I was introduced to the physical side of yoga by my mother and sister in my late teens. I practiced on and off throughout my twenties with the perspective that yoga was simply exercise.
On and off the mat, my thoughts were judgmental and harsh when it came to my “performance.” I’d think: if I didn’t flow daily or only went to a Restorative class, I wasn’t doing it right. My perfectionism led to deep depression and lots of generalized anxiety.
Throughout this decade of my life, I found myself bouncing from job to job every couple of years, never feeling content with staying still or running in circles for startups or big corps. CBT Therapists shared yoga and meditation with me as tools for finding peace, but I wasn’t ready to leave my ways of thinking behind - self-judgment was my comfort zone, no matter how much suffering it caused me.
It took many years, little by little, to transform my practice into one about building internal awareness, rather than perfect attendance or form. Slowly, I started to become more aware of my judgmental thoughts. I was even able to drop them at times and return to my breath and body! I began feeling more content and was actually enjoying yoga for the first time. Eventually, I arrived at a place in my practice where I sought to deepen my understanding of this mind, body, spirit connection.
So just before my 30th birthday, I sought out a 200-hour yoga teacher training (YTT) with Soma Yoga Institute, where I was introduced to yoga through a therapeutic lens. I was also lucky enough to do so in Playa Coyote, Costa Rica (the location of all the beautiful beaches pictured on my site).
There, I trained in the philosophy of Ashtanga Yoga, also known as Raja yoga or the Eight-Limbed Path, which employs Pantajali’s Yoga Sutras. The Yamas & Niyamas became my guide to reframing how I interacted with myself and the world. I learned that, not only could I find peace within myself, but I could help others do the same.
About me…
Please know that yoga instructors are not gurus. We do not live without struggle; I would be lying if I said my brain is free of judgment, my body free of pain. We are only conduits for the deep history and teachings of Yoga. We find purpose in guiding our students to learn what a lot of us are still learning for ourselves.
As a trauma-informed yoga teacher, I acknowledge that every human is beautifully unique. No two bodies look the same, breath the same, or feel the same… so why would the yoga asanas? The goal of my classes is not to for you to find the perfect shape or stop thinking (not that there is such a thing), but for you to practice turning inward - listening to your body, breath and spirit - then practice giving yourself what you truly need in the present moment. As your teacher, I can help you practice this by offering:
options to the traditional asanas so you get to pick and choose to do one or more of them, or something completely different
cues that help you build your interoceptive (internal awareness) and proprioceptive (body-in-space) skills
inclusive language that encourages play and exploration
tips for structural alignment and strengthening while at the same time cuing a softening and release through the breath and body
Pranayama, or breathwork - a tool that quickly affects our autonomic nervous systems
Despite my direction, your journey is a personal one... Just by being alive on this earth, you have had experiences that may have left you with lasting emotional, mental or physical pain. But as you continue to show up to practice, you begin to peel, layer by layer, the masks we all put on everyday. Sometimes, this is too overwhelming and what you may need is pause. One day, you could be ready to lovingly unveil those stuck parts of yourself and greet what comes up with compassion and acceptance. Only then, will your pain leave you. Only then, can you find your center.
So no, I cannot guarantee your own healing after x number of classes. It must come from within you, only when you are truly ready and that path looks different for everyone.
I think about this one query from my teacher training often: can we achieve Enlightenment in this lifetime? It is now, after leading hundreds of classes, that I have my answer: I believe that all yogis can experience glimmers of Enlightenment throughout our practice. It is when we are so deeply inside of our bodies, in communion with our breath and hearts, and removed from the stuff our minds, that we meet our spirit and embody the love within us. Enlightenment is the understanding that, at our core, we are light and love and goodness, AND that the same is true for all other living beings. Returning to this, both in my practice and throughout my daily life, has made me more open, more loving, and more receptive to life’s joy. I truly feel it is my purpose to guide others to find this light within themselves as well.