My Background in Yoga and Body Science
Yoga
I studied ballet as a child, and how I loved it! I continued for many years, performing into my college years. Modern dance followed ballet, with its marvelous range of expression, and I performed into my twenties. I still love improv dance forms like Authentic Movement. Although I did not think of it at the time, these years of dynamic dancing created bone reserves for me.
Hannah Carothers, my first yoga teacher, taught in the lineage of Desikachar’s Viniyoga. Other influential teachers include yoga adept Joel Kramer, senior Iyengar teacher John Schumacher, and Swami Satchidanada, whose Integral Yoga was the first comprehensive Yoga Teacher Training that I took.
In 1996, I observed a friend doing a style I had never seen. I learned that it was Kali Ray’s TriYoga, a flow style with a fluidity and grace that was, for me, pure joy! Although all my studies inform my daily teaching, I became certified in and have been teaching TriYoga ever since then. I am also happy returning to my Iyengar roots to practice and teach Dr. Fishman’s Iyengar-based method. The yang strength of this method meets my own need for bone building.
In 1996, I observed a friend doing a style I had never seen. I learned that it was Kali Ray’s TriYoga, a flow style with a fluidity and grace that was, for me, pure joy! Although all my studies inform my daily teaching, I became certified in and have been teaching TriYoga ever since then. I am also happily returning to my Iyengar roots as I practice and teach Dr. Fishman’s Iyengar-based method. The yang strength of this method meets my own need for bone building.
Body Science
If you really want to learn something, teach it. From 1993 to 2016, I was curriculum designer and lead instructor in Anatomy, Physiology, Kinesiology and Pathology in the Massage Therapy Diploma Program at Body Therapy Institute. This has given me a great depth and breadth of knowledge of the body, and deeply informs my yoga teaching. I have enjoyed many years of teaching Anatomy and Physiology curricula in Yoga Teacher Trainings in schools such as the Integral Yoga Institute, YogaWorks and Heart of Yoga School.
The bedrock of my knowledge of the body comes from my training and many years of practice as a North Carolina Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist (LMBT License #1301). My bodywork focus now centers on Intuitive Massage and Manual Lymphatic Drainage massage.
It is indeed an honor to bring all of these resources together in Yoga for Osteoporosis to serve the needs of students who are facing the risks that come with bone loss.