Deborah Carter

“I dream of bringing fellow Yogis to my part of the world and sharing a piece of this heaven on earth with them.”

Deborah lives in Botswana, which is a landlocked country in Southern Africa.  She was born and raised in UK and moved to Africa in 1987 after traveling there on vacation and falling in love with the continent.  After moving to Africa she started working in the safari industry and has been involved with safaris of various kinds for 20 years now.  In 1996 Deborah stumbled across Yoga and became fascinated by it.  In 1999 she moved to the USA for a couple of years and that is when she became hooked on Yoga (so to speak).  She started training as a teacher in 2000 and in July 2001 gained her certification from Lex Gillan and Raye Lynn Rath with The Yoga Institute of Houston, Texas.

She then moved back to Africa and started teaching Yoga to the small community of like minded people in the village of Maun.  She teaches an eclectic mix of various styles of Yoga and draws her inspiration from many different teachers. She has done continuing education for Yoga teachers with John Friend, Judith Hanson Lasater, Gary Krafstow, Aadil Palkhivala, Shiva Rea and Sean Corne to mention a few.  As the years go by she finds her personal Yoga practice leaning towards a more therapeutic style.  She brings this into her classes, which helps her students create better body awareness.  Her classes include pranayama (breath work), dyana (meditation) and asana (poses) with savasana (relaxation) at the end.  Yoga for Deborah is a way of life and helps her to breathe through some of the more challenging days and come to a place of equanimity and peace.

In 2007 after 7 years teaching Yoga and working in the safari industry she decided to combine her two loves – Yoga and safari into one package and started Yoga Safari.  Each Yoga Safari combines a specially designed daily Yoga practice with traditional game drives in some of the most magical settings in Africa.  See itineraries for more info.

She has also taught Yoga on Dolphin retreats in Mozambique where Yoga is practiced on the beach at sunrise and then we swim in the warm Indian Ocean with wild dolphins.  Deborah loves the playfulness of the dolphins and the wonderful feelings of pure love they emit.  She endeavors to introduce this joyousness into the Yoga she teaches.  Contact her on dcarter@yogasafari.com if you have a group of people interested in doing this type of safari and she’ll be able to arrange one for you. Deborah looks forward to meeting you and sharing her part of Africa with you. 

Qualifications in brief:

Safari Consultant since 1987 – 15 of which were with Ker & Downey.

Practicing Yoga since 1996 & teaching as a qualified instructor since 2001.

Qualified Reiki practitioner since 2003.