Hi and welcome, I’m Simon.
I first discovered Yin Yoga in my 40’s, or perhaps it’s more accurate to say Yin Yoga found me.
I was walking along a street in Ubud, Bali and noticed a large sign saying ‘Yin Yoga’. I immediately thought about my friend who exeperiences chronic depression. He had gone through a partucualrly tough time and told me he got through it ok, which he attributed to taking up Yin Yoga.
I signed up for the next class and immediately fell in love with the practice. My body and busy mind started to relax and my body started to release stored trauma in a way that I knew was benefical, and not re-traumatising.
I was no stranger to a lot of what Yin Yoga involved.
I have my own lived experience of Complex PTSD (developmental trauma) and have tried many therapies, including those that bring about the release of stored trauma physically (for me it involves a lot of shaking and tremorring whilst feeling safe and supported to do so).
I’d done more active stlyes of Yoga classes on and off since my 20’s.
I’ve worked in mental health for 20 years (I’m not a clinician) and have been surrounded by mental health professionals, many of whom are my friends and picked up a lot of what they know and do in ther practice
I’ve a strong interest in mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention and have completed post graduate studies in this area.
I’ve written and delivered psychoeducation programs focussing on mental health promotion and prevention programs
I was already recording my own relaxation and mediatation MP3’s personalising them to what I knew worked for me and what I needed to hear.
I’d done a lot of self help and recovery and something I always tried to do was simplify things as much as possible. One particular group program I did helped me realise there is really only one goal – that I only have one job I need to do, and that is to regulate my psychological state to one of calm in healthy ways – when I am calm (well regualted) most of the stuff my otherwise racing mind worries about isn’t even an issue anymore.
Yin Yoga seemed to combine a number of elements I was already familiar with into a neat offering that included a physical practice.
After my first Yin Yoga class I new there and then I wanted to be a Yin Yoga teacher and started researching this. I discovered I needed to do 200 hour foundational Yoga Teacher training first before I could become a Yin Yoga teacher. So before I even left Bali I booked myself into a 200hr Yoga Teacher training back home.
I thought I’ll ‘tick the box’ of getting my 200hr Yoga Teacher certification so I can then do my Yin Yoga training. The 200hr training I enrolled in was very practical, delivered face to face every second weekend over 6 months with homework exercises. I found this format perfect to really absorb and practice manageable chunks of content.
To my surprise, as I progressed through my 200hr training I fell in love with teaching regular Yoga too (which I do in a number of studios). I realised there is so much more to it than the poses and loved how the very first principle of all Yoga is kindness (ahimsa). It also made me realise that the Yoga I had been doing on and off, was probably more accurately described as having a mindless stretch, as I wasn’t incorporating a number of other elements of Yoga.
After 200hr Yoga Teach traning I took long service leave from my day job and returned to Bali where I got my Yin Yoga certification. I even got to teach a public class in Bali as my final exam.
When I retruned home I started approaching studios
When I returned home I started approaching studios and found work teaching Yin Yoga (and other styles) at around six studios. I began to find my style which was basically teaching the way I liked classes delivered and incorporating what had worked for me in my recovery journey. I started getting really good feedback which helped me realise people liked my style and classes. I won’t take all the credit though – as one of the teachers I admire once said to me – ‘the practice speaks for itself. We don’t need to make it fancy or sophisticated’ and this has been at the forefront of all of my classes.
Fast forward to having delivered a few hundred Yoga classes (mostly Yin) I have taken the leap to recording classes and offering them online. I hope you enjoy them.
In setting up Your Yin Yoga Practice I have come up with the following philosophy / mission –
Simple – the practice speaks for itself. I don’t complicate things, but do add this caution – simple does not necessaily mean easy (e.g. practicing traning the mind to repeatedly return to a single point of focus)
Effective – By effective I mean achieving the aims of Yin Yoga which are – 1) exercise connective tissue (mostly ligaments and fascia) and 2) activate the bodies relaxation response. In almost every class I incorporate the principles of effective Yin Yoga practice. If these principles are followed it’s almost guaranteed that the aims of the practice will be achieved and the benefits will come.
Real – By real I mean showing that Yoga has nothing to do with what you look like (e.g. body size or shape) or wear (obvisouly wear comfortable clothes). Yoga is a deeply personal practice where one connects with their inner world and learns to soothe (regulate) somethign about troubling sensaitons in a good wa and I incorporate my own lived experience.
Accessible – By setting a low monthly subscription fee I’ve tried to make things as accessible as possible. I unapologetically don’t offer discounts for longer memberships – in life it strikes me as a little unfair when people who can afford more upfront are offerred a discount. I just want everyone to be able to afford this.
I’m a RYT Level on in Australi registed with Yoga Australia. I teach Nidra, MFR, resotrative, Hatha