Let me explain a little about my background and experience, previous to starting my adventure with yoga I was into physical fitness and rock climbing, although I still enjoy rock climbing, I no longer feel the need for traditional fitness.
I started my adventure with vinyasa (Ashtanga style) yoga classes in February 2004 with Helen Painter, and became hooked, within months I had tentatively started to practice the odd posture at home. I started reading about yoga, learning what I could on and off the mat. I attended some of Helens workshops about developing a practice, bandhas and pranayama and counter postures, and over time developed my personal practice. Helen’s guidance in the initial stages was invaluable because it grounded me in some basics that have become a firm and solid foundation.
Since then I have attended regular ashtanga yoga classes with Simon Chandler and Sue Pennington. I have been on ashtanga yoga retreats with Mara Musso and Jane Slevin . I have also attended several workshops with Liz lark. Anne Holroyd is my current teacher.
I have attended yoga classes with other teachers, such as Iyenger based classes, but flow style yoga interests me the most! I have moved around the UK many times since I started the adventure with yoga, and it’s been a constant readjustment of finding new classes and adapting my personal practice, but it’s all worth it.
Eventually after experiencing the profound and various ways that regular practice brings positive changes, and having read allot about yoga philosophy and tradition, it was time to embrace the yoga tradition head on. Towards the end of 2008 I became interested in two aspects of yoga, experiencing ashram life and, deepening my understanding of yoga. With a deep appreciation of the positive benefits that yoga bestows on it’s practitioners, a desire to share yoga with others was also born.
With these two desires I began looking for an ashram and a teacher training course. I found the Mandala Yoga Ashram, and in 2009 went to “Introduction to Ashram Life” weekend followed by a “Hatha Yoga – Creating Space” course. The experiences of these courses confirmed the ashram was right for me. Around this time I was also looking into the ashrams yoga teacher training course, so I applied and was invited on the interview weekend. Subsequently I was offered a place on the diploma yoga teacher training course. The course is a diploma accredited teacher training course with the British Wheel of Yoga, it started September 2009 and will finish summer of 2011, and as part of the course we are encouraged to start teaching in September 2010, although it looks like I will start in April 2010.
Yoga Bija is my yoga/spiritual name which Swami Nishchalananda gave me, however, as he was out of the country, Swami Krishnapremananda informed me of my name in a short but special ceremony on Friday 19th February 2010 at about 17:20
