Q: What are you devoted to?
A: TRUTH! If yoga is a practice of dissolving the illusion that separates us from truth, then I’m all in. In this brief time that we’re alive in these bodies, I commit wholeheartedly to the dissolution of anything that isn’t truth, pure and simple. The good, the bad and the ugly...bring it!
Q: How does devotion show up for you in your yoga practice? Off the mat? When you're teaching?
A: Devotion shows up at that little fork in the road that presents itself each day on my mat, off the mat and when I have the privilege of guiding others on this path we’re all walking. Should I go this way, or that way? Make this choice or that choice? And when you get quiet enough inside, Truth presents itself and you get to decide anew if you’re devoted to it or not, come what may.
Q: What are your goals as a student in the next year?
A: The subtle continues to get more and more interesting as I tune ever more closely to what’s going on within and without me. I’m allowing for old opinions to dissolve as I hear new things from my body and my spirit. I want to cultivate my creative spark and relax around my process. I want to face any shame that arises in my practice with a knowing smile and continue to see the humor in it all. The “lila” must be there, the play is essential.
Q: Favorite yoga pose?
A: It depends on any given day, any sesh on the mat. But Forearm Plank is always a contender. Ardha Chandrasana (half-moon) has been a lover from the very beginning. And I think Bhujapidasana (Arm Pressure Pose) and Bhujangasana (Cobra) are seriously unsung heroes in the pantheon of asanas.
Q: Yoga pose took longest to master?
A: I’m proud to say I’m a master of none since I keep discovering little subtleties in the most basic asanas that would prevent me from saying that. But I find all the backbends with shoulder flexion (arms up over your head) like to play hard to get. In the end, we lose them all except savasana so maybe that’s the one to really master!
Q: In your past life, you ...
A: Pretty sure I was the front woman of a 60’s R&B band.
Q: If you weren't a yoga instructor, what would you be doing instead?
A: In college I worked in a library and I’ve always said if this yoga thing doesn’t work out, I’d become a librarian. They get to do a lot of detective type research and get to shush people. I love that.
Q: If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A: Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. I've read lots of other fabulous books that I'd be hesitant to be without but that was the first book that really shifted my perspective about my Self and life. I read it in high school and love it and quote from it often.
Q: Tell me about someone who has influenced your teaching or your practice?
A: I have PHENOMENAL real-life teachers in a formal sense whose commitment to their own practice and evolution lights a lamp for me to see so much I would otherwise miss. Shiva Rea, Max Strom, Denise Kaufman, Erich Schiffmann, Cyndi Lee...Most recently what is influencing me is collaborating with other teachers with different styles and passions, watching Meghan Currie’s self-practices on You Tube and Jason Bowman stressing the importance of leisurely pursuits. The teachings are everywhere if you make space.
Q: When/where did you begin to practice yoga?
A: My beginning was practically an accident - back in college at UCSD I was taking an elective Phys Ed course, I think it was even called "Weight Training" and a woman in the class asked our burly teacher if she could begin every class with 10 minutes of yoga. Yoga wasn't even popular yet. And surprisingly, he said yes - and so began my love affair with yoga!
Q: What style of yoga do you currently practice and teach?
A: I call my classes "Integrated Vinyasa" and they are an integration of the dynamic energetics I learned from Shiva Rea's Prana Flow methodology and my own passion for anatomy and alignment as tools for meditation - prana dharana. Both our physical and energetic aspects are explored with emphasis on vitality and appreciation for life and enjoying the evolutionary process. Laughing is integral to that!
Q: What inspires you?
A: People embracing their evolutionary journey, come what may. I love seeing adults recognize they are not in stasis and can continue discovering, changing and expanding for the rest of their lives. Fearlessness, curiosity and willingness inspire me!!
Q: Outside of yoga, what is your greatest passion?
A: Hiking, cooking, snowboarding...these are things I love too. But when it comes to passion, as in driving force in my life, it's creating opportunities for people to recognize their power and limitless potential.
Q: What is in your yoga bag?
A: The key to my scooter, a fat tube of homemade lip balm, my sequencing notebook, my ipod, my wallet and my appetite.
Q: What do you never leave home without?
A: My sense of humor. Oh, and my sunglasses. I have sensitive eye balls.
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