Teaching Philosophy

My role as a yoga teacher is to introduce you to the practice of hatha yoga (the yoga of the body) and specifically to the Iyengar method, through my own experience as a yoga student, practitioner, and teacher. My goal is to create a positive learning environment so that students experience the immediate benefits of yoga practice. Attending class with an experienced teacher enables you to learn what and how to practice faster than you could on your own by following a DVD or a book. You then build a foundation for future study.

I provide both verbal instructions and physical demonstrations, presenting how to move with conscious awareness. Instructions are repeated while students practice, exploring these movements and actions in their own bodies. Poses (also known as asanas) are not initially held for long. With repeated practice, students are encouraged to hold asanas longer, to build strength and endurance.

With beginning students, I review the previous week's lesson, reinforcing the material and providing a foundation for new material. Some asanas are repeated from week to week. These asanas are helpful to warm up the body, and reinforce movements and actions that are important for that day's lesson.

Asanas are introduced in a way that allow students to work from the periphery of the body toward their core. Beginning students spend a lot of time practicing standing and seated postures, to strengthen and invigorate the body by working the arms, legs and torso. These asanas increase circulation, activate the nervous system and benefit the internal organs.

The postures allow students to consciously explore balance or asymmetry. Our bodies become a metaphor for how we experience physical and emotional balance in our lives. Yoga provides a means to observe and explore our internal balance and poise in response to external events.