Paul Jones

As a professional Chartered Engineer I have spent my career working in industry. I was never keen on competitive sports and exercise consisted of swimming and walking. However, when I moved to London in 2001, I was lucky enough to have a philanthropic employer who provided a gym and various exercise classes for its employees. One of those was a Sivananda yoga class. As a bloke, I wasn’t sure if this would be the right thing for me but as I had gone through a lot of changes in my personal life and was generally finding London quite hectic and stressful, I went along out of curiosity and to see if it would help me relax.

I was surprised but I just felt great after the first class. The fact that at first I could not even sit up straight without support didn’t matter, it was a real challenge and focussed my mind completely. I was hooked and began attending regularly.

Since then I have experimented with various different styles of yoga and many different teachers. For now my preference seems to be Ashtanga yoga because it is physically challenging and seems to suit my personality. Yoga has become an active meditation and has helped me deal with all sorts of challenges in my life. It keeps me on the straight and narrow!

I have been teaching yoga in Liverpool since the beginning of 2007, becoming involved initially as a way to deepen my own practice and thinking it was a great opportunity to help others gain the benefits that I have already discovered. My classes are based on Ashtanga vinyasa flows but also incorporate an essence of the other styles I have practised. Ashtanga yoga is the perfect antidote to stress and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Matt Ryan

I have now practiced Ashtanga yoga for over 12 years and taught for the last nine, although based in Manchester now — I have also taught in both India and Europe as well as hosting retreats in the UK.

It feels like an honour to be able to pass on what I have learnt to anyone who is interested. My time on the mat has taught me everything from humility to having a sense of humour. I have also learnt that there are no short cuts in yoga — you can read all the books in Waterstones (there's plenty - I've bought most of them!) but at the end of the day my realisation is that there is no substitute for time spent on the mat.

I have been authorized to pass on the Ashtanga Yoga method by the late Sri K Pattabhi Jois.It is an honour to receive Guruji’s blessing I will endeavour to pass on the method as I have been instructed to do so , staying true to the Ashtanga Yoga form as realized by Sri K Pattabhi Jois. My studies will now continue with Sharath Rangaswamy at the KPJAYI in Mysore south India. I am currently working on the advanced B of the Ashtanga system having already completed the first 3 sequences.