Yoga is truly for everyone. You are never too young or too old to begin practicing. You do not need to be able to stand on your head or touch your toes in order to practice yoga.

The journey is much deeper than poses; it is the quieting of the mind, the connection to the breath, the expansion of the heart. Yoga is releasing fears that are holding you back and honoring the temple that is your body. Yoga is the unity of mind, body, soul and spirit.  

As a teacher, since 2011, I like to connect with my students to offer modifications to meet their unique needs and encourage them to make the practice their own as they find that connection to Self, to their True Nature. My intention is to help students find santosha (peace & contentment) and samadhi (bliss) through the practice of yoga.

I find that I am the best version of myself once I have spent time on my own mat, or out practicing in nature.  The old adage “put on your own oxygen mask before helping others” is as true here as anywhere.  The physical aspect of yoga is just a part of the  practice.  

Yoga is more than just the postures…no limb is separate from the others. Yoga 24/7 as a way to live your life on and off the mat.

Yoga as a System of Health

8 Limbed Path of Yoga

1 – Yamas- social ethics

a) ahimsa (kindness)

b) satya (truthfulness)

c) asteya  (non-stealing)

d) brahmacharya (moderation)

e) aparigraha- (generosity)

2 – Niyamas- personal practices, cultivation of the self 

a) saucha (purity)

b) santosha (contentment)

c) tapas (austerity)

d) swadyaya (self -study)

e) ishwara pranidhana (surrender)

3 – Asana- postures

Easy comfortable positions of the body, connecting the mind and spirit to experience stillness & infinity

4 – Pranayama- mindful breathing

Honoring the breath to uncover the light within

5 – Prathyahara- turning inward

Providing alternate ‘inner point of attraction’ to the senses to go inward

6 – Dharana- concentration

Focus and attention

7 – Dhyana-meditation 

Dropping all efforts and letting go

8 – Samadhi- pure bliss 

Complete harmony of the Self with the universe.  If your only experience of yoga is sweating in a hot room, then the opportunity for a deeper experience and understanding diminishes. The gift of yoga is the opportunity to experience the whole being, not just the body.