ROB LEADLEY - Senior Yoga Teacher - Yoga Alliance
When I was looking to start a yoga practice there were many classes in York, but those classes weren’t providing a particularly dynamic form of yoga - which is fine - but I needed a stronger form of Yoga to satisfy my physical needs.
There’s a saying “when the student is ready the teacher will come”. I was in my 30’s when – out of the blue an old friend, Mike Myerscough returned to York. He had spent some time in India learning the Ashtanga system in Mysore. I went along to his demonstration and was particularly impressed by the athletic nature of the style.
Mike only stayed for around six months, when he was offered a teaching opportunity in London. But my passion for Ashtanga had been lit. I practiced diligently over the next few years reaping not only the physical benefits but also the emotional and spiritual benefits of the practice.
I then felt ready to embark on Brian Coopers teacher training. This was the hardest but most fulfilling year that literally changed my life. In 2000, just as I finished my teacher training, fate called me to carry the Ashtanga torch for York when my teacher, Peter Finch moved to teach at the Yoga Space in Leeds.
I believe that everyone has different physical histories and no two bodies are the same. I played football and practiced Karate for a number of years eventually taking up yoga in my thirties. These activities had created certain patterns in my physique which I had to spend time to 'iron out'. However, with a dedicated practice over the course of a year I was able to overcome some (but not all) of the limitations that those activities had imposed on my body.
No two bodies are the same!
I like to take this approach into my teaching. You will be offered a suitable modification for every posture and just as I discovered, with practice your body will gradually become stronger and more flexible - as it does, the discipline that you apply to your practice will also assist you in finding emotional and spiritual strength.
I look forward to meeting you.
ROB LEADLEY
