Like many Yogis, my Yoga journey began as a physical practice. After watching a documentary called “Happy” I decided that I needed Yoga in my life and I took part in the ‘Bad Yogi 30 Day Yoga challenge’. From there I was hooked! I joined a local gym that offered Yoga classes and started doing some ‘Yoga Challenges’ on Instagram to learn new poses!

Fast forward a few years and I decided I really wanted to deepen my Yoga practice and use my teaching skills (I am a Secondary School Music teacher) to perhaps teach some Yoga classes!

I found out about CAMYOGA at the OM Yoga show in London - they seemed so relaxed and friendly and they offered a 2 week intensive course in  August, which fit my school holidays perfectly! I spoke to some of my Yoga teachers at the gym and they all spoke so highly about CAMYOGA’s reputation and high standard of training, so I knew I’d picked the right course.

The 2 weeks intensive training honestly changed my life. My understanding and love of Yoga grew so much and my mind was opened up to the philosophical and spiritual aspects of Yoga that made me realise Yoga is so much more than what happens on the mat. It opened me up to a daily meditation practice that I honestly feel has had a huge impact on my day to day life. I loved exploring my own physical practice and realising that there was so much ego involved that I needed to remove to really deepen and develop. But most of all, I was grateful for the opportunity to work with the wonderful people I got to know during those 2 weeks - I loved eating breakfast with them in the sun, hearing all about their personal Yoga journeys and teaching and studying with them. They were a truly wonderful group of people and I have loved following their Yoga journey since we graduated in November. I must add that I absolutely loved the assessment days! I enjoyed getting to be apart of everyone's assessment lessons,having the opportunity to talk about how our 6 week courses had been and to share our lesson plans / course outlines etc. I actually posted a vlog about my teacher training journey, which can be found here.

Straight after graduating in November, I had the wonderful opportunity to cover a few classes for CamYoga at the their Buckden site (now closed). The support and encouragement from some of the wonderful Jivamukti teachers I met there (Hakan and Andy!) really helped me to kick start my own Yoga teaching business. 

In January, I set up two local Yoga flow classes in my local area, using my 6 weeks beginners course I had planned as part of the YTT. After completing the course they wanted to continue their Yoga journey, so the classes have continued to grow ever since! I also took on a weekly ‘Sweat Yoga’ class at a local gym, and from there my name was passed around to most of the gyms in Northamptonshire area, which means I each week I cover a wide range of classes (including pilates inspired Yoga and Yoga with weights!) and to work with a wide variety of people with differing experiences and expectations of Yoga. In my school holidays (especially this summer) I have been covering 2-3 classes a day! 

I have also started to bring Yoga into my full time teaching job, from holding Yoga sessions for staff and students who are preparing for their exams, to doing assemblies on mindfulness and meditation. Leading 600 Year 9 and 10 students through a short morning meditation was a wonderful experience!

My favourite thing so far has been holding Yoga Brunch events. Myself and 16 Yogis spend the morning together moving the body through a themed asana practice, meditating together and finally digging into a tasty Vegan brunch! I’ve been lucky enough to find a wonderful, local, vegan catering company, Bharita, who have provided the most delicious post-yoga dishes, from pancakes to tofu scrambled ‘eggs’. It is a truly moving experience to see people coming together and sharing their practice with each other - there are always so many smiles and giggles! I am hoping to hold these events every 2 months and am currently looking into organising a mini Yoga retreat with a local glamping company. I am also looking forward to working teaching with the new HotPodYoga franchise that is opening in Northampton in September!

From a personal perspective, Yoga teaching and developing my asana / meditation practice has really helped improve my mental wellbeing. My job as a secondary school teacher and Head of Year was becoming very overwhelming for me and I would often end up crying in the toilets as soon as I arrived to work in the morning. Nothing had changed at work - my job has always been demanding, but I was just not coping with the demands any more. I was working a full school day and then coming home and working until 11-12 pm every night. I just felt so physically and mentally exhausted. After my YTT, I developed a consistent morning Yoga and meditation practice that helped me start my day in a calm way. My readings of spiritual and philosophical texts helped me realise that there is nothing more important that the present moment and it helped me accept and surrender to the fact that I may never reach the bottom of my to-do list at work...and that is ok! Spending some of my evenings teaching Yoga made me realise there is so much more to life than my job. I am actually busier than I ever have been before, with teaching full time and teaching at least 4 Yoga classes a week on top of this, but I possibly the happiest I have ever been! People I work with often say “How do you stay so calm?”!

