Get to Know Camyoga Teacher: Rachael Moore

Name: Rachael

Age:  38

Occupation: Mum and yoga teacher

What brought you to yoga?

As with many people, I first came to yoga as many people do, to help combat 'stress' as a result of my job. I worked as a speech and language therapist for children with profound medical and learning difficulties and although hugely rewarding, it was also at times highly emotional and stressful. Yoga helped me find a way to deal with the challenges I faced in a calm and grounded manner, reacting to situations in a more balanced way.

As a teacher what is Yoga about and not about?

Oooh how long have you got!!!! It is probably easier for me to say what I personally think it is not. Yoga is not about being the best in the room, yoga is not about being competetive (even with yourself), yoga is not always the glossy images you see in the magazines, practising yoga, does not  mean that you no longer experience hardship or tough times (unfortunately). The practice of yoga is far greater and deeper than all of that. Yoga gives you the tools for everyday living, it helps you on every level of your being. Yoga releases your tired stiff body from sitting at a desk all day helping you re-find that childhood softness and agility. In helping you re-claim physical flexibility, this flexibilty then leads to greater flexibility in the mind and how we react to life situations off the matt. It leads you towards a truer more honest you! Wherever you are in your life, yoga can be there for you . It can transform the body physically, energeticly and emotionally. It can energize, detox, heal and nourish you . It can be a soft landing when you fall.

What do you do when you are not doing yoga?

Being mum to my three gorgeous daughters and being taken for a walk by my two huge labradoodles Molly and Floss! What is your favourite yoga pose and why?

Wow! It's almost impossible to choose one as depending where I am on any particular day will determine my favourite pose!. Generally though, I absolutely love and standing balance, especially Natarajasana for its openness and grace and Garudasana for that beautiful feeling of opening up the shoulders.

What is your least favourite yoga pose and why?

I know it sounds cheesy and a bit of a cop out, but I really don't have a least favourite pose. If pushed though, I probably shy away from strong core work a little more readily than I should do!

What is one quality you have taken off the mat and incorporated into your daily life? Patience

An interesting fact about Rachel that you may not know is:

I used to do synchronized swimming as a teenager!!

To book into Rachel's classes click on link

Being Your Biggest Self

What are you like when you are your most expansive? Courageous, creative, playful, funny, considered, patient, adventurous?  What are you like to be around when you are your smallest?.......

Here are two examples of folk being their most expansive and living their best lives:

On the 28th January 2013 Garrett McNamara was on holiday in Portugal. He looked out of his window and the weather was awful and he knew it was going to be a great day.... His two friends jet skied him out to sea so that he could surf an incredible 100 ft wave. Fishermen from the town had abandoned the sea as weather as it was too rough, for him it was a chance to be his biggest self....To see this incredible achievement click here

Arthur Boorman had been a paratrooper in the Gulf War and too many jumps had left him wearing back and knee braces. For 15 years he was told this is it and he accepted it. Then he found a yoga teacher who did not know him but believed in him and he then believed in his biggest self........Be your biggest self, whatever it takes.

Thank you to Pilar and Simone for sharing this inspiring clip:  Click here to see Arthur overcome 15 years of disability

Inspiring workshops at Camyoga

Name: louise lloyd Age: 41 Hometown: cambridge Training Background: BWY Foundation Course with Tara Fraser. BSY teaching diploma. Camyoga teaching diploma. (Distinction Ed.) How long have you practiced yoga? 10 years

One Yoga Philosophy that means a great deal to you and why?

Mmmm hard to choose one, I would say that both satya (truth) and ahimsa (non harm) are both something that we could all spend our entire lives learning. If we all worked on just those two the world would be a far better place.

What brought you to yoga? 

Crazy as it sounds, I used to meditate regularly and around 2002 every time I sat to meditate I just kept getting 'teach yoga.' After quite a bit of resistance, and the fact i didn't even practice asana at that time, I eventually gave in and went to my first yoga class and here I am!

What does teaching on the Foundation and Diploma course mean to you?

I love teaching on these days.  Seeing students deepen their own enquiry into yoga is so inspiring whether they are doing the courses for their own interest or to go on to be amazing teachers.

What do you do when you are not doing yoga?

I love spending time with family and friends - usually involving eating nice food and drinking nice wine. I also love being outside, occasionally running (have entered the cambridge half marathon so better be a bit more regular now!) and I have just come back from skiing which I really loved!

What is your favourite yoga pose and why?

Ardha Chandrasana - I love the feeling of being grounded, centered and open and in this pose I feel all of these and truly expanded beyond the physical body.

What is your least favourite yoga pose and why?

I can honestly say I don't have a least favourite pose - there are loads of poses I can't do myself but I get to enjoy them anyway by seeing students practice them with ease.

