A native Geordie with a disappointing lack of accent, Andy says the best thing about teaching is seeing improvements in students with each class (and also, he gets to wear a Madonna-style radio mic, which is the closest to performing on stage at Wembley as he’ll get). His favourite posture to practise is Standing Bow Pulling Pose and his favourite word is “change”.
When he’s not on the podium or the yoga mat, Andy’s a freelance writer and occasionally gets to watch the telly for a living.
Andy:
As a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
Helen Currie.
How did you come to Bikram Yoga?
I was going through a very difficult and challenging time in my life and I needed a place to escape. I found that two minutes down the road from where I lived was a place that would give me that and a whole lot more! I’ve never really thanked BYC enough but the studio very literally, saved my sanity and changed my life. To this day my main focus for being on the mat has remained the same: my mind. Flexibility is dandy, but having 90 minutes to clear my head is much more important to me. As teachers we ask a lot about our student’s injuries and physical challenges but we rarely know what’s going on inside somebody’s head; what’s happening in their life that’s maybe brought them through the door. I always try and remember that.
Favourite Food?
Nandos. It’s all I can think about sometimes when I am teaching, practising, listening to people talk about what the latest superfood on their 5/2 diet is. I frickin’ love that peri peri chicken. And lychee martinis if you’re buying a round, thanks!
Best Bikram moment?
Personal: Practising next to my dad in class was something amazing that I never thought would happen.
Professional: Finally doing the musical class to celebrate BYC’s 10th birthday was so much fun.
Most embarrassing moment while Teaching?
Oh, there are SO many. “Like you’re sh*#%ing into a chair” in awkward pose. Asking a lady if she was pregnant when she wasn’t (she was doing the pregnancy series! I worded it really badly). I routinely get red faced and mortified if gentlemen come to class wearing shorts without an inner-short (seriously, always have a supportive inner short because you have NO idea how obscene your bow pose looks from behind). But really, to this day, no matter how many times it happens, I have never mastered the art of not giggling if somebody farts in a pose. Yes, I don’t care, I’m 32 years old and I find farting funny!
Whats your guiltiest pleasure?
“I couuuuld go to class this morning or I could just stay here with a cup of tea, read my book and watch the Real Housewives of Wherever.”