At its heart yoga is simply connection. I found my yoga practice at a time where I felt incredibly disconnected. After graduating college, I found myself lost. After ending a relationship that I was going to follow across the country, I found myself in St. Louis, working two jobs where I spent most of my time alone, living in an apartment where I felt rejected, and with no motivation to do anything but watch The Wire and swipe through dating apps. Following a devastating heartbreak from the only person that I felt connected to, I found a new low. I looked around and found myself asking, "This is it? This is what I worked so hard for?" And then, when I had almost lost hope, I found my best friend. Through that connection I began to see light again. At the end of January 2015, Meghan took me to my first yoga class at Yoga Six. I found my home. I found myself. Following a month of daily yoga practices, I took a big exhale and let go of what was no longer serving me (my job, my apartment, the stories I'd been telling myself). Eight months later I graduated from my 200 hour yoga teacher training with Yoga Six. Since then I have continued to pursue connection through yoga. In June of 2016, I taught my first yoga class in a maximum security men's prison. That class broke my heart wide open and again I found myself and found my passion for teaching to those who are incarcerated. In January of 2017, I completed my Prison Yoga Teacher Training with The Prison Yoga Project. I now teach Yoga and Mindfulness at Concordance Academy of Leadership to participants transitioning out of prison. My hungry for more knowledge and a deeper spiritual practice brought me to Bali to complete my 500 hour yoga teacher training. As I continue to dive deeper into this practice, the lines blur between yoga on my mat and yoga off of my mat. For me, yoga is a way of living. Yoga means showing up for yourself and showing up for those around you. It means smiling to each person you pass on the street. It means feeding yourself with love. It means knowing each of my over 40 plants and attending to their needs. In addition to being a crazy yoga and plant lady, I also have two Boston Terriers, Lila and Georgia who are the loves of my life. And that's pretty much me. A recovering perfectionist turned free spirit working to cultivate deeper connection with everyone I meet. What has been your journey so far? I would love to hear!
