1.) Tell me about your personal journey with yoga. Why is it important to you?
My first introduction to yoga was from a friend who told me,”Hey you got to go check out this really cool thing called yoga it’s hot sweaty and really challenging.” This of course was a Bikram class, and coming from an athletic background I loved the challenge and was instantly hooked. From Bikram I moved on to discover power yoga from Bryan Kest in Santa Monica California and study with him for eight years until I moved to San Diego at which time a buddy invited me to a pot luck dinner on aSunday night and suggested we clear out the living room where I could teach a yoga class before we eat.
Of course I said why not and it turned out to be one of best decisions of my life. I got so much Love and fulfillment out of teaching yoga I decided to look into it a little bit and within a week or two doors began opening. As a musician I was rehearsing at a rehearsal studio and was approached by the owner who told me about a Dojo karate studio at his rehearsal studio which was going to double as a yoga studio. He then asked me if I knew of any teachers and of course I said yeah I can teach.
This was the real start of my yoga teacher journey.
2.) When did you first begin teaching yoga? What made you transition into a leadership position?
I never got certified, instead I read a lot of books took a lot of workshops and hundreds and hundreds of classes with dozens and dozens of teachers. 10 years later after this experience of getting paid to teach yoga, I continue to pursue it on a more professional level and have taught at many of the most popular yoga studios in San Diego. Today I reside at Yoga Six my favorite studio in San Diego. Yoga is important to me because #1 it’s like soul food, It feeds my soul, and #2 it feeds my body of course through the exercise component and #3 it feeds the greater good of the world by helping people to self reflect and become better human beings. And of course it doesn’t hurt that it feels freaking amazing.
3.) What makes your classes unique?
My classes are unique because I push my students to go within and feel yoga instead of see it in the mirror. The goal is to become more self-aware and present instead of wrapped up in the lesser ego of constant comparison. People are happier when they are not living in the past or constantly comparing themselves to others. I also push my students to expand not only in mind and spirit but their bodies, to see what there really made of, while at the same time honoring what they’re feeling and listening to inner wisdom. This at times may mean backing off and at other times pushing boundaries.
4.) How does music benefit your guidance in a yoga class?
As a musician and a yoga instructor I utilize music to inspire people towards pushing the limits at times and looking within at times. Music really takes my class to whole new level and in my opinion you simply cannot get there without it. Of course there are times where the music needs to come down all the way to get a message across. Using music, words and motion to transform people is an art form and takes a lifetime to master. I seek to become a master of helping people transform their lives with yoga and music.
5.) Tell me about your next event and where we can follow you online.
I teach at yoga six in point Loma and You can check the schedule on my Facebook page at http://www.Facebook.com/