Richie Norton founded The Strength Temple on the lessons and teachings he’s experienced for himself in his life’s journey to this point. It’s not been easy. Far from it. He’s faced many physical and psychological challenges in his life and he’s had to work hard to bring himself to where he is today.
As someone who has played at high levels of competitive sport, I’ve needed to understand what it takes to reach the highest levels of fitness. It’s not always been the smoothest ride finding my way.
His motivation is to now share what he has learnt on his personal training and nutrition journey – the knowledge, facts and motivation that allowed him to turn his life around and that he now believes can help also others maximise their potential.
He encapsulates these key lessons in the #7 Pillars Philosophy, these pillars that support the whole of life being mind, movement, nutrition, breath, hydration, flexibility and environment. These pillars appear in no particular order, Richie explains in this interview with Yogamatters. For each individual, the order of priority will be different. But each one of us needs find the right approach for us in each of these seven pillars. And that’s where the Strength Temple comes in.
The Strength Temple is a holistic and individualised approach to health, strength and wellbeing. Strength is not simply physical strength – it includes mental and emotional strength too. Richie can offer help, support, encouragement, advice in all seven pillars.
In creating the Strength Temple, Richie was looking to create a versatile community space dedicated to honouring the whole of life. In Bali at the time, Richie was inspired by the numerous temples on the island. As for the diamond icon, that came from the idea of lifting something out of the dirt to create something beautiful, the strongest thing that’s out there. Developing strength in every area of life creates a beautiful life.
Richie is undergoing a major shift in his own life when we catch up with him at his new home in South Wales. He’s taking the advice he would give to others seriously for himself. He was not able to live the life he was yearning to live in London. He found himself wishing he was in nature most of the day, waiting for the weekend. With Environment as one of the seven pillars, he felt challenged to change his environment. He knew the risks involved of moving out of London and so has committed to six months in this new environment to see how he can make it work. He’s moving away from delivering classes and face to face one to one sessions to a mainly online approach. As we speak, he’s struggling with phone signal and a reliable internet connection, the very real challenges of living in the countryside! He’s been spending a lot of time at the top of a hill, the only place he’s found with decent signal. He’s on it though. He believes he can make this work.
Richie has already established a strong online presence with over 41,000 followers @thestrengthtemple on Instagram. He sees this as the perfect vehicle for raising awareness of the importance of mobility, for getting people moving, getting people outside more. He’s relatable and approachable. He wants people to see that anyone can do this.
Richie Norton sees online coaching as the future. It’s the way forward. Not that he has anything against exercise classes in themselves. They get people moving. They provide a sense of community. They create an environment where people can recognise their own skills and develop as teachers or competitive athletes. But many people with busy lifestyles are looking for a more flexible approach. Through signing up to the FIIT program, individuals can access affordable, high quality teaching wherever they are, whenever they want.
As a teacher, Richie had been spending up to three hours travelling between classes in London – and that was on a good day when everything was running smoothly! He wanted to practise what he was preaching – and he couldn’t do that in London. He now already has seven hours of classes on the FIIT app and as a virtual coach, he can offer individualised advice and monitor the individual progress of all his clients. Every client is different. Richie describes one client he’s working with at the moment –
This professional footballer has come to me for mindset coaching. He’s physically fit but has issues with mobility. To increase strength in his legs involved looking at nutrition. We don’t set a fixed programme. We monitor progress and take feedback and the lifestyle changes evolve over time. It’s about finding a lifestyle that will stand the test of time, best practice for the individual that is sustainable.
This is how Richie Norton approaches every client – paying close attention to the individual and close attention to detail. It’s about finding what you like, what you need, what you desire, where your strengths are, what makes you feel happy…and piecing it all together into manageable lifestyle modifications that empower habit creation.
Richie’s personal journey has taken him from professional rugby player to yoga teacher. Ten years ago, when he was feeling the pressure both physically and mentally in his rugby career, Richie attended a Bikram yoga class. He left feeling frustrated that he wasn’t flexible enough. Some years later, he was living in Sydney and his girlfriend, who happened to be a yoga teacher, persuaded him to try yoga again. This time, it was different. This yoga practice helped with his surfing and rugby injuries and aligned with the Capoeira course he was taking at college. He became more playful with movement, fell in love with exploring his mobility. He discovered a more complete strength. As he moved on to spend time in Bali, his yoga practice moved on too. Yoga became more than a movement practice, more than human performance. In Bali, he explored how yoga was also about connecting with his soul.
He’s now committed to making yoga accessible to others too in a way that works for them.
I offer yoga in a way that is not too deep or too serious initially. I simplify the practice in a respectful way. I want people to gain an insight into the incredible physical and mental strength that a yoga practice can bring. I talk about mastering the mind and mastering the body. This isn’t about forcing your body in any way, but in understanding your body and mind better and working with them so that you stay in control when things come at you. Listen to your body, process the information, understand how you work best. That’s what a yoga practice can achieve.
None of this is rocket science. Richie isn’t saying anything new. But as a young man with a background in professional sport, Richie has a fresh voice and perspective in the world of health and wellbeing. He’s reaching out to individuals in the world of sport, men in particular, presenting yoga in an appealing, accessible, effective way. And it’s Richie’s authenticity that shines through. It’s more than just physical strength. Look past the body and there’s a depth of practice there, an inner strength. Richie believes 100% in what he teaches – believes in it enough to move his life out of the big city into the Welsh hills.
You can find out more about Richie Norton at The Strength Temple and on the FIIT app on an Apple device.
