begins from the inside out.
Her own journey has been as significant as the work itself. Through burnout, midlife and the passage of menopause, Cora has walked every road she now guides others along. Her book, The Great Surrender, speaks of menopause as a powerful rite of passage rather than a medical problem — and has become a resource for thousands of women globally.
At Sanctuary, Cora coaches and teaches her Sanctuary Signature class — a blended practice of yoga, meditation, self-inquiry and somatics. She is also the architect of the founding philosophy that underpins everything here.
Team & Instructors
In-House · 03
Yoga & Wellbeing Education
Joanna Bardol
Wellbeing educator, yoga teacher and co-founder of The House of IO. Joanna works at the intersection of movement, breath and ancient wisdom to support whole-person health.
Joanna Bardol is a wellbeing educator, yoga teacher and guide in embodied living. Her work sits at the intersection of modern wellbeing science and ancient wisdom traditions, drawing together movement, breath, mindfulness, energy awareness and contemplative practice to support whole-person health.
For Joanna, wellbeing is not something that can be achieved through the body alone. It emerges when the physical, mental, emotional and energetic aspects of ourselves are brought into greater harmony. Her classes are designed to create this integration — offering practices that strengthen the body, calm the nervous system, sharpen awareness and cultivate a deeper sense of presence.
Alongside her teaching, Joanna is co-founder of The House of IO — an educational platform exploring human potential through the lens of the Five Bodies: physical, energetic, mental, wisdom and bliss. Her belief is simple: that beneath the noise of modern life, each of us has the ability to return to a deeper experience of health, wholeness and connection.
hypermobility & women’s health specialist
Sinnead carter
Full bio coming soon
.
movement coach & instructor
jade bateman
Full bio coming soon
In-House · 03
Yoga & Massage Therapy
Lesley Dancey
Yoga teacher and massage therapist with a background rooted in elite gymnastics, coaching and education. Lesley brings a lifetime of movement knowledge and warmth to every class.
Lesley Dancey is a yoga teacher and massage therapist with a background rooted in movement, coaching and education. Drawing on a lifetime of experience that began in elite gymnastics and has evolved through coaching, education, yoga and massage, Lesley brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of how movement can support people at every stage of life.
Having spent much of her career supporting others to learn, grow and develop confidence, Lesley believes movement should be accessible, enjoyable and empowering. She creates spaces where people feel welcomed, supported and encouraged to explore what their bodies can do.
Passionate about community, connection and helping people feel better in their own bodies, Lesley is delighted to be bringing her experience, knowledge and love of movement to Sanctuary Penarth.
Visiting Practitioners
Guest Practitioners · 02
Sound Healing
Michelle Victoria McGrath
Sound practitioner, energy alchemist and children’s wellness author. Michelle brings transformative sound immersion sessions to Sanctuary monthly, rooted in her own journey through loss, grief and profound personal transformation.
Michelle Victoria McGrath is a sound practitioner and energy alchemist based in Penarth. Six years ago, in the midst of profound loss, grief and personal upheaval, she found sound healing. What began as a search for solace became a complete transformation — a reconnection to her own inner wisdom, clarity and purpose that she had not known was possible.
Today she brings that lived experience to every session she holds. Her work is genuine, deeply felt and rooted in the conviction that when we become still enough, the body knows exactly how to heal.
Michelle is also a published children’s wellness author. Her first book, The Heartbeat Home, introduces the power of sound and self-awareness to young readers. She holds monthly sound immersion sessions at Sanctuary Penarth, alongside one-to-one online guidance and space holding.
Clinical Reflexology
Jane · Find Your Balance
Founder of Find Your Balance. Clinical reflexologist rooted in nervous system regulation and whole-person healing. Jane holds monthly pop-up clinics at Sanctuary, bringing genuine care and deep expertise.
Jane is the founder of Find Your Balance — a wellbeing practice rooted in nervous system regulation, health and balance. After years of working in the social sector, she stepped away to restore her own balance. What began as a personal reset grew into a practice she now offers out to others, to help them heal and find their own wellness.
Jane always takes a holistic approach in all of her work, so that clients feel supported in all areas of their life. Over the years she has expanded her knowledge and skills to offer clinical reflexology, coaching, energetic medicine therapy, acupuncture, dry needling, wellness retreats, festival workshops and corporate wellness days.
As Jane puts it: helping you find your balance helps her maintain hers. She holds monthly pop-up clinics at Sanctuary Penarth.
We don’t teach what we’ve read about. We teach what we’ve lived.
— The Sanctuary Team
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