Cathie Shuster...

I have been practising yoga for 20 years, having been drawn to it initially when I was first unwell with ME (chronic fatigue syndrome). At that time I was the mother of three small children, having left my career as a GP to start my family. I had never really known how to relax and my first yoga class was quite a revelation – I was experiencing a much happier body! Up to that time I considered myself sporty and fit but a tendency to drive myself too hard had taken me into illness. Little did I realise how important yoga was to become for me. Now I consider that my discovery of yoga has been instrumental in the recovery of my overall health and, through my personal practice, I have recognised the importance of care of our bodies and minds in a much deeper way.

 

After 12 years of slowly improving health, knowing that being a doctor was not a healthy world for me, I considered retraining as a primary school teacher or as a counselor. Meanwhile I had become a sailing club race coach and discovered how I loved teaching in more physical way too. After my second yoga retreat I came home ‘fired up’ and energized… I knew how to get back into work and continue on the road to wellness – I would train to teach YOGA!

 

My teaching

 

Having been sporty, an ex-GP, and a singer YOGA TEACHING brings together all aspects of myself: my love of using the physical body and of science, anatomy and physiology; the mind and psychology; sound and the use of the voice; inspirational writings; art, colour and form; geometry; dance and movement; the natural world and ancient wisdom; and, of course, my love of people of all ages – I have taught students from aged 4 to 95.

 

As a British Wheel trained teacher I have a foundation of hatha yoga. When I teach I am inspired to bring in the wonder and joy of our whole being. I encourage my students to let go of ‘over-thinking’ and to use the senses so they can fully ‘inhabit their bodies’. I ask them ‘to trust their body’s messages and truth’ and to be ‘accepting and non-judgmental of themselves’. I share my sense of fun and lightness of heart and teach how exploration, curiosity and play is very important in yoga!

 

I know that when we allow ourselves to be driven by the pace and expectations of the western world today, we find ourselves in trouble - physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. If we neglect any aspect of ourselves we can become depleted on every level, thus losing our sense of being ‘integrated’. This manifests in our lives as ‘dis-ease’, stress and unmanageability.

 

My inclusive style of teaching, informed on every level by my own experience of ill health, means that people with every condition and difficulty – from back issues to anxiety and depression, from asthma to knee injuries – can learn to use yoga to help them back to wellness.

 

So yoga is not just about what happens on our mat!

 

I encourage my students to find ways of taking what they have learned in classes back into their lives: to strengthen and bring flexibility to the mind and body, to release tension, to breath better, to become attuned to the natural world and to be able to enjoy life more. Also to learn to be peaceful with what is – to live life on life’s terms.

To live our lives harmoniously is the greatest joy and it is possible for us all if we just know HOW.

Wouldn’t we all like more of that!

 

My classes

 

I have several weekly classes including a meditation class which are all growing steadily. I also have a qualification to teach Yoga for Children and hope to be starting children’s yoga classes later in 2015, please email me if you are interested in this area. Together with Sue Staziker, I’ve been running Creative Chakra Connections courses for six years which have drawn on all of the above. In October 2014 Sue Staziker and I ran a very successful residential retreat in Dunwich, SUFFOLK and are running another in October 2015. I am also qualified as a Satvik Energy Therapist, a two-year, intensive course which has enhanced and deepened my teaching.

 

Cathie is always totally professional during her yoga classes, combining great good humour and an easy relaxation. She demonstrates and explains each pose with care, then ensures that each member of the class is moving appropriately and with complete safety. In her teaching Cathie has a very gentle, loving approach, allowing the participants to be themselves totally, yet helping them to widen and deepen in their own understanding. She has great inner strength, using her knowledge of the chakras and her own healing abilities to help both herself and others in every possible way.  

Joanna Dayton

 

My influences

 

I have been influenced by teachers following in the footsteps of Vanda Scaravelli who worked with Iyengar and T.K.V. Desikachar. I owe my foundation of yoga practice and teaching to my teacher Sue Staziker and diploma teacher trainer Elaine Fletcher. My personal practise is also influenced by Peter Blackaby, Donna Farhi and those who have studied Sivananda Yoga which is founded on the five principles of right exercise (asana), right breathing (pranayama), right relaxation, right thinking and right diet. My teaching is grounded in the asana and pranayama of Hatha yoga, the development of the meditative mind of Raja yoga, the focus on the individual’s needs of Viniyoga, the selfless action of Karma yoga and the loving service of Bhakti yoga.

 

Attendance at regular workshops and retreats gives me a chance to deepen my personal practice and my teaching.

 

My qualifications

• MBBS
• BWYQ Dip
• BWY Module Yoga for Children
• Satvik Energy Therapist

 

 

From the first moment I met Cathie, I knew that she was a very special person indeed. She has a deep level of spirituality – an inner light within her that shines brightly. I can truly say that I feel blessed to know her. 

Susan Williams

 

 

Cathie is a natural teacher, her enthusiasm for her subject whether it be yoga or meditation is immediately obvious. She encourages all her students to achieve their goals and her methods show her care and compassion. In yoga she endeavours to find a posture that is both demanding and yet achievable for each student. Cathie’s support and classes over the last few years have helped me to accept who I am and what I can achieve. I can’t thank her enough. 

Suzie Smith

 

 

Yoga is the art and science of living, and is concerned with the evolution of mind and body. Therefore, yoga incorporates a system of disciplines for furthering an integrated development of all aspects of the individual. 

Swami Satyananda Saraswati (Yoga Education for Children)

 

There is a wealth of living philosophy behind yoga that once understood and combined with practice, can make our yoga training deeper, stronger and more satisfying. With this knowledge we are able to bring yoga into all aspects of our daily lives and use it to deepen and enhance our approach to life. 

Mark Forster and Jo Manuel (The spiritual Teachings of Yoga)