Going "All In"... Again: My New Journey with Yoga Medicine

SATISFACTION LIES IN THE EFFORT NOT IN THE ATTAINMENT. FULL EFFORT IS FULL VICTORY.

Here’s the smile of a yoga teacher who continually finds alignment in attaining and applying new knowledge, as much as she appreciates every opportunity for inquiry + investigation. I’ve recently undertaken an academic endeavor requiring a deep sense of commitment and dedication and a promise to stay up to date on current research and continuing education as I work toward my 500 hour advanced yoga teacher training with Yoga Medicine.

My 2nd orthopedic module gave me comprehensive perspective on the hip as an incredibly supported structure, it’s propensity for dysfunction and injury, and endless techniques to rebuild both capacity and recapture and improve neurological awareness.

I began this module after completing the Spine Module and have been applying the techniques and new insight learned both within my own practice and in my group and private classes with visible results. My clients have gotten the most feedback about their bodies I ever been able to lead people towards and getting in touch with your body on a new level is empowering!

Just 4 summers ago I went ALL IN, fully immersing myself into intensive study to become certified to teach yoga by a world-renowned yoga teacher trainer. As good fortune would have it, I crossed paths with her - my first teacher Sage Rountree - who urged me to pursue teaching yoga and gave me the confidence and tools to literally go all in on myself. Once certified, I immediately opened a small studio and began teaching yoga full time all just two years after having endured two separate total knee replacement surgeries and rehab. I continued to study in greater detail under my first teacher but began to explore more deeply which direction I would take my teaching. Through Sage, I met Alison Heilig and Jenni Tarma, both Yoga Medicine Therapeutic Specialists. Their knowledge of and passion for anatomy and it’s application to yoga , common injuries and orthopedic conditions resonated loudly with me - especially as I was healing from two total knee replacements- and it didn’t take long before I realized I needed the further training they received to shape my own business in more relevant ways to be able to steer my clients more appropriately and more safely so their own bodies can experience healing.

Completing 2 orthopedic modules back to back has allowed me to truly understand the foundational aspects of conducting thorough therapeutic evaluations, movement assessments and methodologies for developing yoga therapeutic programming to help restore balance and stability for a wider range of conditions and injuries. I’ve gained incredible insight into the biomechanics of one of the most complex structures/joints in the body and language to communicate confidently with my client’s healthcare providers as needed. And equally important I’m being given the tools to translate helping my clients more efficiently, effectively and more safely reach the outcomes they desire for their unique bodies whether I’m teaching them in the context of private lessons or group classes.

These modules can get heady and overwhelming with new information and language to learn. While the content, lectures, asana application and case studies are complex it’s all iterated with incredible clarity by my experienced and empowering teachers who instill in me the desire to raise the bar of awareness about slow, mindful and introspective yoga

and it’s power to guide the body’s innate healing mechanisms.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to study with YM founder Tiffany Cruikshank and their most senior teacher trainer Rachel Land I’m not even sure I have the words to describe my joy - but it’s evident here.

Much work and continued sacrifice lies ahead as my vision for growing my private practice of teaching yoga and relaxation takes on more form and shape every day! Onto “Module 3: the shoulder,” and planning my upcoming series classes at the studio for late summer/fall. More on that real soon!