Biography
In 2003 I enrolled in the Ashtanga Yoga class at Lake Tahoe Community College. Although I had dabbled in yoga previously, this was my first real introduction to sustained weekly practice, and the starting point of a wonderful journey I would have never imagined.
Our instructor, Amrito Cross, taught the traditional method and encouraged us to memorize the sequence as well as the sanskrit names. She not only emphasized the physical practice but the spiritual and psychological as well, which she taught via meditation and homework assignments that included driving the speed limit, and taking a day of silence. Her holistic approach to teaching yoga as an eight-limbed path rather than simply a physical practice was very influential. It sparked a deep curiosity about the nature and power of yoga psychologically and inspired me to continue to practice.
As I became more interested in yoga, I decided to enroll in a teacher training. Even though I have never liked speaking in front of large groups of people, I felt that it would be a healthy challenge for me. I completed the GreenPath Yoga Teacher Training with Clayton Horton in 2005. Clayton is a very dedicated Ashtanga practitioner and has been authorized by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois to teach Ashtanga. His training, therefore, was highly inspired by this tradition, but included other styles as well. Despite this, however, I became interested in vinyasa, a style based on Ashtanga Yoga, but not confined to a set sequence.
It was not until 2007 that I returned to traditional Ashtanga. The time away allowed me to recognize the beauty of the system. The marriage of breath and movement, brilliant sequencing and use of dristi (gaze) and bandha (energetic locks) is a potent catalyst for both self-observation, increasing mindfulness, and quieting of the mind. As I continue to practice, it never ceases to amaze me what a powerful revelator this practice is. That is why I named this website Beeja Yoga; beeja is the sanskrit word for seed. The practice is the seed from which all springs forth.
In 2008, I traveled to Mysore, India to practice at Sri K. Pattabhi Jois's Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute and to explore the land and culture of India. The trip was eye-opening and inspiring; and I hope to return in the future.
Currently, I practice with and assist Catherine Shaddix, a very gifted teacher, at her Mysore Program at The Mindful Body in San Francisco. I also teach at Ocean Yoga in Pacifica, as well as privately.
This fall I will be entering a graduate program in psychology at the Wright Institute in Berkeley, CA. I hope to integrate the principles of yoga with a practical and healing psychotherapy practice.
