My yoga journey began in 2011. Upon taking my first yoga class I knew I would be a lifelong yogi. I immediately enrolled in teacher training and received my certification a few months after my first class! I quit my job as an HR Director and began a fast track journey into full-time yogi, teaching several classes a day. It was a very scary transition but my practice allowed me to recognize my fears, overcome them, and empowered me to follow my heart. Yoga has given me the tools to begin unpeeling the layers of subconscious thoughts that do not serve me so that I may embrace life more fully with an abundance of love, compassion, and joy. When we deepen our breath and quiet our mind, we can accept and love ourselves just as we are. The people I cross paths with on a daily basis are the reason I'm on this journey. To be able to share my passion with beautiful souls every day is a dream come true. I am beyond blessed to be a part of this community and I look forward to sharing space with you. Love and blessings!
Emily started practicing yoga 3 years ago in college. She had pain in her neck and left shoulder that did not go away with the help of physical therapy. After practicing yoga for only a month, the pain she felt was gone. She believes that yoga is medicine. We can use yoga as a tool to heal our emotional pain that manifests as physical pain in our bodies. Yoga also made her want to challenge herself more in life, not just physically but mentally and spiritually as well. She loves practicing all different types of yoga and also enjoys hiking, making vegan cookies, and fire dancing. Her yoga classes are nourishing and will make you leave feeling love and gratitude for yourself and others.
After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Economics, I spun my wheels in corporate America for several years. Then, I found yoga... and everything changed. I took my first teacher training in the Anusara style in 2008, and I acrobat (yay for circus!), and I recently completed my certification in AIReal YogaTM. I teach playful yoga classes that focus on alignment, proper body mechanics, and making deeper connections. I also teach acro style yoga and acro balancing.
Yoga is a central element of my wellbeing; it makes me physically strong, keeps me healthy, and maintains my sanity. In fact, I've used my yoga practice as a way of piecing myself back together after a moderate lumbar injury and, in a separate incident, a serious neck fracture. I find yoga to be a multifaceted package of awesome, and I love to share it with my students, and quite frankly, anyone willing to listen.
When I am not teaching yoga or performing circus arts on stage, I am working on my urban farmstead. Together with my husband (acro and life partner), I grow my own veggies, raise livestock, preserve foods, brew kombucha, sew, and make almost every meal mostly from scratch. I am the proud mama of two turkeys, too many chickens to count, 4 pygmy goats, and two very spoiled cats. I may have left college with a mundane bachelor's degree, but Berkeley, know for its books and Birkenstocks, definitely planted a seed. It just took me a few years to find my inner granola hugging hippie. Thank goodness I found her.
Peace, love and handstands! ~Mod
Yoga has been a beautiful transformational journey. Through my practice I have gained tools to observe myself more honestly and have formed improved discipline to let go of old thought patterns, habits and emotions that no longer serve my connection to the greatest good.
I was called to serve my community with the founding of YogaBody studios during the summer of 2011. Today, I enjoy teaching weekly classes to an evolving community of amazing human beings from all walks of life. Yoga has taught me that community is no doubt our greatest currency and I stand humbled by the wealth that surrounds me. Please join me in class soon and let's gratefully celebrate our prosperity together.