What do you remember the first time you took a yoga class?

It was hot and I did not know any of the poses or cues.  It was comforting that I could look around and see what others were doing. 

Did you have a favorite Yoga instructor when you were a practicing yoga student? How did that instructor help you in your yoga practice?

I still am a practicing yoga student 😊 and always learning.  My favorite Yoga instructor seems to shift every 6 months or so based on what my body and mind need during that time.  Sometimes a more meditative instructor is what I need if I’m going through a tough time and sometimes my body needs to heal.

What led you to pursue yoga teacher training?

Ultimately, I would like to help my parents live healthier lives and incorporate yoga. I also wanted to deepen my personal practice. 

Define Yoga in your terms?

Breath with movement, breath with a quiet mind.

If a person is brand new to yoga, what advice would you give that person?

Give it at least three classes. It will be new!  Don’t judge all of yoga on your first or second class.

We all have superpowers when we are doing what we love…what is your yoga superpower?

Acceptance for all body types.  I have scoliosis and there are poses I just cannot do on one side versus the other.

At Coastal Pilates and Yoga we are incorporating the healing modalities of heat, sound, and colored light (chromotherapy) into our practice of chromoyoga. Tell me about your first experience in the room, what surprised you or stuck with you after that first session?

It felt amazing to be surrounded by one color at a time. Peaceful, as if the chaos of being bombarded with a lot of information coming into my brain was calmed .. just one color at a time.

Chromotherapy (color light therapy) is a healing modality that can improve the health of the body and mind. Explain how you weave color therapy into your yoga sessions.

I begin each class in a pure white color to quiet the mind and the heart. As my class builds with energy, I transition to colors that support and enhance that flow of energy. Indigo is a beautiful color to wind down the class and prepare for shavasana.

Often the color that we are most attracted to is the color we need. Do you have a color that you just seem to release into when doing chromoyoga?

Green, calms my active brainiac mind.

Do you have a favorite pose while in that color?

Pigeon.

What can a student expect when they join you for a yoga class here at Coastal Pilates and Yoga?

Focus on beginning postures, but provide variations for others who want to be challenged.

Tell me what you do when you are not teaching yoga?

I am an engineer with the Aerospace Corporation; I have 4 kids (the two youngest are still in college), and love to teach piano.