Photo Credit: Heather Bonker
by Lucinda Staniland,
Denise Payne is a big-hearted yoga teacher with more than three decades of experience on the mat. Most recently, she spent the last eight years in Bali, where she taught at Ubud’s favourite yoga studio, The Yoga Barn and also at Bali’s most notorious prison, Kerobokan, where she started a yoga program with Myuran Sukumaran, one of the Bali Nine.
In today’s yoga landscape, Denise has what I consider to be an unusually deep grounding in Yoga, including twenty years spent studying Kundalini Yoga. If you’re wondering how she managed to fit all this in, know that she got an early start; Denise met her teacher, the Sikh guru Sat Jiwan Singh when she was only eight years old!.
Since her Kundalini Yoga training, Denise has branched out to study many lineages and disciplines, with a focus on embracing the human experience, rather than transcending it. In short, liberation isn’t her thing. She says,
“One of the philosophies that was really important to my teacher was complete liberation from this human experience… He wanted to become liberated, I wanted to come back over and over again. We fought about that a lot – in the best of ways.”
This is good news for us humans, as it means Denise will be here with us for the long haul, teaching yoga and generally doing good in the world. Amen to that!
Without further ado, I invite you to join Kara-Leah and Denise for a juicy conversation that delves into all of the above plus chakra-based philosophies, single-parenting tips, Denise’s work with Michael Franti, and her upcoming yoga teacher training in Bali.
Denise Payne on Why She Doesn’t Want Liberation in This Lifetime
One Song Yoga 200Hr Yoga Teacher Training
September 1 – 29, 2018 at The Yoga Barn, Ubud, Bali.
One Song Yoga Teacher Training courses get to the heart and core of yoga. A deep journey into consciousness through grounding, passion, empowerment, and relationship, you’ll find your voice and begin to see clearly your purpose.
The essence of this course is yoga, but whatever your passion or calling may be, this training will qualify you to teach what you love to your fullest potential. Regardless of any previous trainings, courses, or workshops you have taken, OSY provides a completely unique opportunity to uncover the richness within your sacred self and the tools to become the person that you are meant to be.
Recognizing that our planet is going through an incredible time of transition, the anticipated outcome of an OSY course is integrated guidance toward manifesting the strengths and skills that will best serve you, your future students and your communities.
Find out more here.
Quotes from the interview
On lineage
“I freed myself from all of them. I’m grateful for the foundation and discipline that Kundalini Yoga gave me, but I really wanted to know everything. I wanted to study every style and know all the different teachers and lineages. There’s so much out there. It’s vast.”
On why she doesn’t want to be liberated
“One of the philosophies that was really important to my teacher was complete liberation from this human experience… He wanted to become liberated, I wanted to come back over and over again. We fought about that a lot – in the best of ways.”
On the importance of chanting & mudras
When I started studying with Sat Jiwan Singh the first five years were mantra and mudra. There was no asana. For five years I sat and practiced mudras and we chanted for hours and hours a day… Understanding the depth of gyan mudra or the depth of Om or any mantra is a huge part of creating a sense of wholeness in a yoga class.”
On Myuran Sukumaran
“He was a huge inspiration and one of my greatest teachers. I don’t think I ever really believed that people could change. I never really truly believed it in my gut until I met him.”
On teaching the teachers
“To me, it doesn’t matter what style you want to teach…Rather than me telling students how to do something or what to teach, I want to help them tap into that magic that’s already in them and the potential they might not even know they have.”
