James E. Bryan E.R.Y.T. 500 - was born in 1953 in Los Angeles, California, and immigrated with his family to Auckland, New Zealand in 1969. Nicky Knoff was James' very first yoga teacher when he started classes at the New Zealand School of Yoga in 1982.

At the New Zealand School of Yoga James attended classes 3 times per week for the first 3 months, but then got the "yoga bug", and attended 7 days per week for the next 4 years.

One of the teachers at the New Zealand School of Yoga travelled to the U.K. for an extended holiday and approached James to take over his classes. This was the beginning of James' formal teacher training.

James taught yoga at the Auckland Crippled Children's Society every Friday afternoon for 2 years. This was a wonderful learning experience and taught him how to adapt and modify the classical yoga postures to suit every body.

In 1986 James attended a Teacher Training intensive at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, in Pune, India with B.K.S. Iyengar and Geeta Iyengar. In the same year, James moved to Australia to join Nicky Knoff in setting up the Queensland School of Yoga in Noosaville.

In 1987 James attended his first Vipassana Meditation 10-day silent retreat, which was led by S.N. Goenka. James attended another 3 10-day silent retreats.

From 1982 James practised, studied and taught Iyengar Yoga and in 1988 was certificated as a Junior Iyengar Yoga Teacher. In 1989 James was certificated as an Intermediate Level III Iyengar Yoga Teacher.

In 1989 James travelled to Mysore, India to study Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga with K. Pattabhi Jois, where he learned the first 3 Series. In 1991 he travelled to Hawaii to learn the 4th Series from Nancy Gilgoff at the House of Yoga and Zen, Haiku, Upcountry, Maui.

In 1992 James assisted Nicky with opening the Ashtanga Yoga Academy in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

In 2000, James moved with Nicky to Colorado, USA where they opened the Academy of Yoga. For the next 4 years, James explored many yoga schools throughout the United States and also attended the Yoga Journal Estes Park Convention for 4 consecutive years, where he studied with many famous yoga teachers.

James returned to Australia in 2004 and is now based in Cairns, Far North Queensland where he teaches public classes, private classes, yoga therapy, and assists with the teacher training courses at the Knoff Yoga Headquarters.

In sharing with Nicky passion for teaching the Knoff Yoga System, James continues to refine the fundamental aspects of the unique learning and teaching programe.

To listen to an interview with James Bryan on Yoga Teacher Podcasts, click on the link below:-

http://www.yogateacherpodcasts.com/category/yoga-teacher-stories/james-e-bryan/