I first started yoga as a means of stress reduction in college. When I began to feel my mental stress manifest as physical pain - tension headaches, tight back/neck, etc, I knew I needed to do something! So in the privacy of my dorm room, I whipped out my AM/PM yoga for beginners DVD with Patricia Walden which my mom had given me. Not understanding then the mind-body connection of yoga, all I knew was when I felt tense and I practiced yoga I felt better. After I graduated college, yoga came and went in my life. I seemed to be less stressed so I didn't practice as much. One day after work, I took my first Vinyasa class at a gym in center city Philadelphia and I feel in love. Being a dancer my whole life, I loved the flow of the class. Not only did I get a good physical workout, but I felt so much calmer, almost at peace after class. What I now know as post-Savasana bliss! I remember calling my mom and saying, "I feel like I just went to the gym, a shrink, and church all at once!"
And then I injured my knee, met my husband, got married, bought a house, and moved to Boston all in 2 years time! I have a lot of excuses, as we often do, for not getting on my mat much in those 2 years, I was very busy in those 2 years (as you can tell) and I just didn't have time for yoga, my knee just wasn't where I wanted it to be, and I was in a new city, in a small apartment, and I just didn't know where to practice!
A friend from work introduced me to his then girlfriend (now wife :)), Lauren, and she mentioned a studio where she practiced yoga and just got certified to be a yoga teacher herself. So we made a date and I took Alex's class at Prana Power Yoga. It was hard (and hot - the classes are heated), but I never looked back and kept going back. I began to feel better physically - stronger, leaner, less aches and pains, and even fewer colds. Eventually though the physical shift became a mental shift, I was calmer, less likely to get stressed out or upset, even happier. Lesson learned... Life in yoga is good!
It didn't take long, being the inquisitive person I am, and I wanted to study this practice deeper and to understand beyond the physical aspects of yoga - to the spirtual. Boston has a great yoga scene and I practiced with a lot of amazing teachers, including Patricia Walden herself (no I didn't get her to sign my DVD). I finally decided to do my teacher training with Rolf Gates. It was an amazing 8 months of intense physical and mental practice and I would say I learned as much about myself as I did the practice of yoga. I am forever grateful for that training and the beautiful people I met.
That training also opened me up to my pure potential and to the power of intention and detachment. If you don't know what I am talking about, read The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, by Deepak Chopra. I was able to follow my heart, let go of fear, and follow a dream - moving to the West Coast! My husband and I now live in Portland, Oregon where I have tremendous gratitude to teach and practice yoga.
I decided to start this blog to keep myself living in the yogic state, no matter what state I am living in!
