| Meet Our Instructors - Cary |
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If you make space, new doors will open. This was how I initially found my yoga home at Hilltop and how I continue to cultivate depth in my own practice. For over 10 years I had been an instructor of German at the university level and in the fall of 2009 I realized that I needed to step away from the profession. When the semester ended I wasn’t sure what would come next, but I wanted to take some time to explore other interests. I had heard many positive things about Hilltop yoga and decided to try the studio. My prior experience with yoga was a mixed relationship. Either I loved the instructor or the class failed to move me. However, my first time at Hilltop was very different than anything I had done before, and I realized there was a depth, history, and spiritual aspect to the practice of yoga. (And my first Hilltop instructor was the most amazing, compassionate, knowledgeable teacher I had ever encountered!) Only a few months later I signed up for the teacher training.
As a runner, I entered the teacher training believing the physical part of the practice would be the least challenging. Since I could still vividly remember the hours working on my PhD, I was also not so afraid of the studying required for the training. In some ways I was right – I have since come to understand that it is never about the physical practice. It is not about where your arm or leg are, rather it is about how moving them can open up your heart and mind. In other ways I was so wrong – harder than running a marathon or even enduring Michigan winter running, was facing my fears and altering thought patterns that no longer served me. I also quickly learned that wherever I was with the asanas (poses) I still had worlds to explore within them in my body. The study of yoga fascinates and still intimidates me as I realize there is always more to learn about anatomy, alignment, the history of the practice, and the power embedded within yoga to heal the soul. I feel so blessed to have found a home within the Hilltop sangha (community). Every time I come to my mat or stand as a teacher in the studio I learn something about myself. When I make space for the breath to travel within my body perceptions shift and clarity and balance settle into previous places of unrest and tension. As a teacher I aspire to be a supportive and knowledgeable guide to the students in my classroom as we Namaste, |
explore together the path of yoga.