Yoga

I began my journey with yoga in 2001. After experiencing many injuries from dancing professionally, I decided to take yoga classes in Dayton, Ohio for restoration and healing. In Columbus, Ohio I took a primary series Ashtanga class. I immediately fell in love with Ashtanga since it required discipline, focus and physical strength, but most importantly because there was a strong connection with breath and movement. I continued to study Ashtanga with the teachers at Yoga on High (Columbus, Ohio), and had the honor to train with David Swenson on two workshops. Throughout the years I have continued to learn and enrich my yoga practice through self-study and taking classes from numerous teachers across the country within many styles (Hot, Acro, Nidra, Bikram, Hatha, Yin, Power/Vinyasa and Ashtanga). I have taught yoga to dancers, college students and individuals from different walks of life. I have fulfilled a longtime dream to travel to India in order to deepen my yoga practice and obtain my Yoga Teacher Certification.

Yoga is a spiritual and self-realization practice developed in India that helps us reconnect with our innate capacity for consciousness, peace, gratitude, and joy. These connections ultimately allow deeper connections with the higher consciousness, nature, ourselves and others. Asana practice is only but a small percentage of yoga;  I find that true yoga practice is in our actions, thoughts and words, to self and others. I believe that we can master the mind through the mastering of our bodies via asana practice. Therefore, I encourage practitioners in my classes to maintain focus and compassionately push their bodies beyond their comfort zones to increase flexibility, and physical/mental strength and stamina. 

My yoga classes are dynamic, encouraging and inspired by the Ashtanga tradition; I design energetic sequences that emphasize fluid motions from one pose to the next while connecting breathing to movements. The sequences incorporate strength, flexibility, balance, and physical/mental stamina. Sequences are modified in intensify, duration and frequency in order to challenge the body and mind, and lastly accommodate for the various levels of practice. I incorporate chanting, meditation and pranayama.