Gladey RowanMy yoga journey began in 1994 when I was in South India at the age of 18.
I was involved in some voluntary work in Bangalore, and each morning our day started, led by a man named Kumar Chowdhury, with sun-salutations, surya namaskar, on the flat roof of the building, while facing the sunrise. I found this such an incredibly beautiful way to start the day, facing and saluting the sun, the life giver, in awe of mother nature. It felt like a daily prayer of gratitude.
Throughout my twenties I spent a lot of time in India, deeply inspired by the culture and way of life. I found myself in a Tibetan Buddhist community in North India where I met and married a Tibetan man.
Our first son Tenzin Ganden was born in North India, and we lived in a Zilnon Kagyeling Nyingma Monastery, in Mcloedganj, Dharamsala. At this time I was busy with motherhood and did not practice the traditional Asana (postures) of yoga. I did learn to meditate in the Vipassana centre in Daramcot, but my main focus was the practice of karma yoga: (selfless service) motherhood.
My journey took me back to Bristol and by 2007 I was a young mum of 3, living in St. Pauls where I found myself in a difficult place, struggling to cope financially and emotionally as a mother and wife. I was diagnosed with post natal depression and declined medication from the doctors. I was not in a good place and I needed something to bring me ‘back to life’.
I met Saeed Ansari at St. Paul’s Sports Academy and started to train in dynamic yoga twice a week. It was exactly the medicine I needed. My body started to feel strong and realigned again and my mental health improved massively, reducing the depression and anxiety. I realised what a powerful medicine yoga is and decided I wanted to learn to teach and share the practice with other people who could benefit. Once I had made this decision, I was introduced to Laura Gilmore who had a yoga studio just down the road in St. Paul’s. She was about to start her first teachers training and invited me to join. For the first time in my life I knew what it was I wanted to do as a career. I felt a calling. My dearest dad supported my training and inspired me to go for it with compassionate encouragement, because I was so shy at the time, and did not think I had what it takes to become a yoga teacher. Sadly he died while I was training but his struggle with mental health, and his enthusiasm and belief in me, as a teacher fuelled my drive even more.
In 2009 I embarked on a 200 hour teachers training with Laura Gilmore at the Bristol School of Yoga. Laura is an amazing teacher and she threw me in at the deep end, offering me work at the Bristol School of Yoga from the beginning. It was the encouragement I needed to gain confidence and experience and it led me on to more and more exciting and relevant work.
Uma Dinsmore -Tuli was also a teacher on the course and I took a lot of inspiration from her work with women and of course yoga nidra.
I completed an intensive in Pregnancy Yoga with teachers Ali Woozley (my dear colleague and friend) and Laura Gilmore. I still teach pregnancy yoga in Bristol and am a true believer in the benefits of this incredible practice for pregnant women and their babies.
The next intensive was postnatal/mums and babes with Jane Mackarass. This qualification led me to Bluebell care, a charity in Bristol supporting women with post natal depression. With my own experiential understanding of post natal depression, this work felt close to my heart. I worked with Bluebell for many years until sadly they lost their funding. However, I still teach mums and babes yoga and find it to be such an important offering, partly as it’s so important for mums to build connections with other women.
I trained in Ashtanga in my 30’s and loved the strength and mental clarity it gave me. I completed a training in Ashtanga with the awesome teacher Melanie Cooper.
By 2011 I was a full time yoga teacher and loving every opportunity to teach and share yoga.
In 2015 I did a Vinyasa Flow intensive course with Laura Gilmore. I really love the flow in yoga where one posture moves to another linked by the breath. My practice started to soften and I prefer to call the style of yoga I now teach ‘hatha flow’, as it is a more mellow version of vinyasa.
I taught in gyms, leisure centres, my children’s school, community centres, corporate work in office building, rehabilitation centres and took on any yoga work that came my way.
I was always searching and open to learning more and in 2016 I met a beautiful, inspiring teacher called Nicole Aarons whose work was different to what I was used to. I was intrigued by her shamanic style of yoga and started to train with her for a few years to continue my professional developement in the Soma Yoga and Medicine school. I am now qualified as a trauma-informed yoga therapist.
In all the years of sharing yoga, it is my students who have taught me how to facilitate the practice of yoga and I am truly grateful to them for showing up for themselves and also for supporting my work! -without my students I would not be where I am today.
My own children have taught me about karma yoga, and they have always supported my yoga journey, as have my family and friends. I would not have been able to do all the training listed above, without the help of my sisters and my mum who have always been there for me and my children.
However, the one who teaches me most about yoga, every day, is Pablo, my dog, because he shows me the importance of ‘presence’ in each moment. He forces me to get out every day and look to nature in awe of her exquisite beauty.
Look to this day, for it is life.
The very life of life.
In its brief course lie all the varieties
and realities of your existence;
the bliss of growths, the glory of action
the splendour of beauty.
For yesterday is but a dream
and tomorrow is only a vision,
but today well lived makes
every yesterday a dream of happiness
and every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well, therefore, to this day.
Such is the salvation of the dawn.
~ Poem by Kalidasa ~
