Many of us, in the West, are initially introduced to yoga through the physical practice of postures or asana. In 2005, on a whim, my boyfriend at the time invited me to a yoga class. I was never an athlete or much of a mover but I accepted his invitation, probably in an effort to impress him (it must have worked because he is now my husband!).
There was something in that very first class about the slow, deliberate posturing that felt good on my body. I became captivated by the movement. I returned a second time on my own. And then again. And again. It was the first time in my life that I actually enjoyed a physical pastime. I began to practice with regularity and this pastime soon became a ritual of my daily life.
Fast forward a few years later and I decided to do a yoga teacher training, again on a whim. I didn’t necessarily plan on becoming a yoga teacher then, I just wanted to learn more about a practice that I had grown to love. The training opened my eyes to new unexplored aspects of the practice: chanting, chakras, ayurveda, meditation to name a few. I began to discover a depth of the practice which was so much more than just postures. Yoga is a philosophy and with that come many wonderful avenues for us to explore and engage with. After I completed the training, my colleagues in the restaurant I was working in at the time encouraged me to start teaching them an impromptu class before our shifts. That was the beginning of my official life as a yoga teacher.
Here’s what I know so far after many years as both teacher and student: The practice of yoga provides opportunities to move from the outer physical self towards the inner spiritual self. Asana, or the physical practice of yoga, creates space in the body. It can help free us from stagnancy, tightness, pain and anxiety. As these stresses start to be relieved we become more able to connect with the rise and fall of our breath. Our inhale and exhale has been with us since day one but most times we don’t pay much attention to it. Through a consistent yoga practice we learn to acknowledge and deepen our relationship with our breath. We begin to understand that our breath is a tool that can serve us. In brief, the longer and deeper we learn how to breathe, the calmer and clearer we can become. As the body opens, and the breath expands, and we become calmer, we become able to begin exploring our mind. Through meditation we learn ways to gain control over our very busy thought patterns and, for a time, bring them into a more single pointed focus. When we begin to cultivate a more single pointed focus we can more readily tune in to our spirit, our inner steadiness and clarity, that lies in each of us. This opportunity to tune in to the spirit is the heart of yoga for me.
My yoga practice has become a place where I practice reflection, mindfulness and curiosity. I have come to love my fellow yoga practitioners who are also finding their way. Their practice provides me comfort and community amidst the chaos of New York City where I live. It is an incubator for genuine kindness and generosity expressed towards oneself that can, in turn, be shared with those around us.
Our yoga path is personal and intimate. Each of us has our own journey and we make our own discoveries. My own journey after more than a decade of teaching and practicing has grown and shifted and changed since the first day I walked into that studio. This is my experience. Your experience with the practice is your own. I encourage you to let it grow and shift and deepen as you continue your practice for the rest of your life. My hope, as a teacher, is to offer you a safe, nurturing and compassionate space where we can foster our individual journeys together as a collective.
I look forward to meeting you.
I have been officially teaching yoga since 2011 and am a graduate of the Yogamaya 200-hour teacher training program and numerous other advanced trainings. I am a graduate of the Equinox Fitness Training Institute and hold a B.A. from Middlebury College. I currently teach public classes in both Brooklyn and Manhattan along with a host of corporate and private classes including: dancers of New York City Ballet and Fang-Yi Sheu (in Taiwan), employees of Tom Colicchio’s restaurants, guests of The Greenwich Hotel, students from the Year Up program, employees of The Calder Foundation, JP Morgan, and Google among others. I teach alignment-based vinyasa flow and restorative and yin yoga as well. I am also an Eagle Scout, jump out of planes, have run the NYC Marathon twice, and have watched the sun rise from the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania).