I love yoga because it makes everything make sense to me; it pulls together all of the things I learned, discovered, and enjoyed in my youth: The power of gymnastics, the beauty of dance, the emotional exploration and release of performance arts, the breath and rhythm work of music, the precision work of technology and programming, and the energy work and spirituality of religion. That’s what yoga means after all… to yoke, bring together, or unite. Not just your fingers to your toes, or your body to your mind, but uniting yourself with something bigger…finding the love inside of yourself and connecting it with the love all around you.
While the foundations of yoga had been laid in my youth, I didn’t take my first yoga class until Spring 2013. I was at the bottom of a very deep depression when I tried a “Yoga for Grief” video I found through the internet. The class focused on breathing, allowing the grief to be expressed and expelled from the body without hating ourselves for being sad. I wasn’t suddenly cured, but I did feel better, and from then on I began to sporadically practice yoga, beginning to build a more stable, loving framework in which to think about myself and the world around me
While I was coming to know and change my mind, I still hadn’t learned quite how to take care of my body. In fact, at that point I still had incredibly disordered eating and sleeping patterns… therefore I was still suffering from intense emotional episodes. I came to understand the need for a routine, so my sporadic, mental yoga practice became a short but daily Hatha practice, and I prioritized caring for my basic bodily needs (sleep, food, water) . Over time, it worked. I could feel my body and mind coming together and becoming more stable day by day, week by week. While most western medical texts suggest that unless medicated, people with my condition will experience it more and more intensely as time goes on, to this day I have only seen in increase in my mental, emotional, and physical stability.
Despite my regular home practice, it wasn’t until January 2016 that I participated in a public yoga class, and that was it. For the first time, surrendering to the instructor, breathing in unison with everyone around me, letting the difficulty fuel me instead of backing down from effort….. I got it. I really began to understand. I felt so exhausted and relaxed, yet powerful and invigorated. From that point on,Yoga wasn’t just an exercise anymore. It wasn’t just a meditation practice. Yoga was going to be my life.
I completed my teacher training under Madilyn Chen with Black Swan Yoga that summer and from then on I have been teaching wherever I go. I’ve been privileged to teach Yoga for Stress and Anxiety Management at my High School Alma Mater, private lessons to boxers and martial artists, expecting couples restorative yoga, yin yoga with live music, and all sorts of fun variations, along with basic alignment focused practices.
I like to make my classes as close to the needs of the students as possible, while of course sticking to the class style! I emphasize breath and mind focus, believing the extensive nerve stimulation coupled with slow melodic breathing and mental exercises to be what really sets yoga apart from other physical practices. I’ll briefly guide you to a safe mental state in which to practice and send you back out into the world with love.
Having been a part of the San Marcos community since 2012 (eat ’em up), I’m happy to be able to serve y’all here in San Marcos by spreading light, love, and balance.
Namaste <3
