Dear YogaDownload students,
It is a rare occasion when I meet someone in real life who says they have practiced with me on YogaDownload. When it happens, it makes this virtual experience feel so real, and I know that yoga is making a difference. I am reminded and am grateful to YogaDownload and to you, that my reach extends beyond the studio walls, and into your life, wherever you may be when you practice. I am honored that you have invited me into that space with you, in a way that is accessible and meaningful.
My true hope for you is that wherever you are, whatever is happening, your yoga practice will help you to ride the "roller-coaster of life" with all its ups, downs, and loop-de-loops, just a little bit smoother, better, and without knocking you off your well-aligned center.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your practice.
With love,
Kristen
In Your Words, What is Yoga?
As a yoga teacher and somatic therapist, I am in constant conversation on the question, "What is Yoga?" Where I cannot define what yoga is, I can explain what it has been for me.
I have a foundational belief that this body - my body - is the vehicle of my spirit. As such, it has been with me through every crisis, and every celebration, that I - my self, my soul, my spirit - have experienced. And, even though my mind may have forgotten, my body remembers. And this is why my yoga practice, in all of its forms, from the study of the ancient texts to Pranayam to Asana, and to the various forms of meditation, is imperative to a life well-lived. And this is why we cannot leave the physical practice behind. All are integrated into a system that supports the whole being.
Personally, yoga has sustained me through some very hard times. I am not sure how I would have gotten through them without the practice I had established and continued to cultivate. And while I do not wish hard times on anyone, my hope is that through your practice of yoga, you will also find a pathway through and that the hard times become more easeful, or at least you will know that you will get through it.
What inspires your teaching?
What inspires my practice and my teaching is my life. Every aspect is inspirational for me. I may be observing a tree, and how its trunk has twisted and turned through the years of its growth, how it leans to one side or even bends, evidence of a year of dryness, then a year of growth, and right there is inspiration for how we, each one of us, lives and grows in our own unique way. Often it's a conversation with a good friend or a book that I am reading. Always what inspires me is my practice of witnessing and observing my own life and the choices I am making as I navigate it.
PRACTICE ONE OF KRISTEN'S TRANSFORMATIVE YOGA PRACTICES, HERE!