Yoga, Bhoga, and the long journey to Empowered Well-Being
In the past, I’ve been really pissed off that Yoga has become so tarnished by - or the perception of yoga has become so tarnished by the bad behavior of creepy men (like Bikram, John Friend, even Pattabhi Jois) as well as the commercialization of a supremely practical and beneficial physical and spiritual practice that has turned it into a joke and for show. Weird. And yeah, I really have been affected by that (or maybe more accurately, affected myself with that). Yeah, I do care a lot. Yeah, I am a highly sensitive person. I do have trouble starting and finishing projects and I need to move around a lot. I feel things deeply. I have big emotions. Instead of learning life skills to deal with all that in my youth, I, like many, was told over and over again “you are irresponsible” “you are ungrateful” “you are just too sensitive” “you have a heart of gold and people are going to walk all over it” “what happened? you were such a good girl" and “if someone else can help you, you can help yourself.” Great, now what? says the girl who feels misplaced and can’t please anyone.
Be weird. Become a Montessori teacher, have your babies at home, breastfeed in public, support local midwives and farmers, make things, do Yoga. From the beginning, I was enamored with the whole of “Yoga” - the language, the stories, the physical practice, the breathing, the everything. You know why?! Because it’s freaking cool! and because I LOVE LIFE and Yoga is about accessing that mystery. I teach Yoga in its holistic sense - as a life skill. I don’t claim to be “enlightened” but rather an average person who experiences moments of enlightenment and deep meaning, a passionate creative with insight to share, as well as highly sensitive, pensive, and able-bodied human. So the asana practice is a bare-bones yet powerful tool for me to “experience” and take care of myself but the rest of Yoga is is the gravy, the sweet and sour nectar of coming to terms with life and our own mortality.
There's so much more to Yoga than movement and exercise because there’s so much more to us humans than what is on the outside. Yoga is ultimately the most practical way to know yourself, to develop appreciation for yourself, and ultimately care for yourself and others with compassion and confidence, grounded in your own process, because it’s about paying attention and developing skills and responsiveness.
I started with pure Iyengar Yoga and have studied with soooo many different teachers in different methods in different cities all over the U.S. and abroad. I’ve also listened to a lot of people who talk a good game but didn’t speak to my experience or who I could tell were full of shit. I’ve taught Yoga for many different issues and ailments to many different ages of boys, girls, women and men, often in private, one-on-one sessions. So when someone asks, “What kind of Yoga do you do/teach?” I say, “The Yoga kind.” It’s not about WHAT Yoga you do. It’s are you doing it in a Yoga kind of way. On that note, I’ve also greatly benefited from non-yoga methods of self-development including gestalt therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, career and life coaching. Personally, outside of work, I’ve spent hours talking to people, listening to their concerns and troubles - particularly in relationship with others. I do listen, and relationship is key.
For a while now, I have been hemming and hawing about offering coaching as an integrated whole of my life’s work, but the definition of “coach” just doesn’t resonate with me. Advocate, advisor, guide, educator, facilitator, encourager, witness are more accurate in describing what I feel I can and would like to offer. In a coaching session with me, I will actually guide you to work that applies to your personal situation, teach you what you need to know to do it yourself, then give it over for you to do between sessions. No matter if we work together one time or many, many times, we will always have a follow-up session because you doing the work and checking back in with me is the way you're going to see how the work works for you and get results. And that is empowering.
An empowered & well being is someone who embraces power from within, relies on natural rhythms and processes, takes ownership, avoids blame, and speaks up.
Empowered Well-Being is an inside job that involves looking at, doing things, and communicating in ways that may be unfamiliar and different. And it’s personal.
You WILL want to work with me if you:
Want someone to talk to who is understanding and compassionate
Want to explore your values, recurring thoughts, & behaviors, and work toward alignment
Want to work with someone who is professional, knowledgeable and experienced in a wide range of movement, breathing, bodywork, personal development and personal empowerment methods
Identify as a perfectionist or have been diagnosed with neurodivergent traits
Are an enthusiastic and avid learner who likes to have fun
Have an affinity for nature, and natural processes
Have or want to develop a consistent spiritual or creative practice (same thing, actually)
Want to work with someone as caring and quirky as you are
Have time and money to invest in yourself
You will NOT want to work with me if you:
Think you want to develop a non-professional relationship like a personal friendship
Want help with severe mental health challenges. (While the work we do together can be therapeutic, and while I know a lot about mental health, I am not a licensed psychotherapist, and what I offer is not called therapy).
Think doing Yoga is doing a bunch of “yoga moves” in a hot room
Are not ready or are unwilling to open up to someone who offers accountability, encouragement, a little hand-holding, and an occasional kick in the butt
Don’t like to read, write, draw, and/or are not interested in creative exploration, processing, expression
Do not see investing in time with me as an investment in yourself that will benefit you and those around you
Think you’re doing fine on your own
I don’t have it all figured out and I can’t figure it out for you. But one thing I know is that we can figure out a whole lot more when we do it together.
