Andy Gill

 Introducing Ashtanga Yoga Hastings

At AYH, we offer a collaborative approach to how we share and teach Yoga. The assisted self-practice approach to teaching allows us to work one to one with our students in a shared group practice setting. This approach to teaching is often referred to as ’Mysore’ style, after the city in India where Ashtanga Yoga originates from, and is the traditional way that Ashtanga Yoga is shared. 

In our space we teach our students to follow and explore posture through a regular sequence of postures. The Ashtanga sequence provides a framework in which they can have a deeper experience of yoga; familiarity and understanding in posture allows new layers of experience and sensation to arise, developing a deeper connection to body and the self. Yoga in this space can become a deeply meditative experience. 

Through verbal and physical adjustments, and the sharing of a range of tools and techniques, we are able to support and help our students develop their own personal practice, one that suits their needs and capabilities, giving the opportunity to deepen their experience of Yoga in a way that is simply not possible in a led class.

This allows us to accommodate differing practices and abilities, from dynamic challenging hand and arm balances, to more therapeutic and restorative approaches, all in the same space at the same time! We meet our students where they are each day, on the mat.

Our Self practice classes are all early morning classes, before the working day, and are held on Tuesday 07:15 to 09:15, Wednesday 07:15 to 09:00 and Thursday 07:15 to 09:15. You can drop in at any time during these 2 hours.

Andy is a senior yoga teacher who has been practicing Yoga for over 30 years. He first explored Yoga through a Hatha Yoga class and his exploration took him from Hatha Yoga to Iyengar Yoga before finding his Spiritual Yoga home in the Ashtanga Yoga method.

Andy has been teaching Ashtanga Yoga for over 17 years. He is a 3rd Series practitioner and has extensive knowledge and experience in teaching Primary, 2nd and 3rd Series asana practice in the Ashtanga method. He started his teaching through a teaching apprenticeship with his teacher Gingi Lee at The Shala in South London and subsequently trained with John Scott and Lucy Scott, becoming Senior teacher and assistant to John, working on workshops and retreats around the world.

Andy teaches Ashtanga Yoga, a traditional Vinyasa Krama style practice, that synchronises breath and movement. His teaching also draws strongly upon influences from Iyengar and Hatha Yoga, as well as Biomechanics and Functional Anatomy.

In his classes, Andy combines the precision of biomechanics and functional movement with the fluidity of the Ashtanga Vinyasa method. As a Yoga teacher, and an experienced Yoga practitioner in his mid-fifties, Andy understands and respects the needs of the individual student, which is at the heart of his teaching. He brings an intelligent, creative, supportive, collaborative, playful and non-dogmatic approach to sharing Yoga.

Andy has a wealth of teaching experience, from London yoga studios to retreats and workshops around the world, and is excited to have the opportunity to share his knowledge and experience with the Hastings community. This class will offer a space for playful exploration in finding freedom in your body and mind!

Andy is the co-founder of Ashtanga Yoga Hastings, a yoga community set up to serve the needs of Ashtanga Yoga students and teachers in the Hastings, St Leonards, East Sussex areas and beyond!

For more information and for our full schedule you can email us at yoga@andygill.me or ashtangayogahastings@gmail.com, or visit our instagram page @ashtangayogahastings