When did you start practicing yoga?
I started practicing yoga in 1999 with a Bryan Kest Power Yoga DVD at home prior to venturing into an Ashtanga practice. In 2002, I discovered Vinyasa flow. I’ve been hooked ever since and began teaching in 2006.

What has yoga brought to your life?
Yoga has completely transformed my life! I used to practice law and I quit to teach yoga full-time in 2009. I’m an intense Type-A person and yoga helped me learn to soften and be more in tune with my feminine side. I initially began for the physical benefits and stayed because it allowed me to become a kinder, happier person.

Over the last 8 years, I suffered spinal injuries from a bad car accident necessitating cervical disc replacement and had Stage 2 breast cancer. Practicing and teaching yoga enabled me to recover and heal from these challenges.

Why did you become a yoga instructor? 
When I love something, and I love yoga, I feel compelled to teach it. I am a life-long student and love to study and apply what I learn by sharing it with others. I am passionate about sharing my knowledge. 

Teaching yoga was a natural extension of my passion for the physical, mental and spiritual teachings of yoga. Leading teacher trainings in San Diego was one of the most rewarding uses of my learning.

After I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I earned an additional certification to teach classes designed specifically for people in cancer treatment or recovery. Helping others with life-threatening challenges is incredibly rewarding. This experience led me to co-creating Yoga for Hope San Diego, which is now the largest yoga fundraiser in Southern California. I’ll return in June to emcee and teach at Petco Park.

What impact can a regular yoga practice have on a person's life?
Yoga has the power to totally transform your life if that is what you desire. If you find a teacher or a studio that resonates with you, there’s no limit to what you can explore with a dedicated yoga practice. You can relieve stress and tension, build a stronger, more resilient body and feel an overall sense of happiness and well-being. I think it is a different path for everyone and that is what is so magical! There is no “right” or “wrong” way to practice yoga: it is individual.

What advice would you give to someone that is just starting yoga?
Give it a chance! If you don’t click with a teacher or studio, try another one until you do. There is such a rich, varied banquet of yoga out there! Be patient with yourself, don’t compare yourself to anybody else and just allow your practice to unfold naturally.

What is special about the style of yoga you teach?
I teach primarily an alignment-based Vinyasa flow rooted in the Krishnamacharya lineage. My intention for every class is to create space for people to experience the fullest moving meditation possible for them that day. I love to creatively sequence so that people can allow their overactive brains to quiet down for a while and simply breathe and move. 

I think when people have permission to turn-off the daily grind and to stop multi-tasking, profound experiences unfold. The physical practice impacts not just the body, but the mind and heart as well.

What is your favorite yoga posture to teach, and why?
I love Virabradhasana 2. It is a posture used in every class and it is one where the student can truly experience the balance of sthira (effort) and sukham (ease). The alignment is very precise and the drishti gaze is easily explained so they feel the physical strength of the warrior balanced by the softness encouraged in the gaze and the face.

Please share some words of wisdom or advice for your yogadownload.com yoga students.
Be consistent! What I mean is, you don’t have to go to the studio and take a 90-minute class every day to be a yogi. I believe that doing something daily, even if that is a 15-minute practice will give you the greatest benefits. Much more so than 1 class a week! A little yoga a day…

Do you have a favorite quote you'd like to share?
"It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and the seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But, there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power." 

- Alan Cohen

What do you like to do "off the mat"?
I love to be outdoors in warm, sunny weather. I love to travel and hop on the plane every chance I get. I enjoy spending time with my husband, two cats and giant dog. I’m an avid reader and writer and spend as much time as possible doing both. I love to be active in other ways like Pilates, Barre and walking/hiking. 

A RYT-500 Yoga Alliance instructor, Claire teaches a dynamic vinyasa flow with the intention of creating a moving meditation. She encourages students to find the lightness and the joy in their own practice, both on and off the mat. She is a certified Pilates instructor, a Reiki Level 2 Practitioner and also holds a NASM-certification for personal training. She has significant experience with spinal injuries and frequently works with students recuperating from injuries. She leads international yoga retreats every year. Mind-body fitness is her passion. 

In January 2010, Claire was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. Yoga aided her healing throughout treatment and recovery. Learning to live with cancer inspired her to earn her Yoga for Cancer Therapy certification and she now also teaches classes specifically for people living with cancer. Learn more at oceansoulyoga.com.

Download one of Claire's Inspiring and Motivating classes on YDL today!