- Name:
Teresa Rubé.
- DOB:
14 April 1972.
- What style of yoga do you teach?
Hatha Yoga with a Viniyoga approach of each student practicing at their own pace. I want every student to leave my class feeling better than when they walked in.
- Where do you teach?
I teach a beginners group once a week at the Durbanville Yoga Centre. I work full time in the IT industry so once a week is about all I can manage at the moment, but when the time is right I will make the switch to full time Yoga teacher.
- How long have you been practicing yoga?
Fifteen years + (I don’t remember exactly).
- How long have you been teaching yoga?
Six years.
- Who have you trained with and where?
Sandra Smith @ Durbanville Yoga Centre.
- What lead you to teaching yoga and at what point did you decide that you wanted to teach?
I wanted to learn to teach yoga to make it more available to people who are not necessarily fit and strong, but who want to improve the quality of their lives. I enrolled for the course during a rough time in my own life when I had lost my job and was reevaluating my priorities. Doing the teachers training was hard work, but a truly wonderful experience. It greatly enhanced my own yoga practice.
- What do you love most about teaching?
Witnessing students find a sense of stillness that was previously missing.
- Is there a focus in your teaching style?
Balancing the chakras; finding inner stillness; reconnecting to the body.
- What do you love most about yoga?
The subtle way it works to improve one’s quality of life, linking body, mind and spirit.
- What is the greatest challenge you have overcome with the help of yoga?
I would have to mention 3, in order of importance:
Spirit: Healed a broken relationship with God
Mind: Dealing with a stressful life
Body: Strengthening my back after a car accident that fractured my sacrum.
- What advice do you have for people who have never tried yoga?
Try out a few places until you find a teacher that you connect to and a class that you feel comfortable in. Sign up for a few months and give it a chance. Then watch the positive effect it has on your body, mind and spirit. Enjoy!
- Do you have a regular practice?
Yes. I go to a weekly class and I practice at home, (though not as much as I would like due to the demands of motherhood and career).
- Favourite Asana?
Virabhadrasana 1. In Warrior, I feel strong, powerful, and connected to my higher self. It is a posture that I use to work on each of the chakras individually, building from the lower chakras up to the higher.
- Strongest Asana?
I marvel at how my body finds its way up into the wheel. I don’t hold it long because it is very warming, but enjoy the strength of it.
- Any religious affiliations?
None
- What are your other interests?
Living a healthy life and being with my family and friends. I enjoy walking near the sea and as a family we go camping when we can.
- Any thank yous?
To my teacher, Sandra Smith who continues to inspire my practice and teaching: Thank you for giving me the opportunity to teach at her wonderful studio for the last six years. It is a gentle space to find stillness in our crazy world.
To my late mother, who taught me to look for the good in everyone and the value of a simple life. Getting there, Mom… One breath at a time.
