O_Y_UK_2015_05_

om beginnings

When did you first discover yoga
Believe it or not I used to be a DJ at the world
(in)famous Hacienda Nightclub in Manchester
(RIP) and, well, the life of excess made me a
mess. A friend recommended yoga as a way
of getting my mind (and body) back on track.
Within six months I’d hung up the headphones
and booked a ticket to study with Guruji
Pattabhi Jois in Mysore India for three months.

What inspired you in those early days
I know this might sound a bit conceited but I

actually inspired myself. When I first started I

was literally going round the bend and I pretty

much single handedly turned things around by

dedicating myself to a daily yoga practice.

Tell us about the style you teach

I teach traditional Ashtanga Yoga – sometimes.

I learnt in the early days of teaching that I

needed to be flexible with how I taught as

not everyone who came to class was as

enthusiastic about Ashtanga as I was. So now I

teach the traditional Mysore Style self-practice

and also a less intense variation for beginners.

What do you do other than yoga

Zazen. I became a Zen Buddhist a couple

of years back and so I sit a lot. It’s very

interesting to see how things are changing

for me as I get older. These days if I only

have time for either asana or Zazen I usually

will do the Zazen. I’ve also got a young

18-month-old daughter Agnes Boo, who is lots

of fun but she’s full of beans and uses up all

my asana energy.