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I first became passionate about my yoga at an early age... ... I left it behind for a while as a teenager, and returned to practising and studying in earnest again in 1991, when I was introduced to a uniquely empowering approach to yoga by my osteopath (now friend and colleague) Pete Blackaby, in search of a solution to some postural problems that I had developed. Since then I have been fortunate enough to have worked extensively with some of the teachers that were taught directly by Vanda Scaravelli,as well as many of those inspired to develop her work in their own way, including Diane Long, Sophy Hoare, Pete Blackaby and John Stirk. My passion for yoga now is driven by the ability of the human mind to shine the light of its awareness on the internal relationships of the body and being...in that simple act, there can be absolute transformation - not only within, but also in relationship to the way we move, breathe, and live our lives. This work is helping more and more people find a new depth and clarity in their yoga practise the world over... If you are interested in my particular story, here is an article that I wrote for Yoga magazine several years ago.... |
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a personal journey... I was first introduced to yoga at the age of 9 by an friend of my mother’s. Enjoying the way it made me feel, I practised quite obsessively for a few years, spending a couple of hours a day playing with the postures and even some of the breathing techniques. Teenagehood and a desire to be approved of took over and I abandoned my yoga for more worldly pursuits. I turned my focus first towards academia, and then in an about-face in my early twenties, I decided to dedicate myself to making a career out of music. I returned to yoga a few years later for a very mundane reason - relentless back, neck and shoulder pain. |
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coming home... ... Luckily, I found my way to osteopath and yoga teacher Pete Blackaby who pointed out that it was simply because my spine was out of balance (diagnosed as scoliosis and lordosis) and that as a result I was having to hold myself up with effort. If I wanted it to change, I would need to do some yoga , ideally a kind that focussed on discovering what it was I was doing, so that I could let it go. Something in my soul jumped for joy - the penny had dropped - and so I began. It was like coming home. At first I was mostly just lying down on my mat and feeling the force of gravity and the movement of the breath - it was a revelation, I couldn't get enough of it - add a soft shoulder stand and a supine twist and I could give myself an osteopathic treatment - free of charge and as often as I wanted. I ventured out to recommended classes and found that I felt very much at home with the people that taught and attended these classes. I started hearing about the principles of this work, and instinctively felt the truth of what was being expressed. |
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I became fascinated with the anatomy of the breath, and it soon became obvious that posture, breathing habits and state of mind are so intimately related, that working on one will transform the others. I began to recognize the true source of my aches and pains, and with each joyous release I gained insight into the nature of movement that would prove invaluable to my teaching.. In the interest of broadening my perspective I delved quite deeply into other practices. From the Feldenkrais Method I learned that by having the patience to go back to the very beginning, it becomes possible to re-educate the nervous system at the autonomic level. Chi Kung (qigong) helped me experience the incredible value of whole-hearted engagement and abandoned release in movement. It all concurred with what felt like the truth in my yoga practise. Through endeavouring always to arrive on my mat with a fresh mind, I found myself beginning to arrive in the world with a new openness to experience. Through acceptance of what is, change seemed to come easily and often. |
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I started sharing my discoveries with friends, fellow students and teachers, and before long found myself being asked to teach. To start with I resisted the idea as I jealously wanted to keep my yoga for myself. Also, I was finally commanding decent fees and royalties for my music production and writing work, and I was understandably reluctant to start all over again. But as my sensitivity improved, deliberately immersing myself in stressful environments began to seem ridiculous, whilst surrounding myself with people that were interested in change and finding liberation nourished me deeply. I found myself neglecting the music and instead, I was practising and sharing my yoga with people for hours on end - for the love of it, just for the way my body would respond to it, just for the way others would respond to my touch. It was becoming my creativity, my song.
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Before long, whilst on yoga retreat in Turkey, I simply knew it was time. So I came back to England, enrolled on the next available ‘Scaravelli-inspired’ teacher training course, and with the moral support of my teachers, and backed by the AIYP (Association of Independent Yoga Practitioners), I began teaching full time. Once I had made the decision, I felt no loss in leaving my music career behind. With hindsight, I can see that I had just been trying to use my creativity to communicate something ‘other’ to people - an attempt to share a feeling experience of something universal. Now I could do that directly - I had found my path, and the world opened up. Teaching came naturally to me. It was as if I had never done anything else - I could simply see what was going on in people’s bodies and I could help, if not with words then certainly with touch. And those moments of transformation that occur in people when something becomes clear or when something is released are like nectar to me. Of course my journey continues - there is ever more to discover, ever more to let go of, as a practitioner and as a teacher - but I now value every single thing that conspired to bring me here, and each new challenge that presents itself feels like a brand new gift. I think the point of telling you my story is to illustrate that Yoga isn't just for the fit, the beautiful and the extraordinary people - it can become a gift of transformation beyond measure for anyone that chooses to step on their mat and begin listening to their own song. Whatever kind of yoga you practice, be inspired. Go out and buy Vanda’s book, or re-read your source with a fresh mind. Practice without preconception, open your mind and your heart and rediscover the true meaning of the word Yoga. |
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