Yoga with James Byrne and Fiona at Lo Key Cottages

James has built a space to accommodate his yoga practice along with classes for the GTC community, welcoming both adults and youth when he is on the island. He eventually hopes to offer a 200-hour yoga teacher training course to his guests and local Bahamians.

“Namaste!” This is the greeting at the start of every yoga class. Definition? “The divine light in me recognizes and honors the divine light in you.”

Community Connections was invited to participate in a yoga class with James Byrne. For many students, this was their first time experiencing yoga. Mr. James, owner of Bahama Yoga, and Miss Fiona, a guest instructor from Austria, led the students through various yoga poses while teaching them the importance of each movement for both inner strength and mental focus.

Community Connections' mission for the students was to help them explore a way to look inward for calm and strength and discover the power they possess when they apply focus to their intentions. Life is filled with distractions, and learning to focus is key to success.

James Byrne was born and raised in Great Britain. As a restless teenager, he secured a position on a cargo ship, which set him on a journey to travel around the world at just 15 years old. Mr. James soon discovered a love for travel and the opportunities it provided to expand his mind, meet new friends, and explore new cultures. He has traveled extensively, with some of his favorite destinations being North America, Mexico, Central America, and the Bahamas. The Bahamian island he loved most was Green Turtle Cay because of its tranquil beauty and friendly residents.

Mr. James transitioned from working on freighter ships to becoming a house builder. His favorite aspect of construction is the design and finishing touches of each project.

He first discovered yoga six years ago while visiting his nephew in Thailand. While touring a temple in Cambodia, he kept hearing about yoga, which led him to enroll in his first two-week yoga class. He was captivated by the physical and mental challenges yoga offered. Yoga opened up the possibility of enjoying the ride of life through strength in the body and peace of mind. Mr. James continued his yoga studies and later discovered hot yoga in Florida—practicing yoga in a room heated to 100–107°F!

As Mr. James deepened his knowledge of yoga, his passion for teaching others grew. He opened his home so others could learn from his instruction and from guest instructors. Mr. James hopes to continue bringing in more guest instructors from around the world and eventually train students to become instructors themselves. He also wants to expand youth classes.

Miss Fiona, a guest instructor at Bahama Yoga, is from Austria. She recently completed a three-week teaching engagement, offering community classes. Her career is in fashion and theater costume design, but it was during a holiday trip to Bali six years ago that she discovered her love for yoga. She followed up that experience with teacher training to become a certified yoga instructor. Teaching yoga allows her to combine her passion for travel with her skills in instruction. She has been traveling as a yoga teacher for four months now—first to Panama and now to Green Turtle Cay.

She told us she loves GTC for its crystal-clear aqua waters, as Austria is landlocked and has no ocean. Miss Fiona discovered Bahama Yoga through a website called Yoga Trade. She hopes to return soon!

Student Quotes After the Class

“I like Mr. James’ yoga class because everything he did was so interesting. I expected it to be really hard, but he made it easy. His class is the best ever, and he is so kind.”

“When we were lying down at the end of yoga, I imagined myself in the temple instead of him and thought about how I would start yoga.”

“At first, I was running all around the house. Then, when we got to the studio, I was very excited. We did deep breathing, upward-facing dog, downward-facing dog, plank, and corpse pose. At the end, I felt relaxed.”

“My experience at yoga was good. The poses we did were tree pose, cobra, upward dog, downward dog, and then we lay down for about five minutes while listening to music.”

“Yoga was very hard at first, but when I started meditating, I found it even harder because my mind had to be completely clear.”

“My experience with yoga was amazing. We did a lot of fun things, many poses, and then lay on our backs for five minutes. The calm music made me think about going to sleep.”

“When I was in yoga, my first thought was, ‘I love this!’ But it wasn’t my first time. When we were lying down at the end, I thought we were going to sleep.”

“Namaste!” This sentiment is repeated again at the close of every yoga class. Definition? “The divine light in me recognizes and honors the divine light in you.”

Bahamayoga.com

Reported by:Saniyah Cooper, Keitaro Demeritte, Kaydon McIntosh, Kamille McClellan, Kailum Murray, Shakara Swain, Larvae Turnquest