 Yoga
with Graham Burns |
 About
Me |
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About me
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| I
first discovered yoga – or perhaps
it discovered me – in the mid 1990s, after over 15 years working
behind a desk in the City of London and even longer playing competitive
hockey and recreational cricket. The combination of weekdays behind
a desk and weekends on a sports pitch had wreaked havoc on my body
and on my state of mind…. I well remember in my first yoga class
hearing the teacher suggest that we might be able to touch our toes…
when I had to struggle to reach my knees. The magic of yoga quickly took effect, and I became a regular in class and a keen student of the yoga tradition. In 2000 I took a sabbatical from my life as a City lawyer to travel the world, spending almost three months in India and also studying in the United States with some of the west’s leading teachers, notably Erich Schiffmann and Richard Freeman. It was during this year that I did my initial yoga teacher training at White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara, California. Returning to London in January 2001, I began teaching regular classes as well as resuming my legal career. I continued to study with leading yoga teachers from around the world, and became a Registered Yoga Teacher with the United States based Yoga Alliance. Shortly after this, I studied for the first time with Rod Stryker, who subsequently became my main teacher. Over the next couple of years my teaching career prospered, and I was fortunate enough to be offered regular classes at London’s top two yoga centres, The Life Centre in Notting Hill and Triyoga in Primrose Hill. In January 2004 I finally left the City after almost 23 years to make studying and teaching yoga my life. I now teach regular public classes in Notting Hill, Primrose Hill and Clapham as well as teaching both groups and individuals privately. I also teach yoga history, Sanskrit and meditation on |
the
Yogacampus yoga teacher training programme, as well as acting as a
student mentor on that programme. I still study with a range of teachers,
but primarily with Colorado based Rod Stryker, and I am a substantial
part of the way through Rod’s Para Yoga Master Training. I am
also studying for a Master of Arts in Religions at London University’s
School of Oriental and African Studies, specialising in ancient Indian
religions. My yoga teaching is non-dogmatic and reflects the variety of yoga styles which I have studied over the years. My earliest teachers included well known UK teachers Simon Low and Liz Lark, and my relaxed, flowing asana style draws extensively both on their influence and on my studies of the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition with Richard Freeman and other leading teachers, including John Scott and Dena Kingsberg. I honour and thank them, and all of the other teachers with whom I have studied over the years. It is hard to single out individual names, but, as well as those mentioned above, I must also mention Erich Schiffmann, Shiva Rea, Tias Little, Doug Keller and Aadil Palkhivala, who have all had a big impact on my practice and teaching. Ultimately though my main ongoing teachers are my own body, breath and mind and those of my students. I try to keep my classes creatively and imaginatively sequenced, with an eye on their energetic as well as physical effects. Pranayama (breathing) and meditation are integral parts of my yoga practice and most of my classes include these as well as asana (postures). I am also an experienced teacher of gentle yoga and have been recognised by the London Evening Standard as a top teacher of yoga nidra (a deep guided relaxation practice). Originally from the north-west of England (which explains my bizarre footballing loyalties and willingness to eat black pudding), I have lived in London since 1980 and now live in Primrose Hill in north-west London. You can reach me on 07818 040113 or grahamyoga@hotmail.com |
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