I am so grateful for having taken the plunge into YTT and for the positive impact it has had on my life as a whole. I have had so many wonderful experiences in the short time I have been teaching and I am so looking forward to seeing where this journey may take me in the future.

by Marie Newton
Website
Instagram

---

CAMYOGA Bursary Student Leads Fight Against Eating Disorders

- by James Downs

I started attending CAMYOGA in November 2016, after a long time of telling myself that “I really ought to go back to yoga soon”. Although I had tried yoga years ago - at a very different point in my life - I would be the first to admit that my knowledge of yoga at this point was quite limited. In this sense, coming to CAMYOGA was the beginning of a whole new journey for me. At the same time however, it came with a feeling of ‘coming home’, returning to something I had a profound sense of connection with. 

Despite not really seeing myself as a yogi back then, I somehow had a sense of confidence and trust in the process of becoming a yoga teacher. As I started to go regularly to classes at CAMYOGA, it seemed as though something was slowly being revealed in me that had been there all along. With every pose I learnt, I was uncovering a greater sense of knowing that yoga was something that simply had to be a part of my life. 

Of course, the idea of becoming a teacher was a scary and uncertain one - would I be any good? Was my practice good enough? Would anyone come to my classes? These anxieties however paled into insignificance when I reminded myself of my long recovery from severe anorexia and bulimia since my mid-teens. My life-threatening struggle with eating disorders showed me that if I could cope with that, I could cope with almost anything. For many years, my eating disorder had ground me down and taken away opportunities, time and health. Now however, I took a sense of confidence from tackling such a difficult condition that I (and even the doctors who treated me) thought I would never recover from. Now I was ready.

I already had so many ideas of what I could do with my teacher training: so many ways in which I  could use yoga for the good of others. I had a strong background as a mental health campaigner, having organised events to raise awareness and funds for mental health. From charity concerts and vegan cake sales to political hustings and speaking in Parliament, it seems natural to me to use and share personal talents to make a difference. In the same way, I had benefitted from yoga myself, and so I wanted to share it with others, hoping that they might find it useful for their own wellbeing or even as part of recovery from an eating disorder. 

The CAMYOGA Bursary has helped make my dream of using yoga to help other people experiencing eating disorders a reality. All of the plans and ideas I had, as wonderful as they may have been, would simply not have happened without the financial support of the teacher training Bursary. Soon after qualifying, I organised a “Yoga Against Eating Disorders” fundraising event, where I taught a class in my home city of Cardiff, raising funds for the Service for High Risk Eating Disorders in South East Wales. They had saved my life, and ever since being discharged I have worked with them to improve the support for other people going through similar difficulties. Having seen first-hand the level of pressure on their resources, I know that the £1000 that was raised at the yoga event will make a huge difference. 

I believe that there is so much potential for yoga to help people experiencing all kinds of mental and emotional difficulties - especially where these relate to the relationship between mind and body and anxieties around body image. Of course, yoga can be used unhelpfully and we can punish ourselves by pushing into pain, comparing ourselves to perfect Instagram photos and reinforcing unhelpful patterns of behaviour. This was certainly how I encountered yoga for the first time, when I would push my emaciated body in intense yoga classes to the point of passing out or being asked to leave the class. Because of this, I am especially passionate about promoting ways of practicing yoga that are beneficial for our mental health. Practicing yoga in a very compassionate way is what has given me the confidence to use my own body to help others to learn, and helped changed the way I think about my body from something I once wanted to destroy to something worth nurturing and celebrating.

