Thoughts

"My intention is to inspire people to empower and heal themselves, to release hardness and soften the body, to focus the mind and cultivate inner space, and to take this knowledge off the mat and into your life, so you can walk the earth with ease and grace."

I teach Ashtanga and Vinyasa Flow Yoga in London and on international yoga intensives and workshops, including Yoga Teacher Training in Goa. Ashtanga is taught in the Mysore tradition of Sri K Patabbhi Jois and Vinyasa Krama, or Hatha Flow, is an intelligent linking of poses rooted in classical yogic traditions that explores the physical, mental and subtle aspects of the practice. I consider Sri T Krishnamacharya to be the Grandfather of modern yoga and endeavor to teach all 8 limbs of ‘classical' Ashtanga in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (200 B.C.). I'm a believer in the sacred power of yoga, the awakening of the Kundalini, and the transcendent path to Self-Realisation that Tantric mystics describe as a journey to the Divine through reverence and perfection of body, breath, mind and spirit.

Yoga philosophy is integrated with asana and breath to explore the inner/outer techniques of Vinyasa Yoga that transform the mind and body, accelerate personal growth and illuminate one's highest potential to find purpose and meaning in life. I aim to reveal the spiritual path underlying the practice and the technology to stabilize the mind, so we can shed the veils of Maya perpetuated by the ego, glimpse at our true nature and liberate ourselves from suffering. My approach is a deep physical and psychological practice that moves beyond a mere physical experience to make the spiritual yogic inquiry authentic and relevant to real life. The ultimate aim of yoga is love, liberation and freedom. Moksha.

I began Hatha Yoga (BKS Iyengar) in 1986 and my yoga path has involved extensive studies with teachers from around the world, many who have had a profound influence of my unique style. In the past decade, my interest turned to Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga and I've studied with Sri K Pattabhi Jois in Mysore and with many of his senior students including John Scott, David Swenson, Matthew Sweeney and Rolf Naujokat. Nancy Gilgoff was my first Ashtanga teacher and I've attended many of her 'Adjustment Clinics' to learn how to safely assist people in the Primary and Intermediate Series. I completed 200-level Yoga Teacher Training with Richard Freeman (2004) and a 200+-level training focusing on the traditional Krishnamacharya method of Asana, Pranayama and Kundalini Metaphysics with Sri BNS Iyengar at the Patanajala Yoga Shala in Mysore (2008/09). On the Vinyasa Flow side of yoga, I completed the Tripsichore Yoga Theatre Teacher Training with Edward Clark (2002). David Life and Sharon Gannon (Jivamukti Studios) are also inspirational people and teachers.

I have studied various meditation techniques, including Tibetan Nyingma and Theravada Buddhism. I completed a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat in Myanmar (Burma) in 2006 and Dhamma Dipa (Hereford, UK) in 2009. I try to practice Self-Inquiry, the direct path to liberation, based on the teachings of Ramana Maharishi and visited his ashram in Tiruvannamalai, India (2009). Native American Shamanic healing techniques and Tantra also inform my yoga path.

I'm a certified member of Yoga Alliance at the highest level, E-RYT 500, and have recently been certified at RYS-200 to offer Yoga Teacher Training.

I'm pleased to offer a Yoga Teacher Training in Goa, 16 February – 19 March, 2011.

Tuition is 4000 USD. It will take place at Satsanga Retreat, a beautiful and stylish resort, purpose-built for yoga with an Ayurvedic chef, near Anjuna. I am especially pleased that the internationally renowned yogi and scholar, Emil Wendel, will share the teaching on the course. The training is Ashtanga Vinyasa-based but will focus on sequencing Vinyasa Flow, as well as all other aspects of yoga. We promise to teach you how to teach yoga.

This 200+ hour-level course is accredited by the Yoga Alliance. For full details: SEE HERE

I have been teaching yoga retreats and yoga holidays since 2003. Some of the destinations have included Ulpotha in Sri Lanka, Golden Buddha in Thailand, Molino del Rey in Spain, In Sabina in Italy, as well as Lotus Retreat and Ashiyana Yoga Resort in Goa. A retreat is a great opportunity to get into the rhythm of a regular yoga practice, workshop difficult asanas, deepen your understanding of yoga in all its aspects, move through fear and emotional blockage, and apply the spiritual path in a practical way to your life. We study the Ashtanga Primary Series in depth (both as a led class and Mysore-style), as well as the beginning of the Intermediate Series. A different Vinyasa Flow class is taught in the afternoons, as well as pranayama, restorative yoga, meditation, yoga nidra, and a Talking Stick circle to process whatever is revealed. Do yoga everyday and watch your body and mind transform.

This year I will be teaching a Yoga Intensive at Lotus Retreat in Patnem, Goa, 31 January – 19 February, 2011. Lotus Yoga Retreat is a lovely beachfront yoga resort in the tropical and unspoilt south of Goa. Stay in a bamboo hut with a view of the Arabian Sea. Swim in the ocean. Purify and cleanse with organic food and holistic treatments. Spot a dolphin while standing on your head during sirsasana! Sunset is always an epic moment. For full details: SEE HERE

Photography is my other passion and I've taken photos for over 30 years. Before being a full-time yoga teacher, I worked as a freelance writer/editor/photographer. I was a travel writer for Rough Guides and Fodor's, and my photographs have been published in those publications as well as in international magazines including Yoga Journal, Esquire, Marie-Claire, The Times, Sunday Times, The Guardian, Home & Garden, In Britain and Trailfinders.

For me, photography is a spiritual practice and I try to integrate yogic techniques of Dristi (gaze), Pratyahara (sense control), Dharana (focus) and Dhyana (meditation) into my photographic technique. The 'Travels' and 'Words' section in the website contains a selection of photographs from my spiritual adventures in India and other destinations. Photos from my retreats can be found under 'Retreats'. All the photos on the website (unless specified) are mine.

I also do yoga photography for teachers and practitioners. 2 slideshow examples of my work are available below. The first is Lara Baumann's workshop at Yoganesh in London. The second contains images I shot on location in Goa, India in 2010 for her upcoming yoga DVD.

View the studio shoot at Yoganesh

View the location shoot in Goa

For info: CONTACT ME

Heather Elton Yoga © 2009