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I love yoga and because of this, I practice and teach. That’s the simple story.
The longer version goes like this: I’m a juggler. Not of colorful balls or flaming torches, but of life’s demands and passions. I’m married to a lovely man and the mother of two girls, ages 9 and 12, the latter who both think I spend too much time doing yoga. (I don’t really. Really!) I’m a woman with 50 on the horizon who has been practicing school psychology and may continue a thread of this work (as opportunities keep arising.) I’m a writer who has begun to publish poetry and is working on getting pieces of creative non-fiction into print. And I’m an activist in violence prevention. Having grown up in a family affected by violence and the fall-out thereafter of PTSD, I’ve learned a lot about healing, compassion, and the truth of the African proverb: “The blessing is near the wound.” As a woman in mid-life immersed in a youth-crazed culture, I’ve been making friends with my crow’s feet, while more importantly leaning into these two questions by Joan Anderson, the author of A Year by the Sea, a book about women in this rich phase of life: “What has been outlived?” and “What has been unlived?"
My answers, to date, are to follow my passions with yoga and writing and through these realms be of service in a way that feels rewarding and joyful. Yoga has been a central part of my growth and healing over the past 13 years. It has helped me re-inhabit my body with an ever-expanding sense of well-being. Because the multiple benefits of yoga have been such an enormous gift, I felt motivated to study and become a teacher. When Emily Garrett teamed up with Jill Satterfield, the founder of Vajra Yoga, to bring a training to Burlington last year, I knew it was the right program and timing. Of all the teachers I have had the privilege to study with; Emily has been my favorite and most consistent teacher. I value her presence, equanimity, and capacity to frame the practice within the context of developing mindfulness and compassion. From Jill, a master teacher of yoga and meditation, I have expanded my understanding of proper alignment principles, meditation practices, and the opportunities for physical healing. Most recently, I’ve completed a 40-hour trauma-sensitive yoga teacher certificate program at The Trauma Center at JRI that Bessel van der Kolk is affiliated with. They have been studying the impact of yoga on the reduction of PTSD symptoms with favorable results. I’m looking forward to bringing this work into the broader community where and when it is most needed.
For me, the practice on the mat is a metaphor, an opportunity to become mindful about what happens in the body and mind in the presence of pleasure, discomfort, intensity, openness, and constriction. One of the core gifts is to learn how to meet whatever arises with compassion and grace. Ultimately though, when it’s all said and done? It simply feels great.
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