As I came toward the end of my 40th year i realised that my lifestyle was not preparing me for healthy and happy decades ahead. I made the big change of ceasing a prolific and long term cigarette habit.
This was a surprisingly significant move that seemed to remove blinkers that were keeping me from a number of other changes I needed to make. This included a new focus on exercise and diet, with animal products and alcohol dropping away and a gym membership appearing.
A year or so on Madeline (now a fellow teacher at the Auckland Yoga Academy) came to my work place and began to teach my workmates and I the beginners level 1 class once a week. Although challenged and perhaps a little dismayed by the tightness of my joints and the weakness of my muscles I immediately saw that this vigorous yet flowing practice had what I needed. Over 2016 I completed Yoga Academy (YA) 800 One Year Part Time Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training. At that stage my intention was simply to cement and deepen my personal practice. However, over the course of my training I came to see the sharing of this practice with others as a key and rewarding aspect of my own practice.