The Yoga Lunchbox

Nourishing the Yoga Community since 2008

  • Home
  • About
    • Contact
    • Advertising
  • Yoga Articles
    • Starting
      • Foundations
      • Styles
      • Going to Class
      • Practices
      • Home Practice
      • Resources & Reviews
    • Deepening
      • Yoga & Parenting
      • Yoga & Relationships
      • Yoga & Life
      • Yoga & Healing
    • Teaching
      • Insights
      • Interviews
      • Training
      • Business
    • Awakening
      • Activism
      • The Process of Kundalini
      • The Process of Waking Up
      • KL’s Musings from the Mat
  • Yoga Videos
  • NZ Teacher Training
    • RSS
    • Youtube
    • Facebook
You are here: Home / Yoga Articles / Teaching • The Business of Yoga / Teacher Interviews / Duncan Peak on What Modern Yoga Really Is

Duncan Peak on What Modern Yoga Really Is

January 13, 2015 by Kara-Leah Grant 1 Comment

Duncan Peak

Duncan Peak

[Editor’s Note: This article was originally published March 5, 2014. As Duncan is appearing at Wanderlust NZ & Australia 2015, I’ve up-cycled it for people to take a second look.]

by Kara-Leah Grant

I’m loving this interviews series with Wanderlust teachers because every time I’ve walked away impressed by the yoga teacher I’ve interviewed.

This time, I was talking to Australian bloke Duncan Peak – and he is a bloke in every sense of the word. He went from high school into the military and spent time as a paratrooper. He played professional rugby union. And right through it all, he was practicing either meditation or yoga.

Like Amy Ippoliti, Duncan was introduced to yoga and meditation at age 16, and while he didn’t talk about it with his mates at school, it was the beginning of a life-long practice.

Post-army, Duncan got back into a more physical practice (he’d been mainly meditating while in the army) to cope with the injuries he’d sustained. He did the rounds of the teachers, spending time in Mysore with Pattabhi Jois, he studied Iyengar, and he spent time with Baron Baptiste (Power Yoga) eventually co-facilitating retreats with Baron all over the world.

Prior to speaking to Duncan, I was somewhat wary – I’d read an interview where he described Hatha Yoga as a product he knew inside out, and the marketing speak on Power Living’s website made me prickly.

“Duncan… smashes the stereotype of what a Yogi should be and rather focuses on being himself and creating a methodology inspired by ancient teachings that he believes is relevant for today’s world.”

However, as we spoke, it was clear that Duncan knows his stuff inside out – not just asana but also the philosophical under-pinnings of yoga and how to apply it to our daily lives.

What most impressed me was his clarity around the necessity of using yoga in running the Power Living business (five studios, two more on the way, and six co-owners).

“People say ‘never go into business with your friends’ and for me I’m in business with all of my best friends… for me that’s more of a yoga practice than going in and doing a few handstands and downward dogs. It’s that constant honesty and love and understanding of how our community… needs to work for us to serve at such a big level.”

I was sold at that point. Yoga on the mat is one thing, but teachers who understand how to apply that yoga in every aspect of their life always demand my attention.

If you’re contemplating become a yoga teacher, I’d highly recommend making it to one of Duncan’s class, as Power Living offers several yoga teacher trainings in New Zealand, Australia and Bali.

Finally, Duncan has just released a book called Modern Yoga – find out why it’s called that in the interview below.

Click here to buy tickets for Great Lake Taupo Wanderlust 2015

Click here to see Duncan’s schedule for Great Lake Taupo Wanderlust 2015.

An interview with Duncan Peak, teaching at Wanderlust NZ and Australia 2015

About Duncan Peak

08-11-11_16_22_DunxHeadDuncan is the original founder of Power Living Australia.  He has developed himself as what he calls to be Modern Day Yogi, training extensively in most contemporary yoga methods – Ashtanga Vinyasa, Iyengar, Power (Baron Baptiste method), Anusara and Yin Yoga. 

He has travelled and taught yoga in India and been disciplined in his own spiritual development, completing extensive studies in Traditional Yoga Philosophy under Georg Feuerstein, Anatomy and Physiology at the school of Neuro-Spinology and various Psychology and yoga related courses.

His dedication to his personal asana & meditation practice is obvious and clocks up well over the 10,000 hours mastery principle he believes strongly in but he also suggests not to take the practice of this too seriously and enjoy life through unattached pleasure.

Duncan holds pre and post graduate degrees in Business Administration and served as an Army Officer in the elite Parachute Regiment. Those who spend time with Duncan realize his knowledge is deep, his practice is extensive and most importantly he is driven out of a sincere interest in the wellbeing of others and power of yoga to transform lives.

His classes are powerful, strong, fun, heartfelt and his irreverent sense of humor brings a unique lightness to the depth of practice he teaches. He spends his time travelling and teaching between the studios in Sydney and Melbourne and delivering teacher trainings and retreats in Byron Bay and around the globe. Check out his classes and trainings, they rock but get in early as they are usually packed.

Similar Articles You May Enjoy

  • April - July 2014: Wellington & Bali, Power Living 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training

    Click on the image to see a larger version. Power Living Yoga – Empowering you to live your most authentic, happy and fulfilled life! The Power Living 200hr Teacher Training Program totally immerses the students in the knowledge of a basic Power Living Yoga Sequence, introduction to the history of…

  • Yoga Teacher Training Intensive 200hr Training
    June 16: Auckland, Yoga Teacher Training - 200 Hour Level 1 Training

    Both Kawai Purapura and Byron Yoga Centre have a holistic and integrated approach to yoga, encompassing not just physical postures but also philosophy, meditation, pranayama and the yogic personal and social code of ethics. This collaboration strengthens the ability of both organisations to fulfill their aim of bringing about a…

  • 2013, Various Dates: Kawai Purapura, Auckland, 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training

    Kawai Purapura's 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training provides excellent foundations in human anatomy and movement, increases your awareness and understanding of the postures and ensures your teaching is appropriate and safe.

Filed Under: Teacher Interviews, Video Interviews Tagged With: duncan peak, modern yoga, Power Living, wanderlust

About Kara-Leah Grant

Kara-Leah is an internationally-renowned writer, teacher and retreat leader. Millions of people have been impacted by the articles, books and videos she has published over the last ten years. Her passion is liberation in this lifetime through an every day path of dissolving layers of tension into greater and greater freedom and joy. You can find out more about her, including when her next retreats are, on her website. Kara-Leah is the visionary and creator of The Yoga Lunchbox.

Trackbacks

  1. Yoga with Duncan Peak - Mr Modern Yoga - Fit Gangster says:
    July 16, 2015 at 6:49 pm

    […] yoga community like a wildfire. Power Living is an Australia yoga company started ten years ago by founder and CEO Duncan Peak. While he’s unequivocally the leader of Modern Yoga here in Oz, he’s also got a near cult […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Copyright © 2021 · News Pro Theme Ham on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in