To try and help promote yoga as a therapeutic rather than competitive or punitive practice, I’m trying to take my own personal experience and beliefs about yoga into my campaigning and academic work. On November 17th I gave a presentation and lead a workshop on the benefits of yoga at a national eating disorders conference in Brighton, exploring issues such a self image, body dissatisfaction and exercise in relation to eating problems. This builds upon outreach events I have already done with the wider student body at Cambridge University, at my own college here, and through teaching at NHS England on World Mental Health Day. As a psychology student, I am hoping to further my connection with the Service for High Risk Eating Disorders as part of my Masters thesis, and have set up an honorary contract with the service to teach yoga on a 1-1 basis with patients. Watch this space!

What strikes me most when I look back on my journey into teaching yoga is how much I’ve relied on the support not just of myself, but of so many people around me. Yoga is all about connection, union, joining. I have been so lucky to have everything fall into place at the right time, and all the necessary dots join together to make becoming a yoga teacher happen. A fundamental part of this was the CAMYOGA bursary, which enabled me to learn from inspiring teachers during an amazing teacher training. It helped me to find the support of tutors and fellow trainees, and I have continued to be supported by CAMYOGA as a graduate. Of course, I continue to learn from my students every time I teach. 

The generosity of the Bursary scheme motivates me to be generous with what I’ve learnt. Having the chance to use my skills towards making a real difference to others - especially for those struggling with eating disorders - has been hugely rewarding. For me, this is an example of what yoga is all about. 

Namaste!

---

Find out more about our Teacher Training Diplomas here.

Want to have a chat about Teacher Training at CAMYOGA? Give us a call on 01223 840700 or email tt@camyoga.co.uk

---

Follow James
Facebook Yoga with James
Instagram @Jamesldowns
Twitter @Jamesldowns
Huffington Post James Downs

---

You have been taking yoga classes for a while and know it makes a difference to your life.  You have started to think about teaching and wondering about the next step. A momentum builds and before you know it you are looking into courses.  A very human hand brake that is often applied is the thought ‘but am I good enough?’

It is a completely natural and isolating feeling.  Take a Masterclass with some of the best teachers in the world and you will quickly see they do have a solid practise but it is not about their practise it is about the students.

Let’s take a peek at three of the world’s best teachers:

There are photos of David Swenson, a top Ashtanga teacher, in challenging arm balances. But in a workshop with him, instead of demonstrating his own skill in these postures, he utilises a wicked sense of humour and light hearted comments to illustrate deep teaching points.

Matthew Sanford, an incredible Iyengar teacher is a paraplegic after a car accident at the age of 13.  Matthew has learnt to listen to the quiet voice of his own body, this helps him to understand what is needed in a pose. In one workshop a lady with a disability asked him if what she was doing was a good modification.  He gave her power back and suggested she needed to teach this to others and asked when her book was coming out. 'If I hadn't met Matt I would be more defined by my injury instead of the person that I am.' This is inspired teaching. Matthew Sandford on Teaching Yoga

Max Strom is one of the world’s most respected teachers on personal transformation and was born with physical challenges, showing there is more to Yoga. Can Yoga help with sleeping, depression, anxiety when a student does not know what else to do? See more with Max's talk on TED. There is no App for Happiness.

Max addresses the internal, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.  Max  is visiting Camyoga on the 18^th April, book here

Take a moment to look around at the types of people there are in the world, Yoga is increasing 30% each year in the UK and the USA, this includes all ages and abilities.  A variety of teaches are needed to match this need.

Camyoga’s Yoga Teacher Training Diploma course is taught by the best in their field, this gives a great foundation to becoming a teacher.  To start with as a new teacher you may emulate those who you admire, keep learning and developing and teach from the heart and from your own values, be inspired to inspire and remember the very best teachers are the students.

If you are passionate about sharing Yoga. You are good enough. Teach.

Camyoga Foundation Course

Camyoga Diploma Course

http://www.camyoga.co.uk/studios/events/workshops/

You have been taking yoga classes for a while and know it makes a difference to your life.  You have started to think about teaching and wondering about the next step. A momentum builds and before you know it you are looking into courses.  A very human hand brake that is often applied is the thought ‘but am I good enough?’

It is a completely natural and isolating feeling.  Take a Masterclass with some of the best teachers in the world and you will quickly see they do have a solid practise but it is not about their practise it is about the students.

