... of a Yoga Instructor

From the Evening Telegraph by Tony Smith

A calming influence on Peter

To many people, the ancient art of yoga is shrouded in mystery and mysticism, a strange practice that originated in the east centuries ago but has been adopted in more modern times by ‘New Age’ devotees.

To former English and drama teacher Gail Cosserat, it is a way to find contentment and well being in a stressful world – a peaceful panacea for all kinds of ailments, from back problems to arthritis.

It is a talent she has used to help people in all walks of like, not least Wellingborough snooker ace Peter Ebdon, who included Gail in this back-up team when he won the world championship last week.

Gail and her husband Brian run the Inner Healing School of Yoga in Great Doddington, which Gail founded 11 years ago, to pass on more of the secrets of relaxation and meditation. More than 200 students flock to her various weekly yoga classes in the village and in Wellingborough and she also visits schools to help de-stress sixth-formers before their A-levels.

“There is still an air of mystery about yoga,” says Gail, “People still tend to think it’s just tying yourself up in knots, but it is simply a system which looks at health in a different way. It is a purely holistic approach, mind over matter if you like, whereby the physical body is 1 per cent of the whole, and the mental, emotional, intellectual and spiritual body is 99 per cent.

Middlesex born Gail was a schoolteacher for 20 years before switching careers. She attended a two-year training course and now teaches other students to become instructors.

“The course looks into the whole philosophy of yoga, of which there are many forms, but the sort I teach is about moving the body just to the point it wishes to go. There are said to be 84,000 variations of postures but I use a limited few, moving slowly into a series of stretches.

“Each 90-minute class begins where the person lies flat on their back in the “corpse” position and performs breathing exercises for 5 to 10 minutes, sometimes to music. Students then assume various positions, from the classic cross-legged ‘easy’ posture to the more challenging headstand or cycling from the shoulder.

“The breath is the most important part of the body, vital to every cell – the idea is to breathe out our anxieties and inner shadows and breathe in light, colour and happiness. I might spend a few weeks working on the abdomen, or lower back, and it may be 10 classes before students are ready for the shoulder stand.”

Classes have up to 40 students, from teenagers to pensioners, and most are women – though not all! They range from busy businessmen to harassed housewives. Yoga is said to be good therapy for many conditions, from stress and depression to angina, asthma and high blood pressure.

Gail said: “Today people lead such hectic lives and are under so much pressure that there is a lot of ‘hurry sickness’. Yoga has been medically proven to help the body’s natural healing process.”