Unity Yoga

A great opportunity to explore yoga in the Iyengar tradition with an emphasis on alignment and precision in asana. Laurence is a senior Iyengar teacher who has been teaching for over 20 years. He currently runs a yoga centre in Germany and regularly returns to the Iyengar Institute in Pune to study with BKS Iyengar.

Upcoming workshop dates: 

Sep 11, Saturday, 10a-4p

Additional focus of workshop:

An exploration of the inner and outer Environment:

The interrelationship of the body, mind and spirit will be explored and compared to the natural environment in which we live. Issues such as bio diversity, sustainability and energy appreciation and conservation are elements that should be interwoven in our practise and understanding of yoga. Thus our outer consciousness should be a reflection of our inner consciousness.

LAURENCE O’TOOLE: IN DEPTH BIO:

Outer
I started practicing yoga in 1975. Being disillusioned with dogmatic Christianity and suffering with lower back problems, yoga for me seemed to meet my needs. Although attending a few classes in Holland and self learning from a book, it was not until 1977 when I moved to Birmingham that I began practicing Iyengar Yoga. By 1979 my teacher Liz Keeble encouraged me to start teaching. In 1981 I had my first encounter with Yogacharya B K S Iyengar at a teachers workshop near Oxford. In 1983 I went to the Institute in Pune for the first time and attended general classes for a month. At about this time Jeanne Maslem started a teacher training course in Birmingham and in 1985 I became a certificated Introductory teacher. During the 1980’s I attended the conventions at Cheltenham, Manchester and London when Guruji came over to the UK. In 1993 I attended the Euro Convention at Crystal Palace. Throughout the 1980’s to 1995 I taught part time further education and private classes while earning my living in the 1990’s as a public artist.

In 1995 I moved over to Ireland and took up residence in County Cork. Here I taught adult education classes and private classes. In 1998 I went to India for Guruji’s 80th birthday intensive and was here encourage to deepen my practice and started teaching full time. Subsequently I took the Junior Intermediate assessments.

In 2001 an offer was made to me to teach at a yoga institute in Germany for the summer and I was persuaded to return on a permanent basis and so at the end of 2002 I took up residence in Ahrweiler, Germany. At the institute I taught general classes and learned about the therapeutic aspects of asanas, later taking over therapy groups and teaching the advanced classes. I also became involved in the teacher training and assessing for the German Association. For a number of consecutive years I attended courses at the Institute in Pune.

In 2004 I left the Institute and founded my own yoga school, teaching general, advanced and therapy classes. In 2005 I completed the Senior Intermediate assessments. Since going independent, I undertake workshops when requested around Germany and in Ireland. In 2007 I was invited to teach in California at the Yogacharya Festival and in 2008 invited to Dubai to teach an international group of students and teachers. In 2008 I was invited to The Netherlands as an assessor for Junior Intermediate assessments and have been requested again for 2009.

Inner
Over the years I have observed my own practice and teaching develop and mature. Fifteen year ago I was drawn to start or should I say attempt to meditate. In more recent years persistence and effort has been rewarded and that has been a source of strength and a wonderful blessing to this wayward child