I’m an Occupational Therapist and a Yoga Teacher. Combining the two has made me passionate about spreading the many physical and mental benefits of yoga and meditation practice to all people of all populations.
Yoga has been a part of my life for a long time. I can still remember the first time I took a yoga class over 20 years ago during college. Since then yoga has always been a part of my journey in life. I loved practicing yoga, and as a former college athlete I would incorporate it into my “healthy routines” such as diet and exercise. When moving from place to place I would find a studio here and there that I loved… and my yoga practice would fluctuate from steady, to intermittent, to non-existent, and back again. Something would always stop me from furthering my practice. I’d let the excuses in my head get the better of me. (You know the voices I am talking about). The ones that told me I didn’t have enough time, I wasn’t flexible enough, or I simply didn’t have what it takes to be a “yogi”. But something about yoga brought me back again and again. When I finally took the plunge and decided that I already had everything I needed within me – I became a yoga teacher and never looked back.
I love sharing with people my journey and passion for yoga. But what I realized soon after becoming a yoga teacher was that “yoga” as most people knew it seems like an unattainable goal for so many people.
“I can’t do yoga – I can’t even touch my toes!”
“I used to love to do yoga – but I can’t since I was diagnosed”
“I could never stand on my head!”
“I’m much too fat to go to a yoga class – I’d be so embarrassed”
The common misconceptions of what yoga is has created a barrier to prevent everyone from trying yoga – even those that really wanted to. In the age of social media and Facebook “likes” yoga has created quite a reputation for itself.
And then it hit me. I was once that person too. If I hadn’t stopped worrying about not being able to do a headstand, what I looked like in spandex, and how little my yoga practice looked like an Instagram page and taken the leap- I would have never learned all that yoga had to offer. I would have never been able to gain the physical and mental benefits of a regular yoga and meditation practice. (For the record, its been 500+ teacher training hours later and I still can’t stand on my head – and that’s ok too!)
Welcome to the Yoga OT. Let’s take a journey together and find the yoga practice that works for you.