Everyone begins their practice of yoga for different reasons. At first, mine was simply out of curiosity but it became something much more than just a fleeting experience. I took my first yoga class at age 18 with my Aunt and a small group of others in the basement of a church. Something about the connection of breath, body and mind really allowed me to feel at peace and connect with myself. As the years went by, I felt more and more drawn to yoga and meditation. I felt this need to have it in my life. I remember saying on a number of occasions that I need yoga in my life. This feeling and attachment to the physical and spiritual practice allowed me to detach from things that did not serve me any longer: thoughts, emotions, reactions. On my 30th birthday, I attended my first 10-day Yoga Retreat at Kripalu studying under Shiva Rea for an immersion. During this experience, I had an emotional breakthrough and I realized how much I was holding back and how much I wanted to live more freely. Emotionally, spiritually.

 

As a child, I held onto a lot of anger and fear. This continued into my adolescence and young adulthood. I had extreme mood swings and anxiety that interrupted my daily life and sometimes hindered my ability to be an emotionally supportive Mom to my two daughters or supportive to my family and friends. At that retreat, I realized that I had the power to change. I began to practice yoga everyday and, a few months later, I continued my evolution and began a year long yoga teacher training.

 

In 2014, I received my 200 hr Shakti Flow Yoga teaching certification. Shakti asana practice draws primarily from the marriage of a trinity of contemporary flow revolutionaries: Shiva Rea, Jivamukti Yoga and Asa Dustin. Shakti is dynamic, creative, and nurturing power. Flow Yoga is the linking of breath, movement, and elevated intention. The Shakti flow awakens our inherent potential to expand into intuitive wisdom and embody it as compassionate Grace. Shakti Flow Yoga classes focus on the relationship between Stillness and Flow. Practitioners are encouraged to allow the flow of energy, stoked by the movement of the body, to inform the authenticity of the postures. Shakti flow lineage teachings are experienced through the union of meditation, asana, mantra and pranayama. This practice encourages the practitioner to align the pose from the inside out, from their own felt experience and intuitive knowing. This allows each individual to emulate the safest most effective posture possible.

 

Yoga has been my tool of transformation and self acceptance. It has allowed me to flow through life with more Fluidity and Grace. I am here to share this with you. Come join me on the mat!