It is all Yoga!

Yoga is a lot of things to a lot of people. What is it to you? My experience of a practice that has lasted nearly half of my life now, is that it meets us where we are. It opens doors that might not otherwise have opened. And if and when we walk away from the practice (for any number of reasons), it gently calls us back; it invites us into even deeper unfolding. That is my truth. I’d love to know yours.

Personally, my work draws upon 25 years of practice and teaching from which an integrated approach to yoga, breath, embodiment and life has emerged. Offering classes in a variety of settings — including over a decade at university — allowed me to see the profound and varying effects of the practice on hundreds of students. What a gift! It was my primary spiritual practice for years, led me back to my Christian roots, meandered into the mystical perennial wisdom traditions and has blossomed into something new entirely while also remaining an old friend.

In my classes, I encourage inquiry, looking within, and respect for the unique way the mystery is unfolding. You know yourself better than anyone; there is no one else like you! As a teacher, my role is to guide you to cultivate deeper awareness of the subtleties of your body and energetic experience, which often lead to ‘a ha’s’ in the mind. Breath and movement teach us about ourselves in profound experiential ways.

My servant heart is energized through helping others to uncover their own deep knowing, and I do this using a myriad of practices I’ve learned along the way. These practices include yoga (hatha, vinyasa, restorative and yin), breath work, somatic meditation, embodiment cues, the Yoga Sutras, mystical wisdom, writing/journaling, art and story. My hope is that it invites a practice of self inquiry that becomes a portal of release and realization of your own deep truths.

I no longer teach yoga in group settings at university or in studios; God is leading me down a similar yet distinctly different path. I’ve just begun a Master’s in Pastoral Care and my ultimate goal is to companion people during intense and/or perplexing intersections of their lives. With that said, yoga is medicine and as Yoga Sutra 1:2 says, it’s “the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.” We understand yoga in our modern world as a practice, and it is, but it’s also a way of being, which is why I’ll use yoga in these new endeavors. It’s a part of me now and I feel so incredibly blessed to ‘live what I love.’