Josie Cooper shares with us the building blocks which makes her the brilliant yoga teacher she is today.
I began practising yoga in 2012. I started with Hot Yoga classes and now I am a Forrest Teacher with my own Josie.Yoga Instagram page.
Initially I started yoga to improve strength and flexibility to complement my pole dancing classes which I started a couple of years before.
After attending different styles of yoga classes including Bikram, Ashtanga & Forrest, I came to realise that this was far more than just a hobby! Although a ‘good stretch’ is still one of my favourite parts of yoga.
In addition to this, I noticed my lower back pain that had persisted for over 10 years began to recur much less frequently. There are other benefits I have felt from yoga too, I feel more calm and grounded in my daily life.
I have attended Forrest Yoga workshops with Jambo Dragon. Afterwards I felt quite raw and vulnerable for the rest of the day; like some layers were being scraped away.
I had to take my learning further
After attending classes with Susie for a while (I consider Susie my Yoga Mum!), she encouraged me to take a Foundation course to begin learning about yoga philosophy.
The beginning of my yoga studies was the British Wheel of Yoga Foundation Training with Jayadhara in 2014. This was 60 hours over 9 months.
Yoga began to creep into my life more and more. I am tune into the flashes of intuition that sometimes strike!
My strikes of intuition lead me. An example of this happened when I knew I had to leave the pole school I was at for four year to try a different teacher.
I have learned a lot from different styles of teaching. I achieved my goal of the Iron X! But I was also not as loyal to this new school, when I realised I needed to stop pole dancing completely as I kept getting injured.
Being in tune with my strike of intuition made this an easier break to make.
I completed my 200-hour Forrest Yoga Foundation teaching qualification in 2016, with Ana Forrest, and am working towards Certification.
This was a 28 day intensive course, and it was definitely Intense.
I found myself in tears multiple times almost every day. The emotions and experiences I’d swallowed down and ignored over the years, were worked into a gradual release.
I followed this with the Forrest Yoga Mentorship program with Guardian, Sandra Robinson, which enabled me to deepen my teaching skills, and develop my confidence.
Yoga Teacher Training gives you…
The Yoga Teacher Trainings gives you so many tools. You can use these tools across all areas of life.
I also work as a 3D designer. When ask to present to 100 people, I never thought I would be able to do it comfortably without cold sweats and shaking hands! But I did it and I did it well.
I know my students have experienced similar scenarios and it makes my heart glow. Firstly, they have noticed things change after doing yoga classes with me and secondly they are noticing they are excelling. Recently, a student told me she had had a horse jumping lesson, and her instructor had commented that it was the best she’s ever ridden.
Josie Yoga
My students can expect to explore their strength and flexibility. Work on their focus with emphasis on breathing deeply.
Even if you just turn up and breathe, you’ll still get something out of a class with me!
I don’t think yoga needs to be super serious all the time, so my sessions have an informal feel.