I have been teaching yoga for 5 years and practicing for over 10. I got into yoga for the challenge and a change from weight lifting and running, but soon found a more rounded athletic practice, working on my physical and mental strength. My yoga training started in 2001 with Richard Freeman. Richard impressed upon me a daily, systematic Ashtanga practice. Most importantly, to not take myself so seriously, do yoga and all is coming. In 2005 I attended a week-long teacher training with Paul Grilley. Working with Paul changed my whole outlook on yoga. My preference for fast paced yoga diminished and I understood the importance of slow, thoughtful movements. I also learned the most important lesson: every body is different. The following year I attended the same teacher training with Paul Grilley to reinforce all that I had learned with him and my own practice. I opened my own yoga studio in 2007 to put my knowledge into practice. I took all that I had learned from Paul and Richard and blended the styles. My focus in the studio is students first. I worked with everyone from children to seniors. I didn't limit myself to just yoga movements. I had balance boards, pull-up bars, balance beams, ropes, weights, anything to help a student figure out their daily practice, what worked best with their body and goals. I closed my studio a few years later to do a Zen pilgrimage in Japan. Through all my training and teaching I feel deeply the importance of clarity. I do my best to convey yoga as clearly and easily as I can in order to create positive outcomes for any person. From my experiences I have found that for some students yoga can be seen as scary and foreign. Confusion creates division and hierarchy. I strive to teach directly and simply. My focus is the student, and the student's goals. The movements of the body described in yoga asana are meant for therapeutic gain of the student, the teacher being the facilitator. I believe that it is the human behavior of naming and classifying that has created stratification in what we call yoga today. Therefore I am not necessarily sure that I prefer to call myself a yoga teacher. I do not typically think of what I do necessarily as yoga. My background in physical training entails both yoga and non-yoga type movements. So what do I do? I read recently that a teacher's responsibility is to create the conditions for healing, while at the same time doing no harm. Depending on the student, the requirements for achieving their goals are always different. Sometimes I use yoga, sometimes I use balance, sometimes we go running, swimming or walking, sometimes we do nothing. Everyone's personal situation is different. It is always with the student in mind that my suggestions occur. People always ask me what style of yoga I teach. I teach the art of yoga without yoga, (with a wink to Bruce Lee). If you want to categorize what I do, typically people think I teach Ashtanga, Hot Vinyasa, Traditional 26 Hot, Yin Yoga, Power Vinyasa, and SUP Yoga. That is a lot of styles. |  Teaching Styles
Yin Yoga Workshop Yin Yoga is the practice of exercising deep tissue in the body. Sometimes referred to as Taoist Yoga or Bone Yoga, Yin Yoga is an ancient tradition. Some practitioners believe Yin Yoga strengthens bones and connective tissues, others feel a sense of meditative calm or bodily restoration. Whatever your skill level, whatever your objective, this two day seminar will deepen your understanding of Yin Yoga. A three day course in New Zealand: Intro to Yang Yin Yoga The first of a three-part series of Yin Yoga related workshops, this Friday session focuses on warming Yang movements followed by a Yin practice. Yang openings require balance and concentration. Explore Surya Namaskar A & B as part of the Yang experience before shifting to a nourishing Yin practice in the second half of this first workshop. The Friday night session will focus on the poses specific to Yang Yin Yoga. Yin Flow: Tension and Compression Through a yin flow you will discover the difference between Tension and Compression in your body. Students will investigate joint development and function by exploring the principles of tension and compression in theory and in a moving practice. The practice will include demonstrations of joint mobility using students as a point of comparison and contrast. Anatomy of Yin Yoga Building on the basics of tension and compression, we will discuss yoga anatomy in relation to the Yin poses specifically. Use of increased anatomical knowledge combined with personal intuition will guide each student to the deeper more meditative aspects of his / her Yin practice. This class explores a longer hold experience within poses. |