Since 1997 I have been studying yoga, Indian classical vocal and Indian classical dance as methods to cultivate the Self. While most things ended up as fads in my life, these have been a staple, ever since.
I currently live in Bexhill-On-Sea, East Sussex, UK, where I offer private yoga classes and marma therapy in my private studio, or the comfort of your home, if you are local.
I have translated the 1967 version of the Tantric text attributed to Shri Gorakhnath called Amanask Yoga. You can download a free copy of the translation HERE.
In 2023 I published my first book called Behind The Cosmic Dancer: A Manual to Expand Conscious Awareness: Yoga, Meditation, Mantra, Delving in the Depths of Sound.
Read my latest article for Om Magazine here
I discovered yoga and the Indian classical art forms while studying at SOAS in London. Through the charity with whom I worked, The Asian Music Circuit (AMC) and their aim to bring Indian Arts to the UK, I was touring with visiting artists and playing the tanpura (Indian drone instrument) for their concerts. In order to understand and learn from these great musicians I knew I had to learn Hindi so my degree became a BA with Honours in South Asian Studies and Hindi. I then stayed on at SOAS and took the MA classes in Mediaeval Hindi but I knew I didn’t want to be a scholar so did not sit the exams.
Since 1998 I have been travelling to India to attend the classical music festivals, live with the teachers, and learn both classical singing and dance. Varanasi is the city that captured my heart thanks to the local musicians who opened up this city for me and it is here that I spend most of my time when I visit India. Some say it is the oldest city in the world, where Indian mythology comes to life in geographical situ.
There is a strand of music in India known as marg. It does not only consist of accumulating a technical repertoire, in the same way that Yoga does not only consist of just learning a number of postures. The process involves a variety of subjects all related to cultivating the higher self. This is how yoga and the Indian art forms overlap (in case you were wandering what the connection was). It is this side of the classical art forms which I am interested in as they lead back to the source. My teachers on this path include Pt. Ritwik Sanyal who is based in Varanasi, India, the late Pt. Rajan Misra,& Pt. Sajan Misra, of Banaras Gharana. I add to this list someone who indirectly taught me much of the inherent practices of a Hindu in traditional Varanasi, and opened many private and hidden places of worship in the city, the late Shri Updesh Chaturvedi, endearingly known as Pippi Guru.
After graduating from SOAS in 2001 I furthered my yoga practice by becoming a yoga teacher and this was subsidised by the touring with AMC. I have taught in most of the London yoga centres, including The Life Centre and triyoga. The teachers who have most influenced my yoga practice and teachings, over the years are Louise Grime, Shandor Remete. Since 2015 I have been following my own intuition when it comes to my yoga practice. In 2018 I began the formal study of marma therapy with Dr Vasant Lad and now offer it as a which I now practice.
I have taught both yoga and sound work globally in places such as Australia, Princeton NJ, California, Moscow, Paris, Vienna, Egypt, Cyprus and Saudi Arabia.
What I have found over the years is that the real learning usually takes place away from the class setting which is just a bolster for the true nuggets of insight. This is why I really enjoy teaching retreats.
If you are interested to learn with me and you think I can help enhance your wellbeing , on some level, then do get in touch.