Graduate Story: Josh Caple – Graduated 2017
Josh’s Yoga Journey
Yoga is something I’ve come back to again and again at different times in my life for different reasons.
I first dabbled with it when I was a teenager, I had been an elite gymnast and retired into the life of a rock climbing bum. Yoga helped to maintain some of the strength and flexibility from gymnastics and supported my climbing. Over the years I’ve managed to break my back a few times (twice snowboarding, once skydiving… the ground keeps winning and yoga has helped me to rehabilitate and manage that.
When the passion for yoga began
I really came to fall in love with yoga in 2014. I was having a bit of a destructive journey with various substances at the time and my version of rehab was spending a month in the Peruvian Amazon working with traditional healers. It was a very intense & very confronting month, and some days it felt like the yoga practice that I was learning to cultivate was all that kept me going. A couple years later I decided it was finally time to dive deeper, I thought I’d have to go to India or back to the jungle to find the right teacher. However, a mutual friend put me in touch with Michael de Manincor, and in 2017 I started my first teacher training with his incredible 500hr program.
Working as a private yoga mentor
There are operations of our minds that we are unaware of. These, at times, can work against us by repeating patterns of thought, feelings and actions that lead to unhappiness, or by interfering with healthy relationships.
Lately I haven’t been teaching many group classes but I really enjoy working privately with people, mentoring them in various aspects of the system of Yoga and to help them develop a personalised practice so that they can really learn to guide themselves deeper.
Yoga really is a gift that has kept on giving and I’m intrigued to see what it teaches me next!
What is Josh doing now?
Currently I’m working in a private clinic offering Transpersonal Counselling and yoga mentoring at Qi Health and Yoga in both Manly and Freshwater. I’m also teaching a few classes and workshops. I’m also contributing to a wonderful online Yoga and Recovery program to support people recovering from addiction (emergerecovery.com).
Prior to COVID, I was playing music and teaching yoga at music festivals (places like Subsonic, Burning Seed, Dragon Dreaming, Rabbits Eat Lettuce). COVID has dictated that my dancing shoes are getting a little R&R. I’m really looking forward to borders opening up again so that I can offer yoga, wilderness and adventure-based retreats around the world.
What opportunities are there for yoga teachers?
I hear a lot of people express frustration about the yoga industry and how hard it is, which I totally get. There’s a lot of teachers, there’s a lot of studios, people are hustling for work and having to teach massive days to make ends meet.
I do think, there is a lot of opportunity if you are showing up with your own flavour to be able to share that and carve out a niche. COVID has really pushed a lot of people to engage differently which I think has been challenging for many of us in a lot of ways. It’s also wonderful in how we are seeing more people exploring different platforms and different frameworks for connecting to students and supporting themselves.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Lots! Come connect with me and allow me that opportunity 😉 I’ve got a bunch of yummy things coming up, check out joshcaple.com/events for details.
How can we support you?
Since 2001 The Yoga Institute has taught and mentored hundreds of students who have gone on to become amazing yoga teachers. We’ve grown a beautiful community of people who have changed their own lives and the lives of others through exceptional yoga teaching. We are humbled to have been part of so much positive change.