Yoga: I have learnt to be more thoughtful and less reactive

Angela Inglish is a 31-year-old American yoga teacher who has lived in Uganda for the past eight-and-a-half years. She did her first yoga training between 2008 and 2011 in Uganda with a Danish teacher but later went to India in 2010 to master her art.
A graduate of Economics with a master’s degree in International Development, Inglish first fell in love with yoga when her mother invited her to try one of her yoga classes. On getting there, she was attracted to the sport since being still in the mind brought her so much peace. “It had a certain mental and physical aspect,” she recalls.

Inglish, the owner and director of Good Glass, a glass recycling company says for one to take up yoga, “they have to have an open mind to try something new.” She has trained members of Giz (a German agency), staff of ministry of health, students from Makerere University School of public health and another group from Kenya.
Inglish who teaches three public classes a week, also conducts some private sessions at home and some organisations have hired her to train their employees. She trains adults but also instructs children on a few occasions. She has also instructed seniors who had to sit on chairs during lessons.
She says yoga helps you find your inner self. “Because of yoga, I have learnt to be more thoughtful and less reactive in times of crisis,” she says. She finds it better to sit in a yoga class and meditate than to retaliate when a misunderstanding comes up.

“No matter what is going on, doing yoga makes my body and mind feel relaxed. In a stressful condition, I just have to remind myself that it is not the end of the world,” she adds.
Of the famous yoga poses, arm balancing is her favourite. Her biggest challenge is that yoga is quite expensive in Uganda and some people think it is a demonic practice. On this she says, “anyone can do yoga be it a Christian, a Hindu or Muslim.”
Yoga does not have to be spiritual but one can link it to religion. When you come into the quiet environment of the yoga class, you can forget the stress of daily life and find inner peace. Yoga helps to remove obstacles in life, leading to more love for others.

Inglish’s yoga class lasts one and a half hours and sometimes involves people sharing their opinions on previously agreed upon topics. You may have seen a yoga practitioner chant some words in a film but Inglish explains that the chants originate from ancient yoga, which was in Sanskrit-an ancient Indian language which is out of use today.
Inglish says yoga is a relatively slow practice and as long as one listens to their body and the instructor, they will be able to avoid injuries.
Besides training yoga, Inglish loves bird watching, reading and travelling. She is engaged and has no children.