Yoga has become so mainstream that it can be hard to find a teacher of integrity. It can be hard, amidst all the marketing, to find a guide who cares about your own development and wants to know your name.
I work with a diversity of folks who are seeking the deeper practices, folks who both know there is something precious to this path and that there are real issues in the world. The sufferings of the world cannot be addressed with hopes and prayers. This community values social justice. We respect the gender and sexuality of our peers. We believe anti-Blackness is embedded in society. We are practicing on Native Land. We recognize that yoga comes from South Asia and that there are questions of colonialism, casteism, and patriarchy involved. We know public health plays a larger role in suffering than does individual action, and we know the joys and sorrows of finding yourself as individual in such a complicated world.
All this to say: Return isn’t your typical yoga franchise. We are more interested in heart and ethics than in flexibility or exercise.
Folks who want to study yoga are often faced with a dilemma. Yoga teachers are often woefully uncommitted to social change. Social justice professionals - while they have beautiful intentions - are typically not trained in actual yoga pedagogy.
I am a bit of an outlier on the yoga scene. I worked in social justice spaces long before I found yoga. When I found yoga, and it unexpectedly and in spite of me saved my life, I knew I needed to find the depth of it. I sought out the best teachers I could find, both within traditional contexts and the fields of anatomy and mind. I wanted the authenticity of it, to get as close to true as I can. I very nearly became a Buddhist monk. I belong to a living Desikichar lineage, and have been initiated to teach according to yoga principles, rather than yoga fads. I continue to work with my own mentors every single week. I am very happy to tell you all about all of this as we work together.
I am a bi-sexual cis-gendered white woman, and I understand that working with a teacher who shares your identities is important. I encourage folks to work with and build affinity spaces. I collaborate with other teachers, rather than competing with them, and know that part of my role is to use my platform to uplift and feature teachers of marginalized identities. If I can help you find such a space, let me know. If you want to study yoga with me, I am honored. I am deeply aware of my own identities. I will and do screw up. But I can and will share everything I know about yoga with you.
Yoga Club, a Mighty Network(tm) community, is a unique space that leverages the magic of the internet and social media without all the noise. Unlike a subscription site or an online site, this network allows you to simply be there and connect with myself and other like minded yogis. If you like, you can join us to study Vedic chant or philosophy. We’ll occasionally have get togethers, workshops, or teacher support groups. I’m slowly updating a growing library of video tutorials, articles, guides I have written. It’s a way to have contact with me. But more importantly, it’s a way for you to connect with a community.
Schedule a 1:1 to talk about your questions, get a little guidance, let me know how it is going.