When and how did yoga first grab you? You knew it was for you?

Yoga first caught my attention in 1998. I was in college as a dance major, only 18 years old, & the class was a requirement. I remember thinking wow, what is this movement practice?! And I absolutely loved it. It was taught by our modern teacher & yogi from India. She taught us all the Sanskrit & spoke a lot about utilizing the breath. It was the first time I heard about a mind-body connection and the power of breathing & it was life changing. I never stopped practicing & talking about yoga after that!

What was most surprising to you about the Yoga Teacher Training?

Describe please. The most surprising thing was how deeply connected I felt to the work. I knew I loved the asana practice of yoga, but taking the month intensive allowed me to truly drop into all the work, to explore all the limbs of yoga, to live & breathe the practice, & to come out the other side changed.

Describe a time a yoga teacher said something or a yoga class impacted you and shifted your perspective.

For years at Sonic, I used to take class weekly from Sarah Ireland. Her class consistently impacted my practice & shifted my perspective. She always wove elements that affected our day to day into our movement practice, like her dharma class, her Valentine’s Day / heart-centered class, or her classes on the deities or the chakras. Her classes were always extremely inspiring, well planned, & thought provoking. I always left differently than I entered. In addition, in our Teacher Training we took the Business of Yoga with her. She said something that has stuck with me all these years – she told us if we see a yoga audition, share it with our friends. If we see an opportunity, share it with our friends. Don’t ever hoard or keep things to ourselves because that is a scarcity mindset. She said to share & give & allow opportunity to flow amongst all of us because there is abundance and enough for us all. We will all be placed exactly where we are supposed to be placed. The energy of an abundant mindset is more positive & more good will come of that than one of scarcity, which is closed & limited. The more we give the more we get. Always open our hearts to giving and sharing. This lesson hit me so deep and re-shaped the way I look and things and move through the world. Whenever I feel that constriction & that sensation of wanting to hold tight to something I think about what Sarah taught us and I give instead because I whole heartedly agree with that life lesson and am so grateful to have learned it from her during my Teacher Training.