What is one quality you have taken off the mat and incorporated into your daily life?

Self enquiry - the more I learn about myself the more I can make better choices to become more loving, open and generous. I try to see my own insecurities in life where I may act from a place of fear rather than love - it is a working progress of course! ;-)

An interesting fact about Louise that you may not know is…

Before yoga I rode horses for a living and hold my HGV driving licence as I used to drive a 40ft horse box to competitions - this skill definitely helps parking in the central centre's carpark!

As well as classes and teaching on the Diploma and Foundation Courses Louise also leads workshops and retreats for Camyoga

Louise's Classes

Diploma Courses

Apply Now For Diploma Course

Foundation Course

Apply Now For Foundation Course

Retreats

Workshops

Are you considering Yoga but not sure yet if it is for you?  There must be scope for a t-shirt with this statement on the front and on the back answering ‘This Makes you Perfect for Yoga!’’ Some-one considering  Yoga might be concerned  they would not fit in a class of nimble adepts and in a worst case scenario they imagine it would be more like an audition for Cirque du Soleil.  In reality there is a very wide range of people that practise Yoga and in class the teacher will help you to focus on your own practise so that you very quickly forget what is going on around you.  If you are starting out a beginners course and then a basics class is a great place to start. Every pose has an accessible version and the teacher will offer modifications and props and ways of building up. After the course try out a number of different classes and teachers to find one that works for you. The key is to ask yourself  did you feel better after the session than before? Yoga is for every one and Every Body.

Beginners Courses and Classes that you can attend:

Yoga for Beginners

Ashtanga for Beginners

Yoga Basics

Bring a partner or fly solo.  This class will blend yoga, acrobatics, and some therapeutic thai massage. Partnering in yoga can build trust, playfulness, and fun.  Find support in inversions, backbends, and stretches.  Also learn to spot, assist, and fly someone yourself.  Through alignment and technique flying can be comfortable and therapeutic for both parties.  Our resident man of steel, Howard, will be teaching you the ropes every Saturday at 16:00 starting July 30.

If you are curious, come check it out!  Many people will be new to this fun and exciting practice. Be prepared to play...

Camyoga welcomes Ellie Coates to the schedule.  She is offering Yoga for athletes Tuesday mornings from 7am to 8am starting July 26th.   Improve performance whether you are a runner, climber, rower, or otherwise.  Amateur and pro alike can find benefit from this new class.  Core stability? yep.  Injury prevention? definitely.

Yoga for Athletes is a strong vinyasa style which focuses on movements essential to those involved in sport. The class is designed to be both hard work, but ultimately fun!

And for post-sport bliss, or therapeutics?  Try Ellie's Shiatsu clinic on Thursdays. Think thai yoga massage, reiki, and accupuncture all rolled into one..

ommm

Tying your shoes, picking up your dropped keys, and sitting comfortably.  What do they have in common? You guessed it...your hamstrings. Much of our yoga practice is facilitated by gaining flexibility in this area as well.  Meanwhile, many of our other daily activities are working to tighten our hamstrings: driving, desk sitting, cycling, and running, to name a few.

Of course, regular yoga practice will keep you fit and flexible. If you are newer to yoga or you cross train heavily,  you might be looking for additional ways to stretch out your hammies.  Anna Jackson shows us some great stretches to do on a regular basis to see improvement in hamstring flexibility.

http://youtu.be/DtHdHtjXxZM

Cobra (bhujangasana) and updog (urdhva mukha svanasana) are two distinct postures.  A blurring of the line between these two poses might be uncomfortable for the low back or shoulders. Also, learning to move with intention and precision will keep you present in your body. In the second of Louise Lloyd's sun salutation series, she covers the key differences between the two poses.  Cobra and updog both look and feel different.

Don't be caught in the cobra dog pose!  Check out more in this video

Stay tuned for more videos on the transitions in and out of these two poses.

http://youtu.be/yf8ZgtpyJKs

I am not the first person to say this and I certainly won't be the last.  We all know that feeling of freedom when our spine is limber.  And many of us know the crippling feeling of an injured, strained, or stiff back as well.  There seems to be a connection between the health of our spine and how old we feel.  Which would make yoga the fountain of youth.

While I was watching mini yogini, Aya, with her effortless back bends, this idea really hit home.  Flexibility is freedom.  Flexibility is fun.  And when we are young, we hardly know otherwise. Watch a child breathe, she uses her belly.  Watch a child move, she is unstrained and free.

Poses, like cobra, will strengthen the muscles of the back.  Boat pose and other core work will protect the spine.  Camel and wheel will deepen our back bends. As we all age, let's embrace the health of our spines and see just how young we can feel.