What we’re about
I suffered Pancreatitis in 2006, apparently life threatening. After an initial bout of excruciating pain and morphine on tap, I discharged myself from hospital after 2 weeks and my father sat me down with him to practice Yoga consistently daily in the morning. I had an ovenight recurrence 6 months later but since then nothing and no complications. My father was a devote Yogi, who since meeting his Guru at the age of 15, studied, practiced and taught Yoga consistently throughout his life. He never missed a day. He studied endlessly, countless courses including a Yoga degree. And he was a practitioner of Yogic Therapy. I remember a few sessions of expounding Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras where he was able to shed light, enable absorption and reveal the multi-layered meaning only possible through an experienced practitioner and that I was never able to accomplish through reading the book on my own; it was ‘enlightening’.
I want to pass on what my father taught me, my father taught me meditation, breathing exercises and postures. I have been practicing on and off since I was a child. Don’t get me wrong, I'm no Guru or even that flexible but I have a passion for authentic Yoga and bringing the benefits of the system to others.
Yoga was systematised into 8 steps because human forgot what it means to be animal. So the system was devised to help us relearn and remember. When an animal is sick, how does the animal know which plant to seek out amongst the plethora of species, and then know which part of the plant to select and how to process it. It is what we have to re-learn in Ayurveda or any system of holistic medicine as human forgot. The animal has heightened senses, cognitive and conative, which are closely connected to memory, mentally and bodily, and that memory is linked to not only this lifetime but also previous lifetimes. This is Instinct. Instinct drives the animal to the plant because the animal remembers through heightened senses, it’s intuitive. Yoga heightens your senses. It is almost impossible in this day and age for a trained fighter to defeat an untrained animal, why is animal so strong and powerful. Yoga connects to this strength and power.
It’s all about Awareness and becoming aware of all parts of yourself so you can begin to manipulate the forces within. Yoga is not about relaxation; when our ego wants to bring us down to our comfort zone and then release that tension through indulgence in drugs, alcohol and reactionary behaviour then there is a release of tension and henceforth relaxation. This is the same outcome if we pursue Yoga for relaxation. Through awareness, Yoga releases/channels tension in the body which would otherwise lead to disease depending on where the tension is held; if we are always on our knees emotionally then may lead to knee issues, if we are always creating tension in the head region through excess thinking and worry then all sorts of neurological and mental disorders can ensue, if we are holding tension in the chest region then heart and digestive disorders can ensue.
Yoga is hard consistent work; a journey of self-discovery. A measure that you are on the right path are the Siddhis so we should strive towards realising Siddhi Power. These are not unattainable powers reserved for the super-human but powers that come naturally to animals such as lightness, heaviness, telepathy... Become bulletproof and able to survive extreme weather conditions, destruction and the elements. I do not know how but this is what I am aiming for.
Each class will aim to start with breathing followed by meditation and then postures, and end with an intuition exercise to connect with your inner genius around an aspect of your that you would love to create, and I will also guide you through what may be holding you back from achieving this vision and a next action towards accomplishing your vision. You can take this away and practice on a daily basis to actualise what you are passionate about.