I hated the first yoga class I ever took. I was 14 or 15 and in the midst of the very difficult transition from child to teenager, angry with the world for suddenly seeming so cruel and confusing. I'd been struggling with my body image for a few years and started to develop disordered eating habits, accompanied with the onset of symptoms of my then-undiagnosed ADHD and OCD. I was anxious, depressed, and insecure, and that's how I showed up to this hot yoga class my friend invited me to. Yoga did not, in this instance, cure me of my woes. I left the class feeling worse about myself and my body, and I remember thinking,

About 4 years passed, and I found myself tired of struggling with low back pain and, despite my resistance towards exercise, decided to try some light stretching. I ended up on Yoga with Adriene's Youtube page, and slowly- but steadily- began to notice a shift. I started to feel more physical ease, which allowed me to notice the effects of the breath on my body and on my mind. I realized the incredible benefits that yoga was imparting on my mental health, catching glimpses of how deeply life-changing this practice could be.

2020 brought much personal and collective upheaval. The world was feeling cruel and confusing again and I was in the midst of yet another transition, having just moved from my family home in New Jersey to a new life in Asheville, North Carolina. Isolated from community and away from my family for the first time, I began struggling with anxiety and depression again, which led me to seek therapy.

It was through this process that I learned about ADHD and the importance of routine for my well-being. My therapist suggested I start implementing movement into my day, and yoga felt like the most familiar and gentle choice for myself. I began practicing asana and pranayama daily, sometimes two or three times a day when I needed it. Eventually, I longed for a sense of community and was encouraged to explore studios near me.

This would turn out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made.

In 2024, I started offering a space specifically for Queer/2SLGBTQIA+ people to practice yoga in community. As a queer, non-binary person, I’ve experienced disconnection from my body, which created more separation from mySelf. Yoga helped me reconnect with my body in a kind, loving, expansive way; in turn, I was able to connect with others in a more kind, loving, and expansive way.

This class furthered my understanding of the fact that most of us- but especially those in marginalized, multi-oppressed communities- are physically, mentally, and energetically depleted. Our attention is constantly being pulled in multiple different directions, and the systems our societies are built on are crumbling, making it feel impossible to rest. I felt drawn to learning more about facilitating restful spaces and in another stroke of divine timing, took the chance to return to India for a 100-hour training in Yin & Restorative Yoga with Jot Anant & Jeanie Jyanti of Alchemy School of Yoga.

In this very same studio, I met and worked with Jot Anant, and in 2023 I was privileged enough to join her on a spiritual retreat to India and Nepal. Needless to say, the experience was deeply impactful and brought me even closer to my practice. It was during this time that I began to understand my responsibility of studying and sharing the teachings of yoga in a way that honored both the ancient traditions it emerged from and the contemporary techniques it merged with, while simultaneously bringing an awareness to the messiness (and often, violence) that human beings had infused it with.

Holding spaces that promote connection to Self and others continues to be an incredibly nourishing, affirming, and healing experience that I am grateful to facilitate. In a world built on oppressive systems that keep us hurting, separate, and un-whole, practices like yoga can help bring us back to ourSelves and connect us to one another.

Thank you to my teachers, for seeing me, trusting me, guiding me. I am honored to be a student of yoga.