Yoga is more than a movement practice.
It's a pathway to self-knowledge and growth.
I'm a yoga writer, a yoga teacher trainer, and an accomplished yoga practitioner.
But when I first came to yoga, I came because I had a running injury.
I was in pain, and I needed help. First I discovered Pilates, and then yoga. I was initially drawn to these movement practices strictly for the physical benefits: I stopped getting running injuries. I had a stronger core. I discovered the power of my glutes. My running got better and faster and easier. The intention behind my yoga practice was healing, and I healed.
But over time, yoga became transformative in subtler ways. Yoga stopped being just about the physical practice, and I started feeling it affect my attitude, spirit, and heart. The intention behind my practice began to be meditative and philosophical, reflective of yoga texts and my deeper dive into the secular spirituality that yoga offers.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, my yoga practice shifted again. Yoga became even more important to my sense of self when I was pregnant and in the postnatal period. Yoga and meditation gave me the tools to rediscover myself and my body in the new circumstance of being a mom. I learned to use yoga as a tool to restrengthen my hips and core, to find peace and calm in harried moments, and to be in communion with myself on busy days.
Healing and introspection were at the heart of my movement practice. Motherhood changed my yoga practice so much, that I founded and co-created Whole Mama Yoga as a platform to write and teach about the intersection of yoga, pregnancy, and motherhood. While I no longer steward Whole Mama Yoga, it still exists as a a collective of prenatal and postpartum yoga teachers today, and I'm so proud of their work.
My yoga classes offer a clear intention at the start: come and see if the messages resonate. (And crafting an effective message for classes is so important to me, I co-wrote two books about it!) But the longer I teach movement, the more I feel like my fundamental message is something like "just be and breathe."
Listening to our bodies is especially important for healthy aging. Thinking about how yoga can help us with aging is an important focus for me, and I consider that before every yoga class I offer. I want to be dancing, hiking, and playing until my last days on earth—and I bet you do, too. Movement is medicine, and yoga is an important part of the healthy aging equation.
I've taught movement, Pilates, and yoga for over 15 years, and I'm registered with Yoga Alliance as E-RYT 500 level instructor. I'm grateful to the many leaders who have guided my path, including my mentor Sage Rountree and my teachers Carson Efird, Coral Brown, Mira Shani, Michael Johnson, Michelle Johnson, and many others who have influenced the way I teach.
In addition to teaching multiple classes weekly at Carrboro Yoga Company, I also teach weekly at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw.
After many years co-leading Whole Mama Yoga's Prenatal and Postpartum Yoga Teacher Training, I now lead Carrboro Yoga's 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program.
I've led workshops at Yogaville in Virginia and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health Massachusetts, and I've co-written 4 books on yoga. My work has been featured on NPR's Here and Now, and a variety of television segments on ABC and Fox.
But when I first came to yoga, I came because I had a running injury.
I was in pain, and I needed help. First I discovered Pilates, and then yoga. I was initially drawn to these movement practices strictly for the physical benefits: I stopped getting running injuries. I had a stronger core. I discovered the power of my glutes. My running got better and faster and easier. The intention behind my yoga practice was healing, and I healed.
But over time, yoga became transformative in subtler ways. Yoga stopped being just about the physical practice, and I started feeling it affect my attitude, spirit, and heart. The intention behind my practice began to be meditative and philosophical, reflective of yoga texts and my deeper dive into the secular spirituality that yoga offers.
When I was pregnant with my daughter, my yoga practice shifted again. Yoga became even more important to my sense of self when I was pregnant and in the postnatal period. Yoga and meditation gave me the tools to rediscover myself and my body in the new circumstance of being a mom. I learned to use yoga as a tool to restrengthen my hips and core, to find peace and calm in harried moments, and to be in communion with myself on busy days.
Healing and introspection were at the heart of my movement practice. Motherhood changed my yoga practice so much, that I founded and co-created Whole Mama Yoga as a platform to write and teach about the intersection of yoga, pregnancy, and motherhood. While I no longer steward Whole Mama Yoga, it still exists as a a collective of prenatal and postpartum yoga teachers today, and I'm so proud of their work.
My yoga classes offer a clear intention at the start: come and see if the messages resonate. (And crafting an effective message for classes is so important to me, I co-wrote two books about it!) But the longer I teach movement, the more I feel like my fundamental message is something like "just be and breathe."
Listening to our bodies is especially important for healthy aging. Thinking about how yoga can help us with aging is an important focus for me, and I consider that before every yoga class I offer. I want to be dancing, hiking, and playing until my last days on earth—and I bet you do, too. Movement is medicine, and yoga is an important part of the healthy aging equation.
I've taught movement, Pilates, and yoga for over 15 years, and I'm registered with Yoga Alliance as E-RYT 500 level instructor. I'm grateful to the many leaders who have guided my path, including my mentor Sage Rountree and my teachers Carson Efird, Coral Brown, Mira Shani, Michael Johnson, Michelle Johnson, and many others who have influenced the way I teach.
In addition to teaching multiple classes weekly at Carrboro Yoga Company, I also teach weekly at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw.
After many years co-leading Whole Mama Yoga's Prenatal and Postpartum Yoga Teacher Training, I now lead Carrboro Yoga's 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program.
I've led workshops at Yogaville in Virginia and Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health Massachusetts, and I've co-written 4 books on yoga. My work has been featured on NPR's Here and Now, and a variety of television segments on ABC and Fox.
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