Neil Taylor is a highly skilled, thoroughly trained and experienced Yoga teacher, Meditation Teacher and Bodyworker. Having spent years studying Yoga, Buddhist Meditation, Anatomy & Physiology and Manual Therapy, Neil integrates these influences into a a rich tapestry that guides students along the path of practice.
Neil has a unique ability to bring a striking clarity to the subtlest nuances in the body, breath, heart and mind. His classes blend the metaphorical language of poetry with the somatic language of the body to illuminate the experience of embodied presence.
Neil is the founder of 5 Element Yoga, a somatic and scientific approach to the ancient and mystical framework of connecting with the elemental energies within us, that mirror the natural world around us.
During the early part of the pandemic, while looking for a way to give himself bodywork in an era of social distancing, Neil began approaching his Asana (yoga posture) practice as a way to target the soft tissues, joints and subtle-body systems that needed attention, balance and relief. This exploration led to a completely new approach, that blossomed into 5 Element Yoga. Informed by the therapeutic intention of bodywork, illuminated by the sensory clarity of meditation and housed in the precision of hatha (physical) Yoga, the 5 element approach offers a practice that harmonizes our whole being.
What are the 5 Elements?
The 5 Elements are Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. Each element manifests as expressions in the physical body and in qualities of the mental, emotional and spiritual landscapes of our being. They can be sensed in seasons, colors, sacred sounds and in personalities. Through practice one can come to know these energies directly. As ones relationship and awareness with these elements deepens, the practitioner can experientially traverse through the subtler layers of the body, into relationship with the non-physical realms of the heart, mind and spirit. Peering out into the phenomenal world we inhabit, we discover these energies are everywhere and embedded in everything. By connecting to both the inner and outer elements, our sense of separation begins to soften. As this veil that separates us from what we are can eventually dissolve, it presents the possibility of stepping into a more expansive experience of ourselves; one that is marked by a vibrant clarity, a deep peace, and a profound recognition of our innate wholeness.