About

Why yoga.

I was about 7 years old when I did my first yoga class with my mom in our living room, watching Raquel Welch in her zebra print leotard (hey, if you can get past the hairstyles and leg warmers it’s still a great 90 minute class, and free to view):

When it got too embarrassing to do yoga with my mom, I started dance classes, in the form of ballet, tap and jazz and although we had a required “yoga” class, the main goal was to make us more flexible so we would win more competitions, and I not-so-fondly remember my dance teacher coming to push with the full weight of her being my legs into the splits. Note: NOT YOGA. When it became apparent in my late teens that I would be no prima ballerina, I turned to personal training at a gym, where it didn’t take long to realize the emptiness in pumping iron and drinking 3 protein shakes a day (and not much else other than diet coke) for the sole point of vanity.

It was at this point, at that gym, that I took my first yoga class as an adult. I recall being smugly pleased with myself for being slightly more flexible than others in the class (owing all to my dance torture of course), but I hated it. It brought up memories of that aforementioned teacher and her sadist stretching techniques. From then on, I only took the occasional “stretching” class out of wanting long, lean muscles.

Cut to 5 years later. Life happened. I grew up a bit, and I stopped looking in the mirror as much. I studied International Development, which would kick off my living in Uganda for 6 years doing NGO work. But before I left for that new adventure, I made the wise decision of visiting a therapist. My main complaint was chronic shoulder pain and the little sleep I got because of it. I only saw her once, and she gave me the biggest gift I’ve probably ever received: she taught me mindfulness meditation. It didn’t take away the pain, but it showed me how to cope. The first night I practiced it had me sleeping like I never had before.

I shoved that useful tool in my back pocket and moved to Africa (where I would continue to use it time and time again). It was there, surprisingly, that I would expand my meditation practice, learn Pranayama and eventually head to India to study in an ashram. This was when I was, once again, introduced to the physical side of yoga, the asana practice (begrudgingly, as it was required in order to meditate).  And finally, I got it. I got what this whole yoga thing was all about (perhaps I’m not the fastest of learners).

The meditation, the breathing, the philosophy, the physical practice fundamentally shifted me. I felt lighter, happier, new – this coming from a girl who had once confessed to a friend that I didn’t know if I’d ever been truly happy. But this was a new feeling, and I wanted more. There is not a great amount of yoga happening in Uganda, as you can imagine, but I was lucky enough to find a great teacher, Pablo Imani, who taught me the unique Afrikan Yoga style. It resonated greatly with me, as it incorporated a lot of flowing movement, and being a dancer, it felt like coming home. And so I did yoga, and also went to my office job, watching unhappy people slouch over their desks, eat at their desks, grab the 8th cup of coffee and head back to their desks, work 60 hours a week and not blink an eye, then head to the bar to drink until they passed out in a stupor, only to start the cycle the next day. Of course, I’m oversimplifying, but it’s scary the amount of truth there is to that sentence as well. I wanted to share this gift I’d been given, this internal spark of peace inside me. Pablo agreed to train me to teach, and from then on I started teaching my own classes.

Since that point, the learning has never stopped. Yoga ignited a spark in me, an insatiable thirst for truth, my own truth and a better way to live. I started learning Childbirth Education and training to be a Doula through Birth Arts International, because nothing made me smile more than teaching prenatal classes to women; delighting in the magnificent creation growing within them. Deciding to move to Bali and continue my training through High Vibe was a huge leap of faith and ultimately the best decision I could have made. Immersing myself in the teachings of Hatha with an Anusara twist through Emily Kuser. Learning anatomy with Chris Kummer, opening my heart with Bex Tyrer (along with some Acro yoga!), learning to cut the BS and just be honest with Les Levinthal, Thai yoga massage with Carlos Romero. All beautiful souls and amazing teachers.

The learning never stops, and every student teaches me as much as I teach them. Hoping to see you on the mat and share my love of this practice with you.

Love and laughter,

Trisha