Helllloooo from Anjuna, Goa!
Some of you may know me and many won’t. In any case, I thought I’d kick off with a bit of a story about my Ashtanga journey so far, how I know Allison and Harry and why I’m in India! I have also attached a selfie for those who don’t know me.
Firstly! My name is Biannka and I live in Cairns (Kuranda). My first introduction to Ashtanga yoga was on 28th February 2011 when I attended a raw food retreat at a very special place called Samudra in Dunsborough, Western Australia. I fell in love with the practise immediately. Prior to my Ashtanga introduction I had dabbled in a couple of different styles of yoga but didn’t stick with anything for longer than a couple of months. When I found Ashtanga, it felt like coming home. At the time, I was living in a place called Kalgoorlie; there was no Ashtanga and it is a 9 hour drive from the little coastal town of Dunsborough. Prior to leaving the retreat I bought Gregor Mahle’s ‘Ashtanga Practise and Philosophy’ and did what I could when I got home. After about 6-8 weeks of an awkward self-practise I was able to travel to Dunsborough again and have three private lessons with a teacher. This gave me the foundation I needed. In August 2011 I moved from Western Australia back to sunny old Queensland and made my home in Cairns.
This is where I connect to Live and Breathe. I was hungry for everything Ashtanga. I found a teacher (Oliver – Tropical Ashtanga) in Cairns who offered Mysore classes on a Friday night and Sunday morning. After many google searches I found Mark Robberds was holding workshops at Live and Breathe Yoga in TOWNSVILLE – just down the road! Super. By this time it must have been around February 2012 and Allison was blogging from Mysore. I remember the first blog entry I read; Allison had written about her practise where everything just flowed, the breath, the postures, focus and strength. It was what I was yearning for. I immediately emailed Allison and asked her if she would be interested in travelling to Cairns to teach some workshops and I was stoked when Allison wrote back with a ‘yes’. Since then, Allison has travelled to Cairns twice to hold workshops and I get down to Townsville to attend a class when I can.
My practise is essentially a home practise – six days a week. On a Sunday in Cairns I now assist Oliver with the Mysore class which is an awesome learning opportunity. I do however relish the times when I can attend a class! Which brings me to India. Since I started practising Ashtanga I have yearned (like… wanted it so much that I felt I could cry!) to travel to Mysore. The home of Ashtanga yoga! It took some significant changes within my personal life and a really rough day at work to make it happen though. I missed out on registration for December in Mysore so made sure I was on the ball to register for January. I had heard great things about Rolfe and Marci in Goa so made the decision to come here for December. To have a teacher six days a week continuously for two whole months – well… let the journey begin!!
Much love
Biannka xo
