KatDesk Team, Hot 26&2, Yin Yoga & Yoga Nidra Teacher

    Kat:

     

    I really discovered yoga at BYC, so it has always been my yoga home.

    I tried a couple of classes here and there, but nothing else made me feel so connected, embodied and alive!

    The studio, with Helen at the helm, was and continues to be a place of wellbeing, friendship and discovery.

    Once I’d fallen in love with the yoga, I began to work on the reception desk and, as the studio grew, I was there more and more. As BYC has developed and expanded, I’ve had many roles at the studio, eventually becoming a manager and then having the opportunity to go to Bikram Yoga Teacher Training in LA.

    There are so many inspiring and dedicated teachers at BYC, it was a great privilege to join them. The training is gruelling, but I really learnt to become a teacher after returning to my yoga home. I learnt from the students, who so often overcome great obstacles to nurture their practice and give it their all. I learnt from the senior teachers, with decades of experience between them.

    As the studio evolved, so did the practices we offer, so I continued my training with a course in Yoga Nidra Meditation in Stroud, with Uma DInsmore-Tuli and Nirlipta Tuli. It was a revelation to balance the physical intensity of Hot Yoga with the ultimate of restorative practises, and, soon after that, Laura introduced our community to Yin Yoga. I followed in her footsteps and I went to train with Bernie Clark and Diana Batts at Semperviva in Vancouver, with the addition of Paul Grilley’s Yin Yoga: The Functional Approach via Pranamaya.com.

    All these disciplines work so well together; they complement and support each other and they continue to teach me so much. Now I’m mainly at the studio in the capacity of teacher, but the studio is such a collective that I feel, whatever your role happens to be at the time – teacher, student, receptionist, manager – the goal is to keep the community buzzing with the health-giving benefits of all these practices.

    Q & A Time:

    1) How did you discover yoga?
    I did a couple of classes in a community centre back home. As I was finishing my studies someone recommended the classes at BYC to me. I loved it immediately and have been practising here ever since!
    2) How long have you been teaching at BYC/What year did you start teaching at BYC?
    I went to teacher training in 2011. Lucky for me, BYC is my home studio, so I had a lot of support from Helen and this amazing community.
    3) How long have you been practising at BYC?
    Twenty two years.
    4) What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given in yoga or life?
    To remember that everyone is always doing their best and also to Never, ever give up.
    5) If you could only choose one word to describe your teaching style, what would it be?
    Encouraging (I hope!)
    6) If you could give one piece of advice to a fellow yogi just starting out on their yoga journey, what would it be?
    All it takes for the magic to unfold is for you to be in the room. Just show up!
    7) Favourite Album/Albums (who can have just one)?
    Blue, Joni Mitchell. August and Everything After, Counting Crows.
    8) Do you have a favourite BYC memory and if so what is it?
    Oh so many! It’s always really special when my family members come to class. My brother used to work on the reception desk and my Dad painted the front of the studio. It’s lovely to feel their presence in this space I love so much!
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