For years I believed that yoga was not for me... I was always running from one thing to the next - school, work, time with friends and family, the gym, etc. and my workouts reflected that frenetic pace. I was happy and active and stimulated on the outside, but found that I was craving more stability, more time to just be calm and mellow on the inside. It was through this craving that I found my way to my mat.
I began practicing yoga twelve years ago and finally decided to enroll in a teacher-training program in March of 2014. I received my 200-hour certification through Lexington Power Yoga in November of that year. I continue to be guided and mentored by many of the teachers who initially 'trained' me - Lorraine Shedoudi, Tina Adinou, Linda Spolidoro, Michael Mann, and then others whom I've been lucky enough to meet since like Jen Murray and Alyssa Hale... I have found though that as I continue to teach and connect my life on and off the mat, that most of what I learn comes from the students who share space with me in the studio - whether I'm teaching or practicing.
My practice tends to directly reflect my desire to slow things down. I am trying to find that balance always - of being internally grounded and still yet fluid and engaged. Each day on my mat is different; each moment is a chance to start over and work on everything or on nothing. It is this freedom to just, ‘be’ whatever it is that I need, in that particular moment, that I have found through yoga.
I have been a teacher in Boston Public Schools for seventeen years and presently teach Grade 5. I love my job and even more than that, I love my students. I wish for them each-and-every day the same things that I wish for my daughter – to be happy and healthy, confident and kind. This is what I hope to bring into the studio, whether I am practicing myself or teaching. Learning to show ourselves compassion and forgiveness is perhaps the greatest shift I have made and I am grateful to my practice for guiding me to this place.