“It’s a matter of life and breath.”
Like many others, I came to yoga for the physical fix, but soon found the magic went deeper. With a degree in philosophy I’d spent most of my 20s exploring the good life as one half of the Loose Cannons band/DJs, remixing, recording and touring the world, living the dream.
Football had been my first love but the union of mind and body came through martial arts. I was enchanted by the tradition and self-discipline of ninjutsu, but I found a spiritual connection to the freedom and flow of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Yoga arrived much later as an attempt to recover from lingering injuries that weren’t healing like they used to. And then it took over everything.
An undying desire to fly landed me on the Ashtanga inspired Rocket system. I soon became interested in the practice (“the martial art you do against yourself” as Nic Gregoriades, the BJJ black belt once said), as a way of life- more than just a way of moving. And yoga has continued to make me think and feel like the best version of myself.
My first Rocket class (and teacher training) was with The Yoga People. They later introduced me to Yin Yoga, as an antidote to the up & up of Rocket (and the yang of daily London life.) With that came a deepening appreciation of meditation, stillness of mind and yoga beyond the asanas that originally got me hooked. I went on to advanced trainings with David Swenson, David Kyle and Jason Crandell (earning my Yoga Alliance E-RYT 500… before realising how pointless that accreditation really is.) The final piece of the asana puzzle came through practising Iyengar, which taught me what I was actually doing in the individual poses. 4BEAT blossomed out of all of this around 2015 and the community is growing by the day.
I now run my own teacher trainings at Mission e1 London (with Team 4BEAT). I have also co-written two books with Hannah Whittingham: ‘Greed, Sex, Intention- Living like a yogi in the 21stCentury’ on yogic philosophy in the modern era, and “How To Win at Yoga” on postures and posturing in the age of social media.
I like to incorporate different movement modalities into the traditional yogic form, with influences from Jiujitsu, Capoeira and FRC (functional range conditioning), but the overarching intention is always to find meditation in the movement by tuning the breath into the beat. Feel more, feel better.
4BEAT: take the practice seriously, not yourself.
I have a deep gratitude and respect to all my teachers past and present, including Stewart Gilchrist, Mark Kan, Eileen Gaulthier, Alaric Newcombe, Christian DiGorgio, Claudia Dossena, Lolo Lam, and Shaya G & Baris Bambu. A special shout out to The Yoga People- Jamie and Dulce- for introducing me to the Rocket, and of course the Godfather Larry Schultz up there for inventing it. Last but not least, salutes to the triumvirate of Phoenix, Claudius and baba Lucius who have been throwing down some advanced yoga life-lessons since their magical births and throughout their reigns.
My personal teaching epiphany came when I realised I could use music to optimise the breath, deepen concentration and even entrain the flow state, rather than simply create a good vibe. The beat of music is the active ingredient in the 4BEAT recipe, balancing the energy with the movement and the stillness.
Bend with strength, don’t break from lack of it. Everybody is ready to start yoga, anyone can do a version of any pose. The only barriers to entry are in your own head. If you think you’re not flexible enough, that is the reason to start. If you struggle to sit still, make that a mental goal not an obstacle.