My knowledge of Yoga has continued to flow from what started as a small trickle turning into a stream sometimes pooling and swirling around different focuses and concepts; often having the ability to reach a river of possibilities with the ocean in mind.

A decade ago, I began exploring my first and most influential concepts of yoga in the form of serving others and was as convinced then as I am now that for me, there is no better way to know love than to give love. As a nineteen-year-old, I traveled to the Dominican Republic to volunteer at a public hospital for one month and this experience opened my eyes to a world I didn't know existed.  After returning to the US, I studied at Michigan State University for four years receiving a degree in Environmental Biology and Botany. During that time, I spent one semester in Nepal completing a multidisciplinary program focusing on Ayurvedic medicine as a traditional healing modality.  While abroad, I decided that once I finished my undergrad degree, I would take the time to both develop my own yoga practice and eventually train to become a yoga instructor.

Instead of sticking to the plan and going from one learning institution to the next, I graduated college and took some time to explore the wide-open world.  My best friend and I decided to take a roundtrip venture via bicycle down to Lima, Peru.  In hindsight, our epic 3,856-mile journey was risky at best, and given the current social, economic, and political climate, nearly impossible to repeat. This exploration taught me more about the holistic practice of yoga than could ever be offered in any book or classroom.

When I returned to Michigan, I took another scenic pathway toward yoga to explore my interests in the environment, healing and botany.  I worked as an apprentice on an organic farm for two growing seasons and am so grateful for the opportunity to experience living so close to the earth. I refer to this time period in my life as the development and realization of the root chakra and all that encompasses the foundation and lineage each of us stand upon.

Over seven years ago I apprenticed with Hilaire and completed 350 hours of training and started my career as a yoga teacher.  Since then I spent time learning from some of the best teachers available in this country which include Maty Ezraty, Chuck Miller, Brian Kest, Beryle Bender Birch, Annie Carpenter, Doug Swenson, and Wayne Leher.  After several years of teaching I extended my studies with Hilaire and completed training hours to be certified at the 500 hour level.

Four years ago I was blessed with the opportunity to begin caring for a two-year-old boy and, with much joy, just recently completed the arduous process of becoming his full legal guardian. Through my exploration of being a mother and developing a strong yoga practice, I’ve come to realize that there is no better place on the planet than at home to practice compassion, patience, loving kindness, humility, honesty, contentment, acceptance, and pure love.

I am continuously filled with gratitude for the ability to earn a living teaching what I believe is one of the most profound modalities of connecting and healing both the planet and all of us that are blessed to call it home.

Deepest Namaste

Misty Flahie