Jun 2018 We recently had the pleasure of interviewing Alice Gray – Instructor at Wild View Retreat

I’m a Glasgow based vinyasa and yin yoga teacher. Three years ago, I had no idea that I would be doing what I am doing now.

I used to live in London and have a background in PR and Communications. At the time I did a lot of yoga and decided to embark on a teacher training. I used to see yoga just as something to make me physically more strong and flexible. I had no idea at the time that actually, the practice was making me stronger and more flexible on a far deeper plane than I thought it would.

The training made me realise that teaching was something that I wanted to pursue. I moved up to Glasgow two years ago and for the past 12 months of living in this city I have been teaching yoga full time. I love it.

What do you think the real benefit is in you practicing Yoga? what makes it so impactful?

For me, Yoga facilitates the uncovering that in reality everything is inherently and inexplicably related – within ourselves and also between each other. It is really easy to see things as separate from one another, but really, and this is pretty much the baseline yoga philosophy, nothing is separate.

That feeling of non-separation is always there and when you start to explore this you can see it in so many ways. For example, everything within our physical body is connected. The only reason we perceive ourselves to have separate parts, limbs etc. is because we choose to label them that way. And it’s the same with life, we give ourselves labels, the jobs we do, where we are from, what we like, dislike who are families are etc. Yoga is a practice, it’s an ebb and flow, it’s not that you get better at it, it’s that it facilitates and enhances what you know about yourself and it is continuous work. That to me is the real beauty of it.

And for someone who are hesitate about yoga, what would you say to alleviate their fears?

I would say that is a totally normal feeling and can empathise because I’ve also felt like that before in the past too. My biggest advice is that yoga meets you wherever you are. You don’t have to look or feel or be a certain way. All of my classes are mixed-experience, non-dogmatic and fully inclusive.

In terms of Wild View Retreat which week are you doing?

I’m in there in July for 2 weeks from 10th to the 24th. I have known Andrew, the owner of Wild View Retreat, for a good couple of years. We connected through yoga and was incredibly inspired seeing his dream of having a retreat centre turn from an idea to reality. I strongly believe in the importance of saying no to the things that don’t light you up so that you can say yes to the things that truly do. When asked if I wanted to hold space for Wild View Retreaters it was definitely an opportunity that I wanted to say yes to.

Wild View Retreat , Corgas Bravas as a location – what does this bring to the practice of Yoga?

The retreat is an opportunity to take a big breath in and pause. In my opinion it is not escapism, just a chance for people to immerse themselves in the practice of yoga and then take that back into their everyday lives.

I’ll be teaching 1 – 2 classes a day and I cannot wait. My aim is for people to come away feeling empowered and strong but in absolutely every sense of the words. You’ll find my classes sensitively balance both technique and creativity so that people come away feeling like they’ve really learnt something, but also at the same time having the opportunity to just get lost in the practice. Expect good music, heart-felt philosophy, no dogma, a little sweat, humour and warmth.