I started yoga in 2012 in Washington D.C. when I was at Dumbarton Oaks and finishing up my Ph.D. in the History of Science at Harvard (I graduated in 2013). In spite of everything that I learned and accomplished mentally, something vital was lacking. I felt very disoriented and out of touch with my body, and yoga helped me immensely. At Harvard, I completed general exam fields relating to studies of the history of nature, medicine, and the human body in Modern and Early Modern Europe, with a third related and comparative field in East Asian studies. Little did I know that my third academic field in East Asian studies would become so central to my Yin Yoga practice and teaching, involving the history of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), comparative anatomy, Chinese philosophy, as well as acupuncture and meridians, which are also stimulated in Yin Yoga in what my teacher Josh Summers refers to as a "homeostatic nudge."
I completed 500 hours total in training with an emphasis on Yin Yoga (200 in Vinyasa+300 in Yin). My own yoga practice and my teaching both emphasize functional rather than aesthetic alignment, putting students in touch with how their bodies feel in the poses rather than forcing them into beautiful and painful shapes with prefabricated alignment cues that do not serve them (and might indeed harm them). In the words of Bernie Clark, "more important than knowing what kind of pose the student is doing is knowing what kind of student is doing the pose." In my classes, I hope that students will cultivate more body awareness to make informed decisions about their own anatomy and what kinds of alignment cues work for them. The specific modules that I have completed over the past two years are as follows: 1. A foundational training about human anatomy, functional alignment, and sequencing in Yin Yoga, 2. Mindfulness and meditation, 3. How to integrate Yin Yoga into an athletic Yang practice, 4. The interrelationship and integration of Yin Yoga with Traditional Chinese Medicine.
I graduated from The Massage School in Boston and received my license in 2020. My favorite modalities are Swedish massage and sports massage, as well as trigger point therapy, reflexology, Gua Sha, and cupping. I take a special interest in the art and science of human anatomy, using this knowledge to enhance the experiences of massage and yoga. I attended a cadaver lab at the University of Minnesota and passed 196 hours of anatomy and physiology, pathology, and myology/kinesiology at The Massage School. I am deeply grateful to all of my teachers at The Massage School for everything that they have taught me, and hope to be a lifelong student.
I completed 500 hours total in training with an emphasis on Yin Yoga (200 in Vinyasa+300 in Yin). My own yoga practice and my teaching both emphasize functional rather than aesthetic alignment, putting students in touch with how their bodies feel in the poses rather than forcing them into beautiful and painful shapes with prefabricated alignment cues that do not serve them (and might indeed harm them). In the words of Bernie Clark, "more important than knowing what kind of pose the student is doing is knowing what kind of student is doing the pose." In my classes, I hope that students will cultivate more body awareness to make informed decisions about their own anatomy and what kinds of alignment cues work for them. The specific modules that I have completed over the past two years are as follows: 1. A foundational training about human anatomy, functional alignment, and sequencing in Yin Yoga, 2. Mindfulness and meditation, 3. How to integrate Yin Yoga into an athletic Yang practice, 4. The interrelationship and integration of Yin Yoga with Traditional Chinese Medicine.
I graduated from The Massage School in Boston and received my license in 2020. My favorite modalities are Swedish massage and sports massage, as well as trigger point therapy, reflexology, Gua Sha, and cupping. I take a special interest in the art and science of human anatomy, using this knowledge to enhance the experiences of massage and yoga. I attended a cadaver lab at the University of Minnesota and passed 196 hours of anatomy and physiology, pathology, and myology/kinesiology at The Massage School. I am deeply grateful to all of my teachers at The Massage School for everything that they have taught me, and hope to be a lifelong student.