yoga for health

 Yoga became a big part of my life as a way to heal from a debilitating illness. Off work and trying to slowly increase daily movement, I found a 50+ therapeutic class... and I was only 35! The gentle approach and breath awareness nourished every cell of my body, and eventually I was able to do much more.

I'd tried yoga and meditation off and on for well over a decade before this, and I'd always had a keen interest in health, wellness and fitness. I loved going all-out on weightlifting, aerobics and running after graduating high school and leaving the Championship basketball team that had me running drills, fit and focused.

This new approach of going slow, easing into a posture or staying in one spot and deepening the pose using breath, was totally new! And it was exactly the approach I needed mentally and physically, because in my go-all-out days I'd injured my back and eventually had to have emergency back surgery. So I was more than a little shy about putting my body through any kind of " all-out" physical challenge..

After two years of the 50+ class, (Yoga with Elke) plus allopathic and complementary medicine, I was beginning to feel like myself again. So I tried a yoga intensive... and it was hard! I wasn't really ready and my body hurt. But by the end of four long weekends I was moving easier, felt more energetic and more like the real me! I loved feeling freer in my body, clearer mentally and less chaotic generally!

When I started Yoga Teacher Training (2012) it was completely about going deeper in my own practice and continuing to focus on healing. I didn't intend to teach but in the back of my mind I thought that it would be amazing to share this potential for healing with others.

Yoga truly is a whole-being wellness tradition that facilitates personal growth through the yogic principles. My goal is to share what I've learned, to keep learning (from my students and other teachers), and to encourage students to listen to their own inner teacher, because our gut wisdom is so often the best guide and we all need practice listening to it.