OM Yoga UK – June 2017

Why did you start yoga

I first jumped on my mat when I was 21. My mum

sent me to go and ‘get happy’ as she was loving

her practice. It was in a local school hall and had

a total mix of ages: I still carry the image with me of

an 81-year-old lady in the class, she seemed to be in bliss standing on one leg; it really

inspired me. I left the class feeling totally euphoric.

How has yoga changed your life

Yoga first changed my life by stopping the inner chatter. I was so horrible to myself

through my teens – the voice in my head seemed to really hate me and critique me,

leaving me totally lacking in confidence with everything I did. I needed yoga for the calm

serenity that it instilled. I also suffered from severe back pain for 15 years, due to two of

my bottom vertebrae having worn out. I was in continuous pain. Doctors kept prescribing

painkillers, which I disliked taking. This coincided with a period when I trained with Jozef

Wiewel to become a hot yoga teacher. His modifications to the hot sequence were key;

after practicing regularly I found that my back pain disappeared.

Favourite yoga haunts

I do yoga everywhere I go. I love going to Yoga One in Houston with my cousins. I love

practicing yoga on deserted beaches in the sun whilst my children are playing. Finding

the Jivamukti studio in New York many years ago was fun; I still recall being in heaven

head-standing to a loud track of Paul Weller’s ‘Broken Stones’.

Best yoga moment

It was the very first class in my studio. I had 22 people on their mats in the heat, the

class had been one year in the planning and it felt like a dream come true. Also going to

Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’s workshop on Brick Lane with hundreds of Ashtangis was awesome.

And teacher training in Byron Bay was phenomenal: a stunning place to spend two

months totally absorbed in yoga.

Anything else

I want to encourage more people on to the mat, and for people to know they don’t have

to fixate on being bendy. I invite people to practice kindness towards themselves first,

both on and off the mat. This becomes a habit with practice and the yoga love can

spread. I want schools to be offering yoga to all teens; this can be the trickiest stage

with hormones, exams and brain development. I believe a gentle yoga practice can give

teens some amazing tools to take with them into the world. Moments of peace can have

a lasting effect. Finding the peace within yourself and being able to return to that quiet

space when life gets hectic is a very powerful tool.

If yoga has changed your life share your story at: [email protected]

YOGA

CHANGED

MY LIFE

Yoga made an immediate impact

on Emma Burton, helping to calm

the inner chatter of her mind

NAME: Emma Burton

AGE: 42

OCCUPATION: Senior yoga

teacher and director at My

Soul Space Ltd

YOGA YEARS: 16+

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