About Me
In 1998 I became very sick with necrotizing fasciitis I spent a month in ICU, and remained the hospital for couple of months after. It took over a year to convalesce. A wise friend told me this was my "gift" of illness. Despite the grave situation, this episode allowed me to see all sorts of greatness — from the generosity of strangers and the dedication of friends and family, to resilience from within myself. I experienced first-hand the most incredible healing powers of the body and a steady determination of the mind. Learning to receive kindness was new and quite profound. In revealing how strong I was, I came into some new insights and let go of some illusions that didn't work in my ‘previous' life.
In surviving a catastrophic illness something inside me started to awaken and I've been on this journey to find real exuberance ever since.
Why do I practice?
From the time I walked into my first yoga class in 2003, I recognized this was a way to ‘yoke' my body's abilities. After knowing what it's like to be near death and feeling my life force leave me, why would I not want to do this thing which makes me most alive? Yoga has taught me how to harness the power of body and mind and to strengthen spirit.
Going into that first class my shoulders had rolled forward and a chronic dull pain developed in my upper back, the result of years working in front of a computer drawing with a mouse. It was a repetitive stress injury and the pain had become my normal. But with the start of my ashtanga practice I learned new ways of engaging my body. By correcting and stabilizing my shoulders over time the pain disappeared. Living pain-free and more balanced became the new normal… a powerful change.
On a deeper level, I learned to cultivate calmness and the healing of coming into the now. The assault of illness left a scarred body and self-image — I no longer looked 'perfect' like everyone else. But did I ever in the first place? And did they, whoever they are? It was another old way of thinking that changed. In the process of working my body and finding something that felt good, I became present and was able to see myself just as I was. It was like there was no reconciliation needed between the body from my old life and the newer current one.
Why do I teach?
Practicing yoga on my own is good for me but this doesn't mean I must teach. But if I can share what I know to help bring happiness and peace to other people's lives, the answer is easy. I would even dare to call it …a passion. During my illness so many people were good to me and I thought how I would ever reciprocate the kindness? I can't. Perhaps teaching is a way of trying.
On an experiential level there is a creativity involved in giving a practice to students that is similar to the processes from my professional life as a designer. In a way I have been able to transfer the problem-solving skills I've developed during my design career into my work as a yoga teacher.