I started my yoga journey in 2013, but perhaps it’s better to call it a yoga struggle. I hated down dog (who said it was restful???), I was constantly sore, and every teacher made it seem like the basics that I struggled with should be as easy as breathing.

Honestly, my introduction to yoga was at a time when there wasn’t a lot of nuance around accessibility and body differences. Beginner flows were often actually not terribly beginner friendly. I found that being in that space in an unfit and larger (at the time) body, a yoga practice seemed really stressful.

Luckily for me, I stuck with yoga and found the other tools in the practice outside of asana (postures). In the West, we tend to really focus on that single aspect of the practice (asana), and ignore the wealth of other practices from the 8 Limbs of Yoga. I realized that yoga was an amazing practice that while yes, you can get flexible and maybe physically fit, it’s all the other pieces (meditation, pranayama, etc.) that come together to help you enjoy the journey and appreciate where you are now. We’ve also come a long way (in the US) in terms of meeting yoga students where they’re at and moving towards more accessible yoga spaces in the last few years.

Refocusing on my practice really helped me get through the start of lockdown in 2020. A few months in, I decided to start my 200HR teacher training (virtually y’all - no one was going out then!), and never looked back.

In 2025, I look forward to adding a Chair Yoga Certification and hosting another fun season of Yoga in the Park (Community Classes tab). I hope to see some of y’all around Lemont soon!