A little about yoga- from my perspective, anyways…

Welcome to my new blog- all about yoga; more specifically…the adventures of instructing asana.

One of my favorite Portland teachers, Jay Fields, reminds me that the title ‘yoga teacher’ is itself a kind of misnomer.  Rather, we should aim to be yoga facilitators.  Ultimately, my goal is to provide the space for my students to teach themselves yoga.  Having mechanical knowledge of the human form, I am there to ensure the safe practice of asana.  But most importantly, as the lineage to which I ascribe reminds that performing asana is not necessarily practicing yoga, I aim for something deeper.  I seek to offer my students the permission to do what should, but what unfortunately does not, in our culture of misplaced priorities, come most naturally- to connect with, honor and then express the deepest levels of self.

It is here within all us, I believe, that divine perfection resides.

Yoga and I found one another roughly 5 years ago when I was taking science classes with the intention of attending veterinary school.  At a small women’s college in Decatur, Ga., I met my first teacher- Rutu Chaudhari-whose passion for yoga, command of anatomy  and infectious personality accompanied me, several years subsequent to that very first class (where she chuckled at me for insisting that I could use a towel rather than a mat!), through my first teacher training in an alignment based asana practice in the Purna yoga tradition.

I love this practice.  I love every aspect of it- even the parts that I find difficult and frustrating, challenging and humbling; often these aspects are the most fruitful- the times where I can begin to see myself as honestly as possible, calling on myself to engage in the practice of self-compassion- as Rutu says, ‘turning the lights on gently…’

The joys of yoga are too manifold to list- many of which I do  not know by name or thought, but simply by the residues of calm and equanimity that increasingly surface amidst the occasional turbulent waters of life.   Yoga teaches me the art of cultivating discernment between moments where the application of will is called for and the moments/experiences/situations over which I have no control- to which I must surrender.

This way of being is the ultimate expression of faith- of trusting that all is as it should be, even in the moments where I wish it were different.  Alternately, when life is smooth and easy, I am learning to receive and accept the bounty- responding with a gratitude that often, uncannily, begets even more sweetness.

Yoga teaches me patience and fosters within me the ability to gaze upon myself, others and my experiences with less judgement.  There are truly moments where my proximity to experience transcends the default application of dichotomous labeling…’this is good’ or ‘this is bad’.  All experience is our teacher- often times the less desirable more so than the pleasurable.

Yoga is a dance of balance sought between the dichotomies inherent in human experience; of an ongoing reevaluation of what life calls for- of what Self asks of self.  Our practices, like our lives, are always changing.  The practice has become my best friend- the anchor that leads me inward, softening me to revelation and instilling within me the courage requisite in the fathomless quest for Self.

Tune in.  Listen closely.  If you truly wish to know, within us all exists more clarity than we even realize.