Mark Westmoquette (PhD)
|
About my Yoga:
After over 10 years of yoga practice with teachers from various styles, I trained as a zen yoga teacher with the Zenways school in 2009. Since then I have studied intensively with yoga teacher Jonathan Monks and have continued my Zen Buddhist practice with Daizan Roshi. These two teachers and practices are the main influences in my yoga teaching. My classes combine mindful posture and flow routines with an aim to finding how to both strengthen and soften the body and mind, build flexibility and develop our connection with the ground and the world around us. My classes may not often be particularly fast-paced, but they will be physically intense. To me, yoga means the union of seemingly opposite forces/concepts to find what lies beneath and beyond. So I encourage my students to try to find strength through letting go, and intensity within gentleness. For more info see my Yoga FAQ page. |
Receiving my Zenways yoga teaching certificate from Zen master Daizan Skinner
|
My background in mindfulness/meditation:
I've been practising Zen under the guidance of Zen master Julian Daizan Skinner Roshi since 2007. Since then I have been teaching mindfulness and meditation in a variety of settings, including in my 8-week courses and on various workshops and retreats. Yoga and meditation in fact work in very much the same direction, with one emphasising mindfulness and awareness more through movement and the body, and the other more through the mind and your thoughts.
In the summer of 2015, I took temporary ordination as a Zen monk and went on a pilgrimage walk through the country (from Dorset to Lancashire) – see photo on right. With no money, I had to rely on the generosity of strangers for my food, and finding some shelter for the nights. In 2016, I did the ceremonies to become a junior-level Zen teacher.
Until 2013 I was a scientist doing research in astronomy at the European Southern Observatory in Munich, and before that at UCL in London. After almost 10 years in an office-job, I know very well the aches, pains, and physical and emotional stresses that can develop within a pressured work environment. My approach fosters curiosity and awareness as we hurtle through the universe!
I've been practising Zen under the guidance of Zen master Julian Daizan Skinner Roshi since 2007. Since then I have been teaching mindfulness and meditation in a variety of settings, including in my 8-week courses and on various workshops and retreats. Yoga and meditation in fact work in very much the same direction, with one emphasising mindfulness and awareness more through movement and the body, and the other more through the mind and your thoughts.
In the summer of 2015, I took temporary ordination as a Zen monk and went on a pilgrimage walk through the country (from Dorset to Lancashire) – see photo on right. With no money, I had to rely on the generosity of strangers for my food, and finding some shelter for the nights. In 2016, I did the ceremonies to become a junior-level Zen teacher.
Until 2013 I was a scientist doing research in astronomy at the European Southern Observatory in Munich, and before that at UCL in London. After almost 10 years in an office-job, I know very well the aches, pains, and physical and emotional stresses that can develop within a pressured work environment. My approach fosters curiosity and awareness as we hurtle through the universe!
Qualifications/Experience:
- 8 years of regular yoga class teaching in London and Munich, Germany. Registered as an E-RYT 200 (Experienced Yoga Teacher) with the Yoga Alliance
- Junior-level Zen teacher. Given authority to teach in July 2016.
- YogaMonks sadhana course years 1, 2 & 3 (2012-2015)
80hrs spread over 10 weekends per year concentrating breath, movement, and deepening our yoga practice, including an associated daily yoga practice. - Zenways 200hr Advanced Mindfulness & Meditation Teacher Training (October 2014)
- Zenways 200hr Yoga Teacher Training (qualified Oct 2008)
Yoga Alliance registered and Independent Yoga Network accredited course with a strong Zen Buddhist influence, run by Julian Daizan Skinner. http://zenways.org/training/yoga-teacher-training.html
"The body is a device to calculate the astronomy of the spirit" - Rumi