I believe that history has value. That it’s important to remember where we have been to know where we are going. If we forget, it’s likely we will just find ourselves going around in circles saying …”wait, haven’t we been here before?”
That kind of historical thinking is going out of fashion. But I stand for it’s value. So, if you scroll down you will still find the image and and biography that I posted in May or June 2020, during the pandemic, as my teaching and practice began to shift from a commercial public event to a more sustained and deeply investigated personal practice – shared through Zoom and later writing. It’s been revised a couple time. I can’t bring myself to take it down. It tells the story of how I started. But the narrative has shifted.
My life in yoga started in 1993 and spans to this day. The period of it’s inception aligned with the world wide blossoming of the practice which continued to expand until the pandemic shut it down. It was something really important. We believed we were changing the world. More peaceful, more healthy, more aligned with our inner spirits. I sometimes note as I go through my days all the things I see that were touched by that revolution. Working for huge commercial companies – my standard benefits now include a meditation app. My sister’s Medicare plan includes yoga. I can get lots of great organic vegan ingredients even at the Costco.
But the practice, the classical practice, is harder to find. But those who know, know, that the classical practices bring deep healing and rejuvenation of the physical body, beyond anything science can measure a this time. The classical practices, done well, bring deep healing and rejuvenation of the mind and spirit, aligning us with deeper experiences of intention and purpose. They root us, and as well versed asana yogis know, that rooting is the basis for expansion beyond our imagining. The potential of understanding alignment, purpose intention and potential through the yoga practice is enormous. To be honest, it hasn’t made my work life easier like I hoped. But it makes me different within those environments. Centered and grounded in my self, but less selfish – if that makes any sense.
My goal here is to keep these classical teachings alive, to spark your imagination as teachers and practitioners, to keep your practices enriched and meaningful, and to encourage you to turn to those classical teachings to find answers. And to keep asking questions. Through that I know that you will find healing, and peace and a well cultivated, directed life.
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Before yoga my life was a wasteland of imbalance and dissatisfaction. I felt dis-empowered in my corporate job as a paralegal and frustrated in my personal relationships. My emotions were in constant tumult, which further escalated the issues. At the heart of it all was a disconnect from who I was.
I took my first yoga class in 1993. At the end of one class I was exhilarated and completely hooked. I bought a yoga cassette tape, moved the furniture around in the living room and began a daily practice. In the years that followed I took every class I could in the lush offerings of the New York City Yoga world. In 1997, I landed at the Jivamukti Yoga School. Jivamukti is a comprehensive and rigorous method of hatha yoga which integrates the physical postures with study of ancient texts, the mysticism of sound and yoga, practices of bhakti or devotional love, meditation and non-violence. It became my yoga home. I immersed myself in the Jivamukti experience. I practiced, studied, trained to teach, was mentored by their amazing yoga masters, taught teachers and students and was awarded Advanced Board Certification. My group practice was nourished by my personal practice and the two flowed together like a beautiful deep river. As my body became calmer my mind followed suit. As I studied the ancient texts and applied the teachings and discipline, my body and mind began to work together. The yoga postures became real for me in a new way. My yoga practice transformed from a “calm down tool” into a “heal deep and love” tool. My mind, my heart and body blossomed. During those years I taught yoga to hundreds of students in many locations. In 2012, I transitioned to the Bay Area, and found my practice and teaching was shifted into a whole new level.
What to expect in class
Using classical postures in a flow sequence we will explore the principles of yoga as illuminated in the ancient texts and schools of mysticism spiced with a little anatomy and common sense. We’ll integrate stillness and flow, breath and muscular engagement, structure and freedom, and effort and ease through instruction and sequencing. We will nurture the clarity and centered wisdom to create an empowered life in alignment with our personal truth.
What to expect after class
The journey of yoga is a personalized evolutionary process. In a practice geared towards re-balancing and empowerment we will likely notice immediately the effects of the parasympathetic nervous system (ease, relaxation and a better night’s sleep). As we re-balance and realign, it’s not unusual to notice strong sensations after the practice where parts of the body, mind and spirit become stronger or are opening into greater flexibility. Sometimes we feel giddy and sometimes we need to cry. If we are quiet, we may begin to feel talkative, if we are talkative, we may feel inclined to quiet. If we are somber, we may find ourselves laughing more, if we are “laughers” we may discover in ourselves a quality of somber reflection. We are reclaiming parts of ourselves that we have forgotten. We are remembering our wholeness. To embrace that experience of realignment and re-balancing is to move with the flow of the transformative power of the practice of yoga.
