We caught up with Andrea Haywood and Jill Johnson, founders of Cheshire Yoga in Altrincham, Manchester. Each passionate Iyengar Yoga college students and lecturers, Andrea and Jill have recognized one another for 23 years, having began in an Iyengar Yoga class collectively and now proudly owning a enterprise collectively, Cheshire Yoga.
Inform us a bit about yourselves…
Jill: I’ve been a pupil of Iynegar yoga for over 25 years, and instructing since 2007. I’m a Stage 3 trainer, a mentor for all ranges of trainer coaching, and an assessor and registered Yoga Therapist. So yoga life was already very busy – after which alongside got here Cheshire Yoga.
I’m married to Tim and we’ve got two grown up kids, so we solely share our dwelling with a cat and a canine now. I’m additionally a grandmother twice over; taking care of my grandson as soon as per week retains me operating round away from my yoga mat, however he already does a unbelievable canine down.
Andrea: I’m a mum of three (it’s A Ranges and GCSEs in our home in the meanwhile), I’m married to Mark, and our household is accomplished by Echo, the ten 12 months previous Black Lab. In a previous life I used to be a solicitor however for the final 10 years I’ve been an Iyengar Yoga trainer in South Manchester. I’m now a Stage 2 trainer and I’m fortunate sufficient to share and educate yoga to an incredible group of scholars on the studio. I’m now additionally formally a small enterprise proprietor – we’ve got simply paid our enterprise charges and filed our first tax return !!
Cheshire Yoga: After lockdown, throughout which Jill and I had each taught on Zoom, we simply felt that we wished our personal studio house the place college students might come, be collectively and observe their yoga. And so got here Cheshire Yoga. Notably after the isolation of lockdown, the significance of being within the room collectively, having a trainer that would observe and proper your poses and sharing yoga, couldn’t be over-stated. So in September 2021, having leased probably the most fantastic house from one among our college students and turned it right into a yoga studio, we launched Cheshire Yoga in Altrincham.
The place did your yoga journey start and what impressed you to grow to be a yoga trainer?
Andrea: I fell in love with Iynegar Yoga after I began lessons while nonetheless practising legislation. I discovered that it was the one time within the week after I considered nothing else and will focus solely on the Yoga. Having had a background in excessive influence sport, I had suffered a nasty harm which had resulted in numerous foot and ankle operations and I wanted a distinct outlet, I discovered it in Iyengar Yoga. From the primary class, my trainer was adapting the poses to allow me to get pleasure from the advantages, however my accidents.
I appeared ahead to class a lot and I attended class each week while working and thru every of my 3 pregnancies, practising proper as much as 41 weeks with all 3. My trainer made all the mandatory adaptions all through and my fellow college students have been unbelievable and supportive. Jill certified as a trainer and was arrange a category regionally and I went alongside to the primary class which Jill ever taught, and I used to be her very first pupil.
Jill inspired me to coach as a trainer. A chance to additional my information of Iyengar yoga and to have the ability to share my ardour with others, have been what offered it to me. After 2 years of exhausting work, I certified as a Novices’ trainer and started instructing regionally.
As soon as I began instructing and acquired to know and perceive my college students’ our bodies I actually began to know the enormity of Iyengar Yoga. Adapting poses, seeing the development, understanding the necessity for the rigour, the precision, the alignment, creating sturdy foundations on which to construct – all of it grew to become clearer seeing it via my college students.
After extra rigorous coaching, I did my Stage 2 in 2019 and as my observe has grown so has that of my college students. I’ve been fortunate sufficient to have fabulous folks come alongside to my lessons and it’s an honour that they put their religion in me and my instructing. And they’re fantastic at making new college students really feel welcome and a part of the category, one thing which Jill and I are obsessed with. How usually are folks discouraged from coming to a category as a result of they really feel intimidated or nervous ? We pleasure ourselves on searching for to create a heat and inspiring surroundings on the studio.
Jill: I used to be virtually 40 after I began yoga, it was really useful to me after I suffered an harm that prevented me from becoming a member of my operating buddies on our twice weekly excursions round Altrincham, and after the primary class I used to be hooked. I used to be working in Manchester on the time and my kids have been nonetheless in school, however I loved the lessons a lot that I went from as soon as per week to twice and typically three lessons – as a lot time as I might spare was spent doing yoga.
In 2005 I started my trainer coaching, determined to cease my “paid” job and after I certified in 2007 I began instructing instantly – Andrea was the primary and solely pupil at my very top notch. Initially I believed my trainer coaching would let me delve extra deeply into all of the elements of yoga, which it did, but it surely additionally impressed me to wish to share this data and enthusiasm with different college students.
I spent the subsequent 10 years learning extra and qualifying to show all ranges of Iyengar yoga, in addition to spending three years learning to show yoga remedy. As my first profession was in nursing that is an space during which I’m significantly .
I’ve been to the Iyengar Institute in Pune many occasions, and have had the privilege of being taught by the Iyengar household, together with Mr Iyengar and his daughter Geeta. Extra lately I’ve attended lessons and intensives with Abhijata Iyengar and her uncle Prashant, so the lineage is continuous.
Certainly one of issues I like about Iyengar Yoga is the world broad neighborhood of scholars – Iyengar Yoga is probably the most practiced faculty of yoga on the earth, so because of this there are lecturers in lots of components of the world, and I like it when college students return from their travels and inform me they attended a category distant, but it surely nonetheless felt like dwelling!
It’s this welcome and sense of neighborhood that we’re nurturing at Cheshire Yoga – we would like all our to college students really feel at dwelling and comfy with our lecturers and with exploring how yoga will help them.
What’s a typical day in your life?
