Mount Maunganui Yoga Teacher: Ross Howatson
November 18, 2009 by Kara-Leah Grant
Filed under Yoga Teacher Profiles
New Zealand Yoga Teacher Ross Howatson
After number of years overseas teaching at a variety of places, including Pure Yoga in Asia, Ross has returned to New Zealand to spread the yoga joy here.
He opened the first Bikram studios in Auckland and the Mount and is back teaching at the Mount Yoga Studio – for now anyway.
While overseas, Ross was able to study with a who’s who line-up of internationally renowned teachers including John Friend, Shiva Rea, Paul Grilley, David Swenson, Rodney Yee, Bikram Choudhury, Swami Muktidharma, Desiree Rumbaugh, and David Life & Sharon Gagnon.
His mission now he’s back in Kiwiland is:
… to build “Shaktipod” (New Zealand’s first?) transportable yoga studio (on the back of a large firetruck for good karma) touring the South Island (and North) early next year.
Ross is teaching a three hour workshop for all levels at Mount Yoga Studio called ‘Shaktipod with Yogaross’ on Sunday December 6th. Contact the studio for more information.
1. What style of yoga do you practice and where do you teach?
It is a combination of all that I have learned from many different teachers sometimes Yin sometimes Yang and other times in between.
2. How did you come to yoga?
I didn’t….it came to me 
3. When did the yoga bug really get you?
It was during a conversation with a Yoga teacher in Toronto that I realised this was my path, although I had not yet taken a class! The bells went off in my head and since then yoga has been a constant in my life…..oh and kiteboarding….
4. How has yoga transformed your life?
It has all been about letting go….and the transformation to acceptance of all that is has been mindblowing, at the same time it has also been very natural as if I already knew this was how it is….life
5. What is your home practice like?
My rare Chinese star sign is “Fire Horse” who tend to be all go then easily bored. Hence my practice is constantly changing as it should….and very challenging for me, sometimes, and other times not. Its mostly about setting intentions and following them through, be it meditative or physical, constantly changing and learning to be en-joy with it all.
6. When people ask you, “What is Yoga?”, what do you say?
Yoga is the glorification of our spirit, it is the realisation that our Mana, our Shakti, our Prana, our Energy, our Chi can shine brightly. Whether it be through hatha yoga, karma yoga, vedanta yoga, bikram yoga, astanga yoga, yogalaties, yogahiphop yogayoga any yoga…..
7. What can people expect from one of your classes?
Always I ask that people get connected, so you can expect to get connected to your source physically, spiritually however way you wish to determine what your source is at that particular time. Your “source” is something you feel, and once you have felt it then you “know”, that’s what I ask you to try to connect to.
8. What do you love most about teaching yoga?
Ha ….getting connected! “The teacher and the taught together become the teaching”
9. What do you wish everybody knew about yoga?
For the layman new to yoga, I wish to them to know Yoga is not about stretching nor do you have to put your foot behind your head, this is only what you “see” (flexible people doing).
Yoga is connecting us to our sense of self, so no need to fear about flexibility in the first instance! For experienced practitioners I wish that Yoga is not put into a box that fits into a square hole nor is it any other “shape” – it is different things to different people, no one way is the right way for all.
10. What role do you see yoga playing in our world?
There is a critical mass of people who are finding yoga as a means to discovering the joy of living, as this critical mass, like a slow rolling boulder, gathers momentum my hope is that yoga’s role will bring peace, joy, lets call it love! Lets call it God! Spell God it backwards and call Dog if you like (its all God to me) this….will benefit all beings in our world.
11. Anything else you’d like to say?
NO YOGA NO PEACE, KNOW YOGA KNOW PEACE
12. And finally, how do people find you?
Keep logging into Prana Flow! Or email me bluehorse27@gmail.com Kia ora!
