A blog!!!

I am finally a blogger!!! Just goes to show what a little free time will do for you... :) So I have decided to start this blog for those of you who are my students or those of you who will be my students one day. I will be posting playlists from classes I teach, information on rad concerts, workshops and events, and answering questions that I get every day pertaining to yoga, anatomy, and the bliss of living. I will drop my (lengthy) bio in here for my first post so that you can learn a bit about me:

I was born with an overwhelming childhood imagination that I have yet to outgrow! I've always had a love of movement, poetry and music; the way that they could draw -so genuinely- the emotions out of me that I'd stuffed away and refused to experience first hand. I started dancing when I was 3 years old, writing when I was 8 years old, acting when I was 14 years old and finally officially began to practice hatha yoga at 17 years old. I have always been looking, searching and asking for something- something bigger, brighter and more powerful for me- I just never realized that all this already was me, I just needed to flip the switch. 

I gained valuable instruction through my theatre program that coached me to be present and watch how you and other people act and react- what does it mean and can you tell when people are being fake? There is some of you in every single character you play and some of every single character in you. The Meisner Technique taught me how to listen and diction classes how to speak, voice classes taught me how to sing and shop taught me how to build things from the ground up. I had this wealth of knowledge but once I was done with school what was I to do with it? I would move. 

The universe drew me to Portland in that odd little way that it pulls things. I hopped on the plane with 2 suitcases of clothing and my little cat under the seat. I knew no one here so I found the serenity and security of "home" on my yoga mat. I started practicing 3 times a week then 4, and 5, and 6... all of the sudden I noticed I was practicing 2 or 3 times a day even! It was amazing the clarity I would gain every time that I stepped off of the mat. But it was not until I experienced Baron Baptiste that my light flickered on.

A month before I met Baron I realized that I missed being a kid. You know, that wide eyed exploration that allows them to completely observe every single day. I set out on a mission and made it my resolution to find who I really am, commit completely to a spiritual transformation, and seek the truth of what it is that allows children to throw themselves at life and paint the walls tinkerbell pink. So I signed up for a level 1 teacher training Baptiste Bootcamp. I realized that my entire life had been building up to this moment; my world was cracked open, my heart shattered in a million pieces, I thought my brain would explode and then all of the sudden there was stillness. I wept with joy at the exposure of my radiance and humility. I proudly removed my heart from my chest and displayed it on my sleeve all the while vowing that for the rest of my life I would spill yoga on everyone I possibly could.

I learned from Baron that I already knew everything I needed to know: he reminded me of how to listen and how to speak authentically, how to sing from my heart and how to build things from the ground up. I was reminded that there is some of me in everyone and some of everyone in me, that it is the ego the causes us to act and react, what it means- how to tell when people are real or inauthentic. I realized the stillness that I experienced is also known as surrender and intuition is the best teacher I could ever follow. Since training with Baron I have taken workshops with other master teachers who have built on this solid foundation that I have established. I have been inspired by Ana Forrest, Rod Srtyker, Seane Corne, Shiva Rea, Bryan Kest, and Tim Miller. I gain insights from my fellow teachers and the students whom I have taught. I still consider myself a student, every single day I fall (some days harder than others) and I learn how to get back up. 

The classes that I teach are based on my experience on and off of my yoga mat. I stress intuition and intention with the cultivation of humility and gratitude through the exploration of every opposition. I believe that every ounce of grace comes from chaotic sloppiness whether it is in your head or expressed through your anatomy. And...I love to give hands on assistance. I believe that we can all tap into our true organic nature; we just need a guiding light and the proper tools to discover it within ourselves.