Andrea: I made a elementary miscalculation when Jill and I began Cheshire Yoga. I believed that establishing our studio would imply that we had an attractive, well-equipped, function constructed studio to practise and educate in. To this point, so appropriate – what I hadn’t factored in was being a small enterprise proprietor. It has been a steep studying curve.
So a typical day will contain getting youngsters off to high school, heading to the studio earlier than class to whip spherical with the broom, tidy the gear and do my very own observe earlier than greeting the scholars arriving for morning class. That point within the morning on the studio when it’s quiet and I can simply get pleasure from being within the house which we’ve got created and doing what I like finest may be very particular.
After class we’re fortunate sufficient to have a unbelievable espresso store on website and so we regularly head over there for a espresso and a chat ( it’s virtually as vital as the category – because it actually allows us to attach and make buddies and create a yoga neighborhood)
My afternoon is spent in a whir of sophistication preparation and all of the again workplace work, so workshop schedules, organising retreats, updating the web site, in addition to a little bit of social media. As somebody that didn’t know one finish of a pc or social media from the opposite at first of this, I’ve needed to be taught shortly.
And don’t overlook the canine, who wants strolling. A beautiful time to stroll and take inventory. I’ve my finest concepts when I’m out strolling. Now and again we do a Yoga Canine stroll (canine not necessary) and we simply go for a ramble, lunch and a chat.
As soon as per week I educate a night class however in any other case the again finish of the day turns into the time after I placed on my family hat with the youngsters and all that life entails.
Jill: I love to do some yoga observe very first thing – whether or not that is asana or pranayama – it units me up for the day and implies that I can then spend time instructing and naturally spend numerous time doing all these jobs that include a small enterprise – thank goodness there are two of us in any other case no instructing would get finished!
For 5 years – 2016-21 I used to be on the helm of Iyengar Yoga UK – the group that appears in spite of everything Iyengar lecturers within the UK. This was very exhausting work, however there’s a nice crew of volunteers and paid staff and we’re all the time supported by Abhijata and her crew in Pune. Once I got here to the top of my time period I swapped Iyengar Yoga UK for Cheshire Yoga – fully totally different however nonetheless difficult.
I educate 5 lessons every week, in addition to weekend workshops, retreats and yoga holidays. I like all my lessons however I believe my favorite is the Simple and Light class that has been operating since 2008 – with most of the similar college students. This class is predominately for older college students, or these returning to class after an harm or sickness. The scholars have created a stunning ambiance, all of them work actually exhausting after which they go to our on website café for a espresso afterwards.
My day additionally contains ensuring that my trainee lecturers, and mentees (these certified lecturers who’re working in direction of their subsequent stage of instructing certificates) are feeling supported and pleased with their learning, oh after which there may be the paperwork to do!
What do it’s good to find out about Iyengar Yoga ?
When requested what’s the distinction between Iyengar Yoga and different yogas, the solutions would in all probability contain the phrases: alignment, precision, props.
The Iyengar technique was borne out of an in-depth examine of every pose after which their therapeutic properties by Mr Iyengar. From this he developed a scientific breakdown of the poses and the way they need to be practised. This requires adherence to the alignment in every pose and the usage of props to attain that alignment. This stage of element permits the physique to maneuver and open because it ought to and protects it towards harm.
By studying to work the muscle tissue appropriately to attain the alignment, everybody can entry the poses versus simply the match and wholesome. For people who want them, props can be found to assist work in a pose, beneath the steering of an Iyengar trainer. And for people who don’t want any props, the flexibility to regulate their work is its personal distinctive problem. Controlling versatile hamstrings in order to not injury knees is, by the use of instance, usually tougher than having tight hamstrings and utilizing blocks to assist lengthen them.
So in abstract – Iyengar yoga is appropriate for EVERYONE.
Inform us about trainer coaching…
Instructing yoga is a dedication and a duty; it’s the course of by which information and knowledge may be given from trainer to pupil. Earlier than starting the formal strategy of learning to grow to be a trainer of Iyengar yoga a pupil could have spent at the least three years attending common lessons, and attending to know the topic nicely. Mr Iyengar has mentioned previously that it isn’t potential to know if one needs to show a topic with out having undertaken a sure stage of examine first. Coaching to be a trainer is predominately finished beneath the steering of a mentor, a senior trainer who has taught for a few years, and is certified to a better stage. To start out with freshmen examine the asana syllabus, studying about every pose, educate it and most significantly, adapt it for many who are struggling or people who want to increase their observe. The coed will even examine the philosophy of yoga and primary anatomy and physiology. The evaluation is a collaborative course of run over a weekend working with the assessors and college students to make sure that the trainee has adequate proficiency and information to grow to be a trainer.
Additional coaching, learning and assessments are required to show at increased ranges – so it’s a lengthy course of!
To cite Mr Iyengar:
“One who has not learnt the topic totally can not educate. If one makes an attempt to take action, she or he goes to hurt; hurt the society, the topic and oneself”.
This course of does be sure that wherever you’re on the earth, in case you are taught by an Iyengar Yoga trainer, you may be assured of the standard and depth of their coaching and information.
Inform us about Remedy lessons and coaching…
Operating remedy lessons is an excellent expertise – In Iyengar Yoga that is taken very severely in order that college students with bodily or psychological challenges are usually not harmed in any method. Every pupil has a private programme of poses and pranayama labored out for them; college students include all types of issues similar to shoulder injury, neurological diseases like MS or Parkinsons’s illness, recovering after a hip substitute, and extra lately we’ve got had many college students affected by Lengthy Covid.
Jill has helped on the remedy lessons in Pune on many events, beneath the watchful eyes of Geeta and Abhijata, as nicely enterprise three years of examine. Iyengar Yoga lecturers want to check with a remedy trainer earlier than they’ll transfer to Stage 3, probably the most senior stage. The security, consolation and safety of the scholars is all the time paramount.
