Meet
Your Instructor
Ryan Gary Edmonds
Sevak Hari Singh
My name is Ryan Edmonds (spiritual name, Sevak Hari Singh), and I feel extremely blessed to be of service to the sacred teachings of Yoga, as well as all the students of our school who train in this ancient study of Vedic Science.
Welcome to the AFRISHANTI YOGA SCHOOL.
Yoga has given me a road paved with gems of joy.
How my inability to catch a ball brought me to yoga...
My journey into the study of Vedic (ancient Indian) healing sciences started as a teenager who wasn't interested in competitive sports, but had a deep passion for spirituality, and wanted to find a healthy means of working with my body that didn't require me catching a ball!
One day, as a first-year psychology student at the University of Johannesburg, I attended a yoga class at a local commercial gym - and that day changed my life forever. My first teacher's name was Desley White, and her passion for yogic movement was infectious. The bug had bitten me. I seemed to have a natural talent for asana (yogic postures), and very quickly my time on the mat became the highlight of my day.
The apprentice becomes the teacher
It wasn't long before Desley suggested I do my certification as a yoga teacher. I was referred to YTF chairlady, Marina Contardo, who became my mentor in the lineage of ISHTA Yoga. Once qualifying as an ISHTA Yoga Teacher (a 500 hour TTC which required weekly lectures over 1 year) I moved to the Cape and immediately began to teach. I was in heaven!
Teaching yoga has taught me innumerable skills, given me countless gifts, and allowed me to travel the world. I have taught in informal township settlements and in palaces. I have taught every age from 2-years-old to a students in their 90's. Teaching has led me to run events at globally-attended corporate wellness days, retreats, spiritual festivals, schools, hospitals, retirement villages, on television, private yachts, in forests, on mountains, and at studios and ashrams all around South Africa and India.
Teacher of teachers
At the same time I was completing an additional training in Kundalini Yoga (200 hr IKYTA TTC), I was given the gift of continuing the ISHTA lineage of yoga to a new generation of teachers. This required me to prepare a massive course syllabus (rooted in the traditional ISHTA training principals), complete with manuals, online video content, in-person lectures, and an away-retreat. This new challenge was just what I needed to dive even deeper into my own personal yogic journey.
To date I have trained and certified yoga teachers from many countries all around the world, of ages from 18 to 68. I have never been interested in mass-market yoga courses, and so I offer 1 intimate training per year, with a deep focus on academic and practical excellence! All the alumni who graduate from the AfriShanti Yoga School form part of an intimate global family.
Qualifications
Usui Reiki Master (1999-2001)
Life Line Counsellor (2006)
Studied Hypnosis & Parts Therapy (SAIH, Non-medical, 2008)
ISHTA Yoga Teacher (RYT 500, 2011)
Graduate in Psychology (University of Johannesburg, 2011)
Hospice Bereavement Counsellor (2015)
ISHTA Yoga Teacher Trainer & Certifier (RYS 200, RYS 300, 2016)
Kundalini Yoga Teacher (RYT 200, 2016)
Work
SADAG Senior Suicide & Mental Health Counsellor (South African Depression & Anxiety Group, 2008-2012)
SADAG School Projects Manager (Dept. Social Development, Dept. of Education, 2009-2012)
Freelance Journalist (Mental Health Advisor & Media Consultant, 2010-2015)
Corporate Wellness Consultant, (2009-present)
Wellness Retreats, (2009-present)
Human Behavioural Expert & Holistic Wellness Counsellor, (2012-present)
Non-Medical Hypnosis Practitioner
Radio, Television & Written Media
Radio: 5FM, Cape Talk, KFM, 702, Radio Jacaranda, Kimberly, Heart FM, UJ FM, MFM, Radio Islam, Clicks FM
TV: BBC, Al Jazeera, SABC News, News 24, Expresso, Morning Express, Top Billing, Hectic 9, Good Morning Africa
Written: Men's Health, Women's Health, African Journal of Psychiatry, Waiting Room, Huisgenooit, Sunday Times, Psychology
Speaker & Trainer
Ernst & Young (NextGen NPO Wellness Retreats, 2016-2018)
UCT Medical Students - Discovery Health Suicide Prevention Programme
Wits Medical Student Department
Board of Healthcare Funders Annual Conference
African Congress of Psychiatry
Registered With
Registered Wellness Counsellor (ASCHP)
Yoga Teachers' Fellowship (YTF)
International Yoga Federation (IYF)