Neil is a senior yoga teacher at Pure and an internationally recognized yoga teacher and therapist. He has achieved a 500-hour teacher certification with the Yoga Alliance, their highest accreditation, and built up more than 20,000 hours of teaching experience.
Neil has been a dedicated yoga practitioner for the past 12 years, with his main asana practice rooted in the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition of Sri K Pattabhi Jois and R Sharath Jois.
He brings to his teachings a wealth of experience from a multifaceted background including various martial arts, tai chi, and qigong. These led him to study sports injuries, their prevention and treatment, and various natural therapies including massage, joint setting and spinal manipulation. As a qualified acupuncturist and practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, he integrates a deeper understanding of subtle energetic anatomy into his teaching.
Neil is a gifted teacher, known for his creative and lively presentations. He has an ability to make even the most difficult of concepts easily understandable, especially in the fields of applied anatomy, the dynamic principles of alignment, and yoga philosophy. His passion for these topic shines through in his delivery of these sometimes daunting and intimidating topics.
"My goal is to inspire students to be passionate about this amazing vehicle of practice, the human body," Neil says. "Through greater understanding, we are empowered to deepen our practices, while reducing the risk of injury. Good anatomical understanding leads to greater awareness, better alignment, a more fulfilling practice, and eventual success in yoga."
During the past five years he has also been a dedicated student of Sri O.P. Tiwari, of the Swami Kuvalayananda tradition of pranayama. Through Tiwari he has undertaken a deeper study of the entire hatha-yoga tradition and its related texts. He has also been given the blessing to teach this scientific approach to pranayama.
"I am grateful to all my teachers, who have influenced me on this path of practice," Neil says. "I bow before the lotus feet of the late Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his grandson R. Sharath Jois, who have guided me on the path of asana. Sri O.P. Tiwari, who has been both my mentor and spiritual guide, has taken me deeper into the practices of pranayama and self-inquiry. Special thanks must go to Richard Freeman for opening the deeper dimensions of the internal practice and energetic alignment, and to my early influences, David Swenson, John Scott, Paul Dallaghan and Alex Medin." |
