Finding the precious present Yoga Lee Kennedy Originating in India more than 5,000 years ago, Yoga, which means ‘Union’ in Sanskrit, aims to draw together mind, body and soul. Traditionally in India, the various yoga practices or disciplines were developed as a methodology for reaching a spiritual goal. Today, millions of people around the world are experiencing the many benefits of yoga on practical, physical and psychological levels. Teaching lies at the core of the yoga tradition. Through practice, confidence grows, and the fruits of yoga are realised.
My journey Travelling alone in Australia, prior to the millennium, I attended my first yoga class at the Scarborough Yoga Centre in Perth. After that very first yoga class I was sure I wanted more – it just felt so right. (It is said that the universe provides what you need!)
Leaving Australia and travelling back through some of Asia, I felt for the first time in my life physically alive, but at the same time calmer and more at ease. I made the decision to start training as a yoga teacher.
In 2001, I received my first teaching Diploma with the Yoga Therapy and Training Centre in Co Down. From there, I went on to complete an advanced Teacher Training course with Ana Forrest of Forrest Yoga in Kripalu in Boston, Massachusetts. I have dedicated two and half years of my life to intensive study and training with the BKS Iyengar Yoga Association UK, and I continue to attend classes, workshops and retreats all over the world to enrich my teaching and deepen my own personal yoga practice.
I began by teaching weekly yoga classes at the Prana Yoga Centre, the first Yoga centre in Dublin, and I remained there for over two years. Myself and my family then relocated to Drogheda, Co Louth, where I offered classes at my home studio, eventually creating the first custom-built yoga studio in the area. Since moving to the west coast, my practice has continued to grow and my love of teaching has continued to deepen.
My approach The atmosphere in my classes is personal and calm, safe and non-competitive. I strive to create a sense of community in the classes. I also convey the healing aspects of yoga, and it is really warming when students talk about the ‘authenticity’ of my approach.
Over the years, I’ve really enjoyed working in the community with an extraordinarily diverse range of people. My clients have included six-week-old babies, children, young adults, new parents, adults recovering from road-traffic accidents, people with sports injuries, professional cyclists, soccer players, the travelling community, women who have difficulty conceiving, women with post-natal depression, women coping with the menopause and pro-lapse, people with varying degrees of depression and professionals who need to manage stress.
Over the next couple of months, my column will cover the fundamentals of yoga teaching. My articles will be informed by my student’s experiences, thoughts and opinions. Working closely with each student has enhanced my understanding of how to facilitate each individual through yoga. Indeed, through this work I have developed my own personal self-awareness, and this has in turn helped me become a better yoga teacher, mother and friend.
A rewarding lesson Among the most important insights that yoga has given me is the realisation that you don’t have to be anything – just be. It’s how you are in the present that counts.
It’s not an easy lesson in this goal-oriented society in which we are constantly striving for the future and dissecting the past. But when it’s learnt, it’s a powerful and liberating insight. It allows you to look someone in the eye and really mean it when you ask ‘how are you doing?’. Words we say easily and frequently, but which all too often mean little.
> Lee Kennedy currently lives in Co Mayo with her two children. She offers yoga classes in Westport, Newport and Castlebar. While Lee teaches yoga for all, she specialises in pregnancy-related classes. She received her qualifications from The Yoga Therapy & Training Centre and has studied with Janet Balaskas and Alice Charwood from the Active Birth Foundation London. She has also studied Thai yoga massage at the Wat Po Traditional Medical School in Bangkok, Thailand. If you have any comments or questions regarding Yoga or Lee’s classes, check out her website, yogadara.com, or contact her at 086 3906343 or
yogadara@gmail.com 
The practice of yoga has become a worldwide phenomenon – for a reason. Yoga teacher Lee Kennedy describes how she became passionate about the discipline, her approach and its benefits.
