How and when did your Yoga journey begin?
I wish I could say that it was to improve my health and reconnect to my self, but the reality is... Madonna. I was a child of the '80s and growing up I idolized Madonna. In the nineties when she went through her yoga phase, so did I. I fell in love, went through a teacher training to bring yoga to my small Kentucky hometown, and have continued to teach and practice ever since. And... as a consequence... it has improved my health and helped me reconnect to self, and made me way easier to live with (according to my husband and kids).
What do you love most about teaching Yoga?
I love creating fun and unique sequences that integrate anatomy, functional movement, and a theme that all tie in together, oh yeah... and yoga poses. The best part, however, is sharing it with the yoga community that comes to Bhava.
What style of Yoga do you most often teach?
Hmm.. this is a hard one, I change my mind and my style frequently. I love to play with a lot of styles and weave them together. My goal is to teach my students about their bodies and different ways to move them. Most of my classes integrate movements intended to increase both joint stability and mobility throughout the body. Sometimes I do this in a fun, creative, vinyasa flow, other times may look more like a Hatha approach. I like to break the rules and move "outside of the mat..." Traditional yoga poses always make their way into my classes but my approach is never the same.
What does your personal Yoga practice look like?
I like to practice first thing in the morning for 20-45 minutes. This depends on how much time I have or how active I want to be. I used to think that if I wasn't practicing for a minimum of an hour I wasn't really practicing. This lead to me never really practicing. Giving myself an option to do a short practice was a game-changer.
Just like my style of teaching I like to switch up my personal practice as well. I often take online classes with teachers who inspire me. I have learned so much from other teachers, it keeps me growing and changing as a student and teacher. I do like to challenge myself, so I lean towards classes that are more challenging. I also tend towards teachers who are more creative with their yoga and integrate other movement styles into their sequences.
Who are your biggest Yoga inspirations?
My teacher's Noah Maze and Rocky Heron continue to be my biggest inspirations. I also love Tara Judelle, Tiffany Cruikshank, and Kathryn Budig. I have recently started to follow some of the more movement-based teachers such as Carrie Owerko and Jenni Rawlings. I like teachers that have an understanding of the biomechanics of the body and weave this into their classes.
Three words to describe your classes:
intentional, informative, challenging (at least this is what I am told, lol)
