I was first introduced to yoga at drama school in London by a wonderful teacher called Monique Hunt. Some years later after graduating, I met my collaborator Mark and I knew that he had something in his experience as a classical Indian dancer and a yogi that I could learn from. I asked him to teach me yoga and he readily agreed. It was from Mark that I learnt about yoga teachers Jude Hynes and Peter Nilsson of Auckland Yoga Academy.
Mark began learning astanga vinyasa yoga with Jude and Peter in preparation for a workshop with their guru Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, founder of this form. I started learning the form recently, at the beginning of November 2020. I am currently attending classes 6 days a week with a variety of teachers, including Jude and Peter. I have been doing a yoga and creative movement practice every day for the last 4 years β in London, India and Auckland. I have suspended these forms while I learn the astanga practice. Itβs early days, but already the form is helping to reveal subtle movement patterns that are the source of imbalance in my body. I can sense how this particular sequence of flowing postures will help me to build a sustainable foundation to support my performance work. I view my yoga practice as a body based pension scheme; each practice increases my reserves and helps to create a structure to support my future well being