I spent a great Saturday afternoon in the Summer of ‘95 drifting in & out of various stalls advocating the benefits of Reiki, Indian Head Massage, colour therapy, etc at a London ‘Mind, Body, Spirit’ show. There were also stage demonstrations of Tai Chi, belly dancing and … ’something else’. That ’something else’ involved an imposing-looking dude with a great physique in a blue unitard, long, blonde curls, performing what looked to me like floor gymnastics on a blue mat. There was something balletic to this routine that immediately struck a chord in me. In some strange way it reminded me of what drew me to Lau Gar kung fu twenty years before: the focus, the precision, the athleticism, the power. But whereas when one boiled kung fu down, for all it’s grace, it was still boxing, this discipline (which it obviously was) seemed free from any aggressive shackles. Five minutes into the demo of… whatever it was, I knew I had to take it up. I checked my programme: what in fact I was witnessing was the late Derek Ireland giving a brief demonstration of ‘ashtanga vinyasa yoga’. Yoga? This performance didn’t fit the image I had in my head of what yoga was, ie, sitting in a lotus posture for hours, contemplating your navel. This was fast, dynamic and awe-inspiring. Before I knew the first thing about it, I was sold.

After the demo, I went up to the stall that Derek and (who turned out to be my very first teacher) Rhada were manning and picked up the necessary literature. I travelled to & from London for a couple of weekend sessions with Rhada at The Practice Place in Euston, working from her audio tape at home in the interim. A few months later I was surprised to learn that classes were being held closer to home in Birmingham with James Critchlow. I enrolled, continuing London classes whenever I could make them.

I found Jim to be an excellent teacher. He came to ashtanga vinyasa via a hatha and Iyengar background and his own take on the form had a big influence on my own practice. He’s a kind, gentle, patient and down-to-earth man to whom I owe much of my understanding of yoga.

I was now becoming ‘yoga receptive’, as it were. I was mad-keen for this practice – still am – attending, two, three classes per week, with as much self-practice as I could cram in, and it wasn’t long before yet another ashtanga vinyasa class was brought to my attention – this time in Leamington Spa – only a couple of miles from home! This one was being led by Carol Yates. Carol too had come to the form from hatha yoga, as seemed to be the case with most ashtanga vinyasa yogis I was coming across. If you like, Carol’s approach was slightly ’softer’ and it was through her that I learned a lot about careful entries into postures and modifications, thus, under the guidance of a growing number of teachers (by this time, I was already attending regular weekend workshops in Oxford, meeting amazing instructors like Mike Nevitt, John Scott, David Swenson, Danny Paradise,  Brian Cooper, Richard Freeman, Annie Pace) and doing various teacher trainings along the way. I was beginning to experience a range of levels within one dynamic yoga form – from the sukkha (soft) to the sthira (hard).

And through Carol, I received my first experience of giving adjustments to someone else whilst they were in a pose, rather than being adjusted. And it was this that made me first think about teaching. But I had my own practice to sort out first. But after 5 years of this practice and encouraged by my teachers, I ditched the music biz (thank god!) and took up teaching ashtanga vinyasa full time, and I’ve never been happier, healthier or more fulfilled. As usual in these kinds of situations – I wish I’d've done this twenty years ago!

And here I am now: still learning myself, but passing on the knowledge I’m gaining to a growing number of excellent students. Thanks to all who inspired and encouraged me. I’ll continue to do you and vinyasa yoga justice.

During the last couple of years, I have been experimenting and playing with the practice after being exposed and inspired by classes and individuals, like Jivamukti, the Kula Yoga Project and Tripsichore. This has led me to explore my practice outside the traditional ashtanga box and has thus influenced my teaching. I’m still working within the vinyasa frame – it’s dynamic, it’s challenging (probably more so!), but I’m becoming more interested in ‘vinyasa krama’ – the sequencing of breath/movement postures to a particular end – whether it be opening those shoulders, hips, improving backbends, leg behind head or that elusive jump-back/jump-thru.

It’s a shame that labels matter so much. but they do, so, I’ve given what I’m up to these days a name – ‘The Freestyle Yoga Project’, with the tagline, ‘dynamic vinyasa yoga’. ‘Freestyle’ because in the spirit of vinyasa krama, you come to my class and you won’t be 100% sure what we’re gonna be working on. There’s a foundation, but who knows whether it’ll be a hips, shoulders, backbends or handstand day… And ‘project’ because yoga is ongoing, ‘work in progress’. How could there possibly be any end to it? But you know what? It’s all yoga. Come to class and I’ll show you what I mean…

Let’s go to work…

Mark

PS. Please note that I am a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher.