Meet yoga power couple Liz and Nicholas Clayton who believe in the magic of Kundalini, an uplifting spiritual and physical practice that incorporates movement, dynamic breathing techniques, meditation, and the chanting of mantras, such as Sat-Nam (I am truth). The Claytons share their love for yoga with us.
Liz
L: I grew up in the spa industry in the late 90’s and lived in Los Angeles for 20 years. Yoga has been layered into the fabric of my life for decades. Retreats are my favorite as I love the deep work and connection you get in these rich settings. I just returned from a magical Kundalini retreat in Mallorca with my teacher, Guru Jagat. I always walk away a better version of myself after such retreats, and to me that’s priceless.
Nicholas began his yoga journey nearly 30 years ago with his late mother, Jill Irish, who was a yoga teacher. I can still remember going to visit his mother and they would do yoga poses together. I was blown away by the beauty of that. It sealed the deal for me.
Today we are deeply rooted in our Kundalini practice, a form of ancient yoga that is backed by science and technology. You can upgrade your body’s operating system in as little as three minutes. Kundalini gives you the bandwidth to deal with life “like a boss”—confident, cool, elegant and graceful.
Yoga is my devotion to self. Meditation plays a major role in my daily practice. It’s how I honor and connect to myself and my soul’s purpose. Clearing all the negative chatter through meditation is good for mental fitness too.
We have a beautiful yoga/meditation room in our home, and use the digital platform RAMA TV for our daily practice. It’s like Netflix for your yoga practice. We love that we can access from anywhere in the world- at the base of Mt Fuji, beaches in Koh Samui, or the Emirates lounge in Dubai. No excuses.
Kundalini practice gives us the opportunity to transform and grow together. Having spiritual intimacy with your partner is the secret to cultivating the deepest love. We get asked all the time if we are newlyweds, and we find that to be the biggest compliment of our relationship.
Nicholas
N: Yoga gives you an opportunity to touch on many important aspects of your life, all in one practice or pursuit. The extraordinary benefits include the improvement of physical and emotional strength, balance, awareness of breath and detoxification, to name a few.
Spending time with my beautiful and talented wife is when I am most happy, and sharing common interests is one of the main reasons we remain so in love. We motivate each other with our practice, and later we always have fun with a debrief on both our biggest challenges and accomplishments of the practice.
My Kundalini practice facilitates an awareness of breath which instantly lowers blood pressure and heart rate. My desire to improve form helps me to focus and still the mind, while living in the moment. Breath can be your secret weapon when you know how to use it. We love our Kundalini practice because we can share the experience, encourage each other to grow and it provides a wonderful sense of depth to our relationship.
Liz Clayton is the Founder of LA EDIT, a lifestyle agency that focuses on wellness, fashion and beauty. Nicholas Clayton is the CEO of Capella Hotel Group.
This article was first published in the print edition of Yoga Journal Singapore, which is now Yogahood Online.
