1. Tell me about your personal journey with yoga. Why is it important to you? I started practicing yoga as a professional dancer. Partly for physical therapy and because that’s what all the cool kids were doing ;). But I’m a philosophy nerd so somewhere along the line I fell for all of the yoga teachings, not just asana. A few years in, I went through some trauma and relied on what little yoga I knew (and it worked). That event shaped my yoga path such that I took a teacher training (and another and another) and now teach (for the last 3 years I’ve taught full time) 200, 300, and prenatal teacher trainings, retreats, workshops, etc.
It’s important to me because it delivers me to a place of navigating life’s suffering moments with grace. And it slows time down enough that I feel like I connect with the heart of the matter more readily – whether that’s with people, or nature, or my own mind. It’s importance to me is almost ineffable. I tried 🙂
2. When did you first begin teaching yoga? What made you transition into a leadership position? Started practicing around 2002, teaching around 2010.
What made me transition into a position of leadership was a natural result of studying with great teachers and encouraging mentors. I don’t think I wanted to – it has just happened.
3. What makes your classes unique? No clue! lol…
Ok, not totally true. I usually don’t rely on a soundtrack to create an emotive experience (although I’m not against that – I simply have a lot to say when I teach and I’m not interested in competing with the music).
I don’t dumb it down (even when I teach at a gym). I teach directly from my own practice so we are in conversation with the big questions on a regular basis. No one is checking out in my class 🙂
4. How does music benefit your guidance in a yoga class? Benefit my guidance…. you mean how does it help me teach? I consider myself less a guide, more of a teacher. I understand the teacher is always within but no need to invent the wheel – personal evolution happens a lot faster if you stand on the shoulders of the people who’ve traversed the path before you.
That said, I use music to create an ambient effect that is decidedly yoga (so generally, although certainly not always, I try to avoid using pop music or English lyrics or anything that will remind people of something – I want them present not reliving a memory inspired by the music). Which is why I LOVE live music. It’s totally present. 🙂
5. Tell me about your next event and where we can follow you online.
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