So, there are several questions that I am frequently asked...
Most recent of which includes, Why don't you start a blog??
Ok here we go...
If you know me, then you know I am passionate about yoga. It is my life. More and more I find myself not just studying or practicing yoga, but LIVING yoga. Of course, those of you who know yoga, know it is a LIFE-LONG practice!
How did I first get into yoga?
Well...
An old boyfriend, Bill, first planted that seed. He was teaching me how to explore mountains on a bike. Those first few trips were terribly frustrating for me. I felt like I was having an asthma attack. Admittedly, I was leading a pretty "toxic" life back then (about 1992), but what I was experiencing was something more than just a lack of fitness.
He suggested to me that I was "holding my breath". At the time, this sounded absurd to me and I became defensive..."What do you mean I'm holding my breath?!? If I was holding my breath, I wouldn't be able to breath!!!!"
"Right!" he said. "Isn't that the problem? You should take a yoga class that might help".
Bill had never had taken a yoga class. He was a landscaper and had a client, Beth, who was a yoga teacher. He used to always tell me about how he really enjoyed working in her yard but had to time her jobs "just right" because he always spent more time listening to her talk about yoga than it actually took him to complete the work.
I clearly remember the moment he offered this advice to me. I heard nothing else but the resounding YES within my body. Within the week I purchased a video called Total Yoga, featuring Tracy Rich from The White Lotus Foundation. To this day, it remains one of me favorite yoga videos. I loved it instantly. I had never experienced anything like it. I practiced in front of my TV every day for months and months. And then I had some questions.
I decided to go to Beth's studio. What began happening to me there was total life transformation. Some aspects of my life changed instantly and of course there are other's I'm still transforming. I can still feel/remember the first time I cried in a yoga class. It was just prior to relaxation ans I was in child's pose. Out of seemingly nowhere, uncontrollable tears began to flow. I was so confused.
So after a year or so of taking classes 3 to 5 times a week, Beth called me one afternoon with an emergency and asked me to teach class that evening for her. I was shocked but could tell she was in a bind , so I agreed. I didn't offer any of my creativity, just tried to be a carbon copy of her. Which was pretty easy because I had taken so many classes with her at that point.
After that experienced, which I loved, I subbed more frequently and eventually Beth asked me to teach an on-going class at her studio. She also strongly encouraged me to attend a yoga teacher training to become certified.
In 2000, I enrolled in a 30 day teacher training immersion at the Omega Institute of Holistic Studies. Another transforming experience. After becoming certified, I began feeling more confident about being creative in my teaching, but still always felt compelled (for whatever reason) to keep my classes similar to the style which I first integrated into my body.
So..time goes by, I pick up more classes at other locations and it's all going great! In 2002, I gave birth to my first child and then in 2004 my second. I took a break from teaching and even practicing for a little while. Then in January of 2006 I felt the pull...I had to get back to yoga. It's another one of those moments that I clearly clearly clearly remember...
I unrolled my mat and began to practice. The same way I had practiced for years. I recall stopping. "This isn't right", I thought to myself. It was a moment of real sadness. Something that I loved so much, something I longed for so deeply...it wasn't right! My body had completely changed. My hormones were still totally out of balance. The yoga I knew was too linear for my new sense of life.
So I began to roll around on the floor. Seriously, I just began to roll around and found new ways to get into those familiar postures. I was moving completely spontaneously. I have never thought of myself as a dancer, but I felt ;like I was dancing with my SELF. After just 30 brief minutes. I felt so alive, so much better.
Around this same time, I discovered Shiva Rea's Yoga Shakti DVD. I knew nothing about her. When she wrote for Yoga Journal magazine, I would read her articles first because I just loved her philosophy and approach to yoga. When I watched this video for the first time, I was floored. The way she was pulsing and rhythmically moving in poses was very similar to what I had discovered in my body! I felt so validated. Within weeks of purchasing this video, a Kripalu catalog came in the mail. Shiva had begun a teacher training program and was going to be at Kripalu offering the first module in the program. I was there already!
In April of 2006 I took that module, Embodying the Flow. Upon completion of that first module, I knew I had found my yoga. This style, vinyasa flow, was so radically different than any other yoga I had experienced at that time. I knew that bringing this to Central, PA would be a challenge. But I was ready to share it with others. And really, it's not even ablout "sharing". It's about waking people up. We are designed to move fluidly! We are made of water! We come from water! Our life begins in water! Remember?????
So...I WENT FOR IT! And indeed, it was difficult. Teaching/practicing this way ended my relationship with my original teacher. Which I now realize was a great blessing. If she hadn't pushed me out of the nest, I never would have left! Some students left. Some new ones came. Some are STILL practicing with me. And many many many others have stepped onto their mats with me a have dived into the waters with me.
In October of 2008 I will be completing the training program having received over 300 contact training hours with Shiva. I will have earned my advanced teacher training certification and if I choose, I will be then be able to train others to be teachers (haven't made a final decision on that yet).
I not longer feel as though I need to impress every students who walks into my class. Some will "get" me, some won't. It doesn't matter. What I am most interested in is moving with those who DO "get" it. I have discovered that there are many seekers of flow out there. I am continually amazed week after week by these lovely peole who join me on the mat to sweat, to breathe, to move fluidly, to cry, to laugh, to sing to be friends...all in effort to heal some part of themselves. Sometimes it's big , sometimes it's small. It's ALWAYS beautiful.
So there are so many people that I have to thank for supporting me on this path...
- Bill - for planting the original seed
- Beth - for being my first guru
- Shiva - for being (one of) my current guru(s)
- Maria - for being a very supportive teacher mentor and friend
- Tara & Barb - for such dedication & close, sincere friendship
- Allison & Cindy - for being little and big yogini sisters and sincere friends
- Rob - for web support and sincere friendship
- Tony - for listening to everything I say
Namaste and Love Love Love to you ~ Shani
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