Let’s take a peek at three of the world’s best teachers:

There are photos of David Swenson, a top Ashtanga teacher, in challenging arm balances. But in a workshop with him, instead of demonstrating his own skill in these postures, he utilises a wicked sense of humour and light hearted comments to illustrate deep teaching points.

Matthew Sanford, an incredible Iyengar teacher is a paraplegic after a car accident at the age of 13.  Matthew has learnt to listen to the quiet voice of his own body, this helps him to understand what is needed in a pose. In one workshop a lady with a disability asked him if what she was doing was a good modification.  He gave her power back and suggested she needed to teach this to others and asked when her book was coming out. 'If I hadn't met Matt I would be more defined by my injury instead of the person that I am.' This is inspired teaching. Matthew Sandford on Teaching Yoga

Max Strom is one of the world’s most respected teachers on personal transformation and was born with physical challenges, showing there is more to Yoga. Can Yoga help with sleeping, depression, anxiety when a student does not know what else to do? See more with Max's talk on TED. There is no App for Happiness.

Max addresses the internal, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.  Max  is visiting Camyoga on the 18^th April, book here

Take a moment to look around at the types of people there are in the world, Yoga is increasing 30% each year in the UK and the USA, this includes all ages and abilities.  A variety of teaches are needed to match this need.

Camyoga’s Yoga Teacher Training Diploma course is taught by the best in their field, this gives a great foundation to becoming a teacher.  To start with as a new teacher you may emulate those who you admire, keep learning and developing and teach from the heart and from your own values, be inspired to inspire and remember the very best teachers are the students.

If you are passionate about sharing Yoga. You are good enough. Teach.

Camyoga Foundation Course

Camyoga Diploma Course

http://www.camyoga.co.uk/studios/events/workshops/

You have been taking yoga classes for a while and know it makes a difference to your life.  You have started to think about teaching and wondering about the next step. A momentum builds and before you know it you are looking into courses.  A very human hand brake that is often applied is the thought ‘but am I good enough?’

It is a completely natural and isolating feeling.  Take a Masterclass with some of the best teachers in the world and you will quickly see they do have a solid practise but it is not about their practise it is about the students.

Let’s take a peek at three of the world’s best teachers:

There are photos of David Swenson, a top Ashtanga teacher, in challenging arm balances. But in a workshop with him, instead of demonstrating his own skill in these postures, he utilises a wicked sense of humour and light hearted comments to illustrate deep teaching points.

Matthew Sanford, an incredible Iyengar teacher is a paraplegic after a car accident at the age of 13.  Matthew has learnt to listen to the quiet voice of his own body, this helps him to understand what is needed in a pose. In one workshop a lady with a disability asked him if what she was doing was a good modification.  He gave her power back and suggested she needed to teach this to others and asked when her book was coming out. 'If I hadn't met Matt I would be more defined by my injury instead of the person that I am.' This is inspired teaching. Matthew Sandford on Teaching Yoga

Max Strom is one of the world’s most respected teachers on personal transformation and was born with physical challenges, showing there is more to Yoga. Can Yoga help with sleeping, depression, anxiety when a student does not know what else to do? See more with Max's talk on TED. There is no App for Happiness.

Max addresses the internal, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.  Max  is visiting Camyoga on the 18^th April, book here

Take a moment to look around at the types of people there are in the world, Yoga is increasing 30% each year in the UK and the USA, this includes all ages and abilities.  A variety of teaches are needed to match this need.

Camyoga’s Yoga Teacher Training Diploma course is taught by the best in their field, this gives a great foundation to becoming a teacher.  To start with as a new teacher you may emulate those who you admire, keep learning and developing and teach from the heart and from your own values, be inspired to inspire and remember the very best teachers are the students.

If you are passionate about sharing Yoga. You are good enough. Teach.

Camyoga Foundation Course

Camyoga Diploma Course

http://www.camyoga.co.uk/studios/events/workshops/

You have been taking yoga classes for a while and know it makes a difference to your life.  You have started to think about teaching and wondering about the next step. A momentum builds and before you know it you are looking into courses.  A very human hand brake that is often applied is the thought ‘but am I good enough?’

