Amy returns to Down Under

One of the things about returning back to Down Under School of Yoga after a decade - is that I get to see faces that I haven't seen in so long and it warms my heart - even if it is on Zoom! 

Teaching in a new space is not foreign to me… After moving to the west coast 11 years ago, I have done it probably 30 times.

One of the things when you enter a new community is that feedback is everything - it is really important to have you - the student - to have your voice heard.

My students gave me important and valuable information that helped me become a better teacher and because I listened, I got acclimated to these communities much faster. 

Although when I was a new teacher, I used to take feedback personally…if my class wasn’t building, if they didn't come to class, if they went to other people's classes, if they would tell me that it was too slow, too hard, they didn't like the breathing in the beginning or that was too advanced .... funny that it was 20 years ago and I still remember exactly what they said 😂

As I got more assured, more confident in my teaching and more secure in my offering, I became less concerned with numbers and I let go of the competition of things. I believe that everybody in the universe has a special gift and a special offering.

I have a gift that is uniquely expressed through me that may or may not resonate with people’s preferences. And that ’s okay! It’s Down Under, you have so many different offerings of yoga under one roof - they’ll be something for everybody.  

For me, I never wanted to be the teacher with the most numbers or most students in class. Don’t get me wrong I love super fun, packed classes but at times, it seemed like too much pressure to provide some challenging physical experience. My classes are challenging but I also want a space for you to be able to feel something.

I was and am, perfectly okay with helping people through transitions - cancer, breakups, injuries, work stuff, family stuff, or just having a hard time with themselves.

I hope to create an atmosphere - in the way my teachers did for me - where you know you can come exactly as you are - happy, tired, cranky, stressed, sad, lost, overwhelmed and the space, that we create together, can be a place where you can find yourself again. 

My offerings are inspired by Ayurveda, the seasons, moon cycles, shapes that the body makes, families of poses, nervous system regulation, play or "lila" and an attempt to balance the world's chaos.

My classes are safe, smartly sequenced, trauma informed, well-prepared, intentional and has a perfectly aligned playlist. 

I think of myself as a Prana Tour Guide that will take you on an energetic journey.

Before I sequence the class or even step into class, I plant a seed. I think about what kind of experience (Bhavana) I want to provide for you. Then I choose a peak pose that goes along with that bhav/vibe and mindfully place it in my sequence template. Then I get on my mat and allow spontaneous movement (Sahaja) and let all the movements, shapes, poses and placements... fall into place. I think of each class as a journey that has a beginning, middle and end. At the end, I invite you to take what you cultivated and package it up into a seed that you can take for your journey off your mat. 

I used to have hundreds of notebooks but now I have an iPad and an Apple Pencil because one of my younger student turned me on to it and I love it. Why? Because I love feedback and feedback makes me better for me and better for you.

So be prepared when you come to class that my offering is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get!

And if you come to class, please share! It helps to get to know you better .... that doesn't mean though that I'm not going to do what you don't like but at least we can laugh about it. 

Fridays Flow + Restore 5:45 pm and Saturday morning Flow 10 am at Back Bay location and hopefully workshops in Newton very soon! 

And because everything feels full circle - here's my first official yoga photo and I'm so old that I forget the photographer's name 🤣