FRED OTIENO
200hr Baptiste power yoga vinyasa teacher training, Art of Assisting, Thai massage therapy training, and a teacher training catering to children with special needs in 2015.
I completed my academic career through high school and it was just after that I joined the AYP Academy. After dancing for many years, I tried yoga and immediately fell in love. It was here where my journey of being a yoga instructor began. In 2014, I completed my first 200hr Baptiste power yoga vinyasa teacher training in Nairobi and Naivasha. It was led by Paige Elenson, the co-founder of the Africa Yoga project, and Kristine Mooney, a Baptiste yoga senior teacher. Prior to this training, I had been partaking in various types of yoga as my practice, which allowed me to become a more powerful teacher.
Later, I also became certified in AYP’s Art of Assisting, Thai massage therapy training, and a teacher training catering to children with special needs in 2015. This program took place in Nairobi and was led by Sonia Sumar (otherwise known as Shiva Karmy). This yoga type is a therapeutic approach for infants and children with down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and learning disabilities. More recently, I completed a human anatomy class in 2016 to better understand the human body through a yoga practice.
I chose to become a yoga teacher because of my own transformation I had through the practice. I realized that many young people in my community are inspired and transformed by yoga, propelling me to provide more opportunities for them to practice.
Currently, I still teach yoga in my community through outreach classes and am planning to open my own yoga studio before the end of the year. I believe that yoga allows me to find my peace, love, and inspiration--all of which I reflect back to the world.
Namaste