This months Meet the Teacher is with the energetic and always full of life Beth Crivelli. Beth has been teaching at BYCJ for a while now and she always focuses on the importance of breahting, alignment and having a positive mindset when pracitcing. I go out of my way to actually make her classes because of the reasons listed but also because when she teaches you know she actually cares about the Yoga. In this day and age with the boom of Yoga and its increase in popularity with all ages and types of people some teachers have come into the industry and just taught as a simple means to an end, which comes with its negative side of not actually teaching with passion and real intent. When teaching something so special it comes with an important responsibility and attitude and this teacher has that. This is a great read…
How long have you been teaching the yoga for?
2011
What did you do before you started teaching yoga?
Fashion production manager.
What do you love about teaching Bikram?
The way how my energy and the students’ mix and work together.
Teaching yoga is consistently the most rewarding thing I do. I love studying people’s bodies and trying to find the best assistance I can provide them with to further their yoga experience.
What is your Favourite Posture?
Always changing …..right now I’m figuring out my triangle – it’s a complex one.
What do yo love about the studio and why do you think it is doing so well?
I have been practising at BYCJ for nearly a year now and I have seen it grow a lot in that short period of time. I think the energy in the studio is amazing and because it comes from the top it filters down into us teachers, reception and therefore students. I can honestly say that he Clapham students are the happiest ones in London and this makes it such and honour and pleasure to teach them.
What are your interests outside the yoga?
I seem to be quite obsessed with anatomy and movement at the moment so there’s a lot of that going on. I also teach vinyasa and yin so I do a lot of research on that as well as Bikram. I also make my own skin care range (vegan, palm oil free, organic). I have been an ethical vegan for years so I follow issues surrounding that too.
In three words how would you describe the experience of teaching a Bikram class?
Rewarding, challenging, sweaty!!
Words of advice to students?
Feed your body with positive thoughts, its always listening, calm your breath to calm your mind and practice with HONESTY. As humans we always tend to follow the path of least resistance and this is also the case in movement pathways. Yoga is also self study so we are in the room to identify our current weaknesses instead of finding ways around them. We need to learn to work with them and turn them into our strengths. THis might mean going back to basics, and If so then so be it.
Yoga is I think is about removing obstacles in your practice (physical, neurological, psychological, emotional) and to do that first you need to face them and then have the strength to change.
Thanks a lot Beth this has been fantastic.
By Suraj Ghumra