What year did you first start practicing yoga?
2005
Was there any particular reason you started practicing yoga?
My college gym had a class “yoga muscle” on Friday afternoons… and it was a great way to start the weekend. Sometimes the football players were required to attend and it was fun being stronger than them at something. I was a gymnast as a child, which morphed into being a cheerleader in high school, and then it just seems you eventually graduate to becoming a yogi.
Favorite posture and why?
Supta Baddha Konasana is very stress-relieving for me. I’ve been familiar with butterfly pose my whole life having been a gymnast, and laying down during this pose adds another dimension of calm. As an easily distracted being, placing one hand on the belly and one hand on the rib cage in this pose (which just feel right) helps remind me to come back to the breath.
Why do you currently practice this yoga?
I love massages, and yoga is basically a way to massage your body using your own body. It also forces you to breath mindfully for an hour without trying to meditate and quiet the mind. It keeps me feeling flexible and strong like my old gymnast days.
What do you love about teaching yoga?
The community! The yoga community is so wonderful, I’ve never been a “church-goer” or religious but I tell people all the time that yoga is my “church.” We’re all in this together just trying to better ourselves and better the world. Teaching also helps me keep a consistent practice. I’m extremely grateful that others allow me to lead them in practice.
Two things most people don’t know about you?
1. Although I have a dog (a lot of people in town know Chunk), I am a cat lady at heart. My dog is really a cat stuck inside of a dog body so it works out. I enjoy the independence cats have and calmness they provide.
2. I once lived off the grid in a yurt in Hawaii. I did organic farming called WWOOFing in between undergrad & grad schools, and it was maybe the happiest time of my life! I love the Rainbow State!
