Sally Riddell (Ruby 9 Yoga, Chant, Stories) is a Yoga Teacher, Yoga Therapist, teacher of Vedic Chant, and Storyteller from Perth, Western Australia.
I began practicing yoga when I was 14 and have been teaching since 2000. Yoga has, over these many years, shown me a way of being in the world that is observant of, and honours the rhythms of my body, my breath and my mind in conjunction with the cycles of the natural world. It has given me tools to navigate youth, a working life, mothering and so much more.
My training stems from the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya, following the guidance of my teachers T.K.V. Desikachar, his family and the teachers from the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram (Chennai, India).
In this tradition yoga is a completely holistic experience combining body, breath and mind, encouraging a deeper understanding of how and why we feel on a physical and mental level.
Moving dynamically from one posture to the next, in combination with the breath, builds capacity to eventually come to stillness, physically and mentally, with ease and comfort.
Each student is encouraged on a personal journey towards physical and mental health and spiritual growth.
The inclusive practices I teach include āsana (body postures), prāṇāyāma (breathing practices), chant, meditation, reflection, visualisation, and mudra-s (hand gestures).
My chant teachers, the late Radha Sundarajaran, and Debby Badger, and philosophy teacher Valerie Faneco, have guided and inspired me to explore my voice, the therapeutic value of yoga and chanting and to dive deeply into Yogic philosophy.
As a storyteller I have been fortunate to work with some wonderful mentors, in particular, American storyteller Laura Simms, with whom I have been working for three years. My storytelling studies have also inspired and deepened both my personal voice, and the way in which I teach yoga.
My personal style of teaching is inspired by the resonance of chant, the wonder of storytelling and the workings of metaphor in daily life. This richness of yoga, chant, philosophy, of story, self-reflection and enquiry filters into everything I do. All of these are fundamental to how I choose to be in this world.
My Approach
Sally offers classes to groups and individuals, to promote health and well being. Following the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya all the "tools’ of yoga are incorporated.
In this tradition yoga is a completely holistic experience combining body, breath and mind, encouraging a deeper understanding of how and why we feel on a physical and mental level.
Moving dynamically from one posture to the next in combination with the breath builds capacity to eventually come to stillness, physically and mentally, with ease and comfort.
Each student is encouraged on a personal journey towards physical and mental health and spiritual growth.
All the “tools” of yoga are incorporated. These include:
- asana (body movements)
- pranayama (breath
- awareness/exercises)
- chanting
- bhavana (visualisation)
- mudra (gestures),
- meditation and a combination of these
- self reflection
These techniques are utilized in a practical and experiential manner.
General class sizes are small (no more than 10 students ) so that the needs of each student can be catered for.