I Learned How to Show Up in My Life Off of the Mat, Just as Strongly as I Did on My Mat.

It’s been my dream for as long as I can remember to one day open up a yoga studio, and touch as many lives as possible with this amazing practice that has done so much for my life. Words can’t express how tremendously blessed I feel, to be in a position where I can now give back, in the form of a space that I’ve created for the practice of yoga. My hope is that I can touch and transform your life through yoga, just as it has touched and transformed mine.

I took my first yoga class in 2004. A friend of mine convinced me to join her for a class. She forewarned me that the room would be heated to roughly 105 degrees and that I’d be in class for an hour and a half. I doubted myself and second guessed why I had agreed to go, the entire way to the yoga studio. I can recall that the day was cloudy and dreary outside. I was convinced that my experience was about to be very similar to the weather, and that I would have been more comfortable had I just stayed at home.

As I journeyed through the class, I was convinced that I was having a near death experience and couldn’t imagine why anyone would voluntarily put themselves through such an ordeal. It was after leaving the class that I realized why. I had never felt such immense peace, stillness, relaxation, and clarity, as I had that evening following the class. I thought to myself, “Is it even possible to feel this good?” The answer is, “Yes.” It is indeed possible, and I had tapped into that possibility for the first time ever in my life.

I was now hooked and found myself going to class anywhere from 3-6 times a week. But, it was more than a good, sweaty workout that I received from class. It was even deeper than the peace, relaxation, stillness, and clarity that I felt after class. It was the fact that I had tapped into my own ability to feel this way outside of class as well. This feeling didn’t have to end after class, nor should it. I learned that I had the ability to carry this state of euphoria with me everywhere I went. I learned how to show up in my life off of the mat, just as strongly as I did on my mat. I discovered that I was stronger than I ever imagined…not just in a yoga posture, but in my life.

My whole perspective and outlook on life had changed. I faced challenges in my life with greater ease and learned how to keep a calmer mind when things got rough. I gained courage, self-esteem, a deeper love for myself, and the ability to let go. This all drew me closer to gaining a better understanding of myself and forming an even closer relationship with God. It was then that I knew that I hadn’t found yoga, but that yoga had been placed in my path for a reason. Through my yoga practice, meditation, and prayer, it became clear to me that my life’s purpose was to help people find the same discoveries through yoga, as I had found for myself.

In 2009, I completed a 250 hour teacher training program, which focused on both children and adult hatha yoga. In 2010, I became a mother to me and my husband’s first child, a baby girl.  In 2013, my husband and I welcomed our second child, a baby boy.  I attribute my successful, all natural home births to my yoga practice. Through my journey into motherhood, my passion for teaching youth grew stronger, as my children have become my best teachers of all time. We can learn so much from children.  My children live in the moment, find joy in everything, smile and laugh a lot, teach me the art of patience, and don’t care about what anyone else thinks. They are pure brilliance and perfect the way they are and they know it. We too are perfect just as we are. Many of us have simply forgotten that we are.

Shortly after becoming a mother in 2010, I journeyed into the practice and study of Vinyasa Yoga, which spoke to and resonated with my body in a deep way, and have trained with Baron Baptiste on the Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga method. I have always loved and identified with movement of the body. I was a dancer for many years and regard dance as my first love. So, the movement and flow that exists in vinyasa yoga, really speaks to me.

I now bring to you Mind Body Flow Yoga. A place where we will move our bodies, breathe, laugh, cry, and share life’s myriad of ups and downs together, as a community. All while aiming to bring peace to the mind, through a connection with the body, so we can flow through life with greater ease. It’s not about your size, creating the perfect yoga pose, being flexible, or having the perfect yoga outfit. It’s simply about you discovering your inner-brilliance. So, show up and let your brilliance shine through.

I look forward to seeing you on the mat.