It is a completely natural and isolating feeling.  Take a Masterclass with some of the best teachers in the world and you will quickly see they do have a solid practise but it is not about their practise it is about the students.

Let’s take a peek at three of the world’s best teachers:

There are photos of David Swenson, a top Ashtanga teacher, in challenging arm balances. But in a workshop with him, instead of demonstrating his own skill in these postures, he utilises a wicked sense of humour and light hearted comments to illustrate deep teaching points.

Matthew Sanford, an incredible Iyengar teacher is a paraplegic after a car accident at the age of 13.  Matthew has learnt to listen to the quiet voice of his own body, this helps him to understand what is needed in a pose. In one workshop a lady with a disability asked him if what she was doing was a good modification.  He gave her power back and suggested she needed to teach this to others and asked when her book was coming out. 'If I hadn't met Matt I would be more defined by my injury instead of the person that I am.' This is inspired teaching. Matthew Sandford on Teaching Yoga

Max Strom is one of the world’s most respected teachers on personal transformation and was born with physical challenges, showing there is more to Yoga. Can Yoga help with sleeping, depression, anxiety when a student does not know what else to do? See more with Max's talk on TED. There is no App for Happiness.

Max addresses the internal, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.  Max  is visiting Camyoga on the 18^th April, book here

Take a moment to look around at the types of people there are in the world, Yoga is increasing 30% each year in the UK and the USA, this includes all ages and abilities.  A variety of teaches are needed to match this need.

Camyoga’s Yoga Teacher Training Diploma course is taught by the best in their field, this gives a great foundation to becoming a teacher.  To start with as a new teacher you may emulate those who you admire, keep learning and developing and teach from the heart and from your own values, be inspired to inspire and remember the very best teachers are the students.

If you are passionate about sharing Yoga. You are good enough. Teach.

Camyoga Foundation Course

Camyoga Diploma Course

http://www.camyoga.co.uk/studios/events/workshops/

You have been taking yoga classes for a while and know it makes a difference to your life.  You have started to think about teaching and wondering about the next step. A momentum builds and before you know it you are looking into courses.  A very human hand brake that is often applied is the thought ‘but am I good enough?’

It is a completely natural and isolating feeling.  Take a Masterclass with some of the best teachers in the world and you will quickly see they do have a solid practise but it is not about their practise it is about the students.

Let’s take a peek at three of the world’s best teachers:

There are photos of David Swenson, a top Ashtanga teacher, in challenging arm balances. But in a workshop with him, instead of demonstrating his own skill in these postures, he utilises a wicked sense of humour and light hearted comments to illustrate deep teaching points.

Matthew Sanford, an incredible Iyengar teacher is a paraplegic after a car accident at the age of 13.  Matthew has learnt to listen to the quiet voice of his own body, this helps him to understand what is needed in a pose. In one workshop a lady with a disability asked him if what she was doing was a good modification.  He gave her power back and suggested she needed to teach this to others and asked when her book was coming out. 'If I hadn't met Matt I would be more defined by my injury instead of the person that I am.' This is inspired teaching. Matthew Sandford on Teaching Yoga

Max Strom is one of the world’s most respected teachers on personal transformation and was born with physical challenges, showing there is more to Yoga. Can Yoga help with sleeping, depression, anxiety when a student does not know what else to do? See more with Max's talk on TED. There is no App for Happiness.

Max addresses the internal, emotional and spiritual aspects of our lives.  Max  is visiting Camyoga on the 18^th April, book here

Take a moment to look around at the types of people there are in the world, Yoga is increasing 30% each year in the UK and the USA, this includes all ages and abilities.  A variety of teaches are needed to match this need.

Camyoga’s Yoga Teacher Training Diploma course is taught by the best in their field, this gives a great foundation to becoming a teacher.  To start with as a new teacher you may emulate those who you admire, keep learning and developing and teach from the heart and from your own values, be inspired to inspire and remember the very best teachers are the students.

If you are passionate about sharing Yoga. You are good enough. Teach.

Camyoga Foundation Course

Camyoga Diploma Course

http://www.camyoga.co.uk/studios/events/workshops/