The word 'yoga' means union; it implies a re-membering, recognizing our reality as a state of complete wholeness. The word "yoga" also points to the art, science and practice that can bring one to this state. As defined by Patanjali in the ancient text, The Yoga Sutras, "Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence." Although yoga is primarily known in the Western world as a series of physical postures, yoga is much more than this. It is a complete spiritual path and a way of life. Whether or not one chooses the complete 8-limbed path as a way of life, we can gain immeasurable benefit from the yogic tools which have been generously taught and transmitted up to this day. These include yoga's vast array of asanas (physical postures), essential breathwork (pranayama), and ethical and meditative practices (yamas, niyamas, dharana, dhyana). As my teaher Gary Kraftsow says, "Yoga is for everyone and always has been." And as another of my teachers, Donna Farhi, points, "The practice of Yoga is characterized by a meticulous process of deconstruction in which we make it our top priority to find out who we really are. We try to remember who we were before we had a name, before likes and dislikes, before all the prejudices that come with a fixed identity. What is left when we remove all that is impermanent and transient? Yoga tells us that what is left is in essence the only thing worth having: a connection to the source of our very aliveness." We musn't underestimate the power of learning to be more calm and centered, more strong and flexible, more fully embodied beings. The yoga tradition offers much support to this end.
* As is the case with many Westerners, we first fell in love with the Yoga tradition through the practice of asana, which continues to be a great love today.
Erin: I first began studying yoga from books as a young teenager. I began attending regular classes in 1991, which deepened my enjoyment of and draw toward the practice. Each time I left a class, I was amazed at how different, and how great I felt. I was hooked. I continued my study and practice and was first asked to teach classes in 1995, and have been doing so ever since. I find yoga practice to be one of the greatest offerings I can make to myself. It keeps my body strong, flexible, and free of tension, which influences all spheres of my life. I find the practice to be joyful, humbling, challenging and never dull. It has been a wonderful support on my meditation retreats; after asana practice my body is calm, alert and stable, ready to sit and practice the heart of yoga - abiding in meditation. Teaching yoga has been a profound and wonderful experience for me, one that keeps pushing me deeper into my own practice and study of this vast tradition. The more I practice, the more I realize the more I have to learn. I am a beginner on this path, and happily so. I take it as a great honor and joy to share my love of yoga with others.


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