About Randall and Ushma

About Randall

Randall O’Leary began practicing yoga in 1991, and has been teaching yoga since 1996. Originally from Madison, Wisconsin, Randall has taught yoga in a variety of places, including India, Europe, Africa, and the United States, and makes his yoga teaching home much of the year at the Sanctuary in Thailand. Over years of daily teaching at the Sanctuary, Randall developed his unique Jungleyoga style of yoga, and in 2008 the Jungleyoga Ashram became an official school of yoga.

Randall’s interest in yoga led him to travel to India in 1992, and since then he has made dozens of trips. In 2000 he became the student of a Sadhu by the name of Amargiri Nagababa, through whom Randall learned Hindi, Mantra vidya and Tantric ritual. In 2006 he took diksha (inititation) as a Sadhu of the Giri sampradaya, which has given him entry into elements of deeper Indian spirituality that are usually very challenging to access.

In addition to his work with the Sadhus in India, Randall’s deepest influences have been his exploration of Tantra in its many forms, and the yoga of Sri Sri Krishnamacharya. Randall was inspired to learn to read and write basic Sanskrit, has gained a working knowledge of Ayurvedic medicine and Jyotish (Vedic astrology), and studied classical yogic texts, including the Yoga Sutras and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Randall continues to deepen his understanding of yoga through a strong personal practice that began early on in his yoga career. In Randall’s words, “I feel that my greatest lessons in yoga were learned in this self- practice (and even into today), much more so than in any trainings, classes or books.  Most of my knowledge draws from my personal experiences in yoga practice and not theory or rhetoric.” This attitude is reflected in the Jungleyoga teaching training philosophy, which “relies upon the actual experience of yoga to be our teachers”.

Alongside his yoga practice, Randall studies Tai chi, and brings elements of the Taoist yogas into his teachings at times. He takes a humorous and lighthearted approach to yoga, and likes to shake things up with jokes and occasional Raggae Yoga offerings.

Randall completed his 500-hour teacher training with Yoga Arts in Byron Bay, Australia in 2006. Randall has been facilitating the Jungleyoga teacher training in Thailand since 2008, growing, refining, and evolving the system as he learns and experiences new things. Randall hopes to find another permanent home for Jungleyoga at InanItah.

About Ushma

Ushma joined Jungle Yoga at the beginning of 2011, and embraces students with her soft presence and open heart. Ushma stepped into the path of yoga and meditation 18 years ago. While combining her passion for traveling and her spiritual search, she studied all around the world and has explored different styles of yoga, meditation and healing techniques. Her practice brings together both traditional and modern perspectives.

Ushma assists Randall’s morning asana class by making adjustments and also runs the afternoon class. The influence of dance and Pilates is apparent in her teachings, which focus on bringing the body into balance through grace and proper alignment. During the first two weeks of the training she concentrates on the main principles of alignment and teaching asana adjustments.

Her major passion lies in the subtle body and self healing practices. During the third week, Ushma will guide us into the world of chakras, will give us tools to explore and understand the interconnection between the mental, emotional and physical body. She was trained in India in healing therapy through hypnosis, and in the last week of the course, we will direct our attention to the benefits and practice of Yoga Nidra.

Ushma has lived the past 9 years between Asia, New York and Mexico, and she is now based in Thailand , where she teaches and lives a simple life in harmony with nature.

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» An excerpt from the Jungleyoga Training Manual
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