Hudson. Or into another person who might happen to also be meandering down this cobblestone pier in Hoboken at 8pm on a random Tuesday in June.

The night was warm with a slight chill to the air as only the late spring nights can get here on the East Coast. Yoga class had just released and the night had settled somewhere between down dog and Savasana, the City Lights shining across the Hudson. The night felt magical, so I took an unexpected detour from my normal straight route home and headed down the pier to soak it all in. Our early morning walk would find this very pier gently coated with a cool dew. But in this moment, my body felt light. Almost weightless all together. Certainly, I weighed precisely the same amount as before class, but, somehow, I felt weightless. And taller. I craned my head all the way back and peered at the stars. Despite NYC just a ¼ mile away, the stars seemed vast and many. I kept my gaze this way as I walked – trusting in the magic to keep me from slamming into the banister preventing me from tumbling all the way into the Hudson. Or into another person who might happen to also be meandering down this cobblestone pier in Hoboken at 8pm on a random Tuesday in June. 

I didn’t. I kept straight on path, to my absolute shock when I finally took my gaze forward to the city lights.

This night was significant. I had no idea that in just 6-months, I’d move (yet again) and land in Brooklyn. Or that I’d meet my future-husband. Or what this very moment signified.

‘it’s dangerous, Frodo, stepping out onto the road. You never know where the road is going to take you…’

It had only been a short 6-monhts since I’d moved to the area – onto a sailboat across from the Statue of Liberty where the night I moved in, we were coated with ~30” of snow. Fresh from a split from a very difficult relationship and feeling very broken in very way. Financially, spiritually, emotionally, physically. I spent those winter months tucked away in that floating fiberglass cocoon with my Belgian Shepherd, Danni. 

Those months I also spent my (ample) free time in the gym on the waterfront. Somehow, I knew the path to a heathier me was through exercise. In the gym, I’d see the people heading into the yoga room, what appeared to be a luxurious spa with dim lights, the sound of soft running water and music unlike anything I was used to hearing. This room intimidated me almost as much as the people walking in and out. 

They looked serene. Forget the shape of their bodies; remember the Elves in Lord of the Rings? That’s my memory. Soft, serene, yet fierce somehow. Quiet and somehow taller. Even those who weren’t actually tall, seemed to me as if they were. It took one of the teachers directly inviting me to finally step into that room. The first time, I declined. It was legs day. And I couldn’t miss legs day. The second day I went, in part I feared he wouldn’t ask again and I knew I would never enter that room without an invitation. And in part it was cardio day. And I didn’t mind the excuse to just ‘stretch’ instead.

This warm and stary night was the first day of the rest my life. I couldn’t explain it; yoga was simply different then arms, legs & cardio days. There was something here that would leave me feeling a sense of ease unlike anything else ever had before. It was intoxicating and I had to understand why and how. This night was not my first class. I’d gone a few times before; my confidence stepping into that room had just started to grow along with a familiarity with how to move my body. I was listening a little more clearly to the instructions. But this new world still seemed utterly foreign and strange. It was this night, though, that I became hooked and needed to know more. To understand more.

It would be another 10-years before I earned my first Registered Yoga Teaching Certification. 10-years of life; laughter, tears, travel, the death my first mate; Danni, marrying my guy, the births of my boys, pregnancy losses, marital bliss and woes, moving past habits I’d created that were not serving me or my family well, creating awesome new habits that I continue to refine today, job losses and gains, new friends, a spiritual mentor, dedication to my guru and richer, deeper relationships. The road has been magical, eventful, challenging and more radiant than I could have ever thought possible. 

There is something to Yoga, and I’m forever grateful for my courage to say yes to that invitation to step into the spa-like room 17 years ago. To pay that forward, my aim is to invite all and any who wish to join me in one of my classes and I hope that he/she, too, will get to taste the magic of this ancient and sacred practice.  

The Formalities

A little more to the logistical point, I earned my advanced RYT 500 certification through JaiPure Yoga under master teachers Reverend Amba Marcie Wallace and Satya Loryn Riggiola and am a direct disciple of Reverend Jaganath Carrera (or as we refer to as Guruji). My practice includes deep study of the Yoga Sutras (one of the ancient & sacred texts on the practice) am certified Yoga Sutra Advanced Study and Research and I have been on the path of committing all 196 Sutras to heart in both Sanskrit and English. I’m currently on 67 (as of April 2022). I am devoted to the teachings of Guruji and experienced Mantra Initiation through him and am currently enrolled in the Acharya Training program with Guruji. His teachings are deep, warm, generous, applicable to our modern world and littered with humor. Along this path, I am also blessed with 2 spiritual mentors; Amba Wallace and Saraswati Lee and have had the opportunity to study under many well-known senior teachers and I love taking classes with those new to teaching. I consider myself first and foremost a student in every corner of my life. Additionally, I am a certified Usui Reiki Master and will be a certified sound healer by the end of 2022.

My teaching style in asana (postures) is tailored for whomever shows up; whether we are doing chair yoga, gentle flow or handstands. I like to keep things light and fun. All classes contain the same format as taught at JaiPure Yoga; settling in and breathing, dharma (stories pertinent to the yogic path), chanting (with the harmonium if in an in-person class), the postures and then a little cooling down, breath, Savasana and a little more chanting to seal in our practice before we head out into the world. Yoga philosophy captivates me and I like to share what insights I can throughout each class.