An interview with Power Yoga teacher Janine Leagh

Power Yoga Teacher Janine Leagh

Wellingtonian yogis are in for a treat next month when Hot Yoga Wellington hosts Sydney-based Power Yoga teacher Janine Leagh.

Once an athlete who both competed and coached individuals to the British National Level, Janine now teaches Power Yoga in the USA, UK, Europe, the Bahamas and Virgin Islands.

Janine turned to Power Yoga in 1996 for guidance with her many injuries and has been teaching and practicing ever since.

She has a Sports Science Honors degree, Personal Training and massage qualifications as well as a variety of Sport coaching qualifications from trampolining to kite surfing.

Janine spoke to The Yoga Lunchbox recently about Power Yoga and the two sessions she’s teaching at Hot Yoga Wellington.

1. There are many styles of yoga out there, what was it about Power Yoga that attracted you?

Initially ‘power’ attracted me as I the time I was a younger athletic female in the sports and fitness industry and the thought of gaining a more powerful body was appealing!

If power yoga had been anything less than the incredible journey to your inner power aswell as physical, I probably would have dropped it very early on. Power yoga is truely powerful in all senses and a transformational experience with every practice.

2. What teachers have you studied with and who’s really inspired you?

In power yoga I’ve studied with many teachers such as Baron Baptiste (truly inspirational), Duncan Peak, and Beryl Bender Birch but have also studied other yoga disciplines such as Anasura with Marc St Piere, Iyengar and Astanga.

All teachers are inspiring but often the greatest inspiration comes from my students, their courage to take postures to new places and the transformations they make both on and off the mat.

3. You’ve been an international level athlete and coach, how does that inform your yoga and your teaching?

Sometimes it is a strength and sometimes it is a weakness!

The athlete in me keeps me disciplined and focused in my practice but if left unchecked can become competitive. As a teacher, my coaching and sporting background bring greater awareness of the body and the needs of my students. I’m able to recognize the imbalances from particular sports and offer guidance accordingly.

4. Your sport career meant experiencing some injuries along the way – how are those injuries feeling now?

I’ve been told by physio/chiro professionals that I’ve simply ‘worn out my joints’ from excessive sport and in my every day life I live with some injury discomfort, but herein lies the beauty of yoga – the postures are so anatomically correct that I never feel any pain in my yoga practice.

I’ve practiced yoga within two days of knee surgery and had the most speedy recovery. We use up so much energy on mental and emotional thinking that it can be exhausting to the body, yoga teaches a quietening of the mind, so much so that it allows a greater flow of energy to the body so that it may heal rapidly.

I’m not sure I would still be allowed the range of movement in my joints today if not for yoga practice.

5. What do you focus on teaching during the workshops?

I focus on the needs of the individual students. In a regular class there is no space for individual attention and questions surrounding each pose. Many students get caught up with how a pose should ‘look’ and so the aim of the workshop is for each student to get a better ‘feel’ for their unique posture in their own unique body.

6. What do you want students to go away with?

A deeper understanding and connection with their own body and a quieter mind 🙂

7. Anything else you’d like to add?

I saw a quote on a plaque in a cafe toilet(!) this week that said ‘Discipline is deciding between what you want Now and what you want Most’. I went back to my table and cancelled the chocolate cake! Yoga is everywhere.

Namaste.

International Power Yoga Teacher Janine Leagh at Hot Yoga Wellington

Take your vinyasa practice to a new level!
Saturday, 10 July 1:00 – 3:30 pm

Explore the dynamics of the Baron Baptiste inspired Power Yoga sequence. In this session, Janine covers everything from breathing to warrior and balancing series. Participants gain a far deeper understanding of each posture and receive individual attention for their poses. Suitable for both teachers and students alike. Prepare to glow.

Keeping the power and energy flowing!
Sunday, 11 July 1:00 – 3:30 pm

In this second session Janine carries the Power Yoga sequence forward, focusing on back bending and inversions. Suitable for both teachers and students alike.

COST: $50 one session / $85 both sessions

(Member discount applies to one session.) Limit 25.

Room is only warmed but you will sweat.

To register or questions:
Hot Yoga of New Zealand
250 Wakefield Street
Wellington, 6011
Phone: 04 801 9642
Email: hotyoganz@xtra.co.nz