A message to my YogaDownload students: I have so much gratitude for all of you that have taken my classes, given me your feedback, and for your dedication to making a yoga practice for yourself. I have always loved teaching for Yoga Download. It’s such a great opportunity to expand my own teaching by recording classes and planning fun sequences, and reaching out others beyond the Denver community. A big shout out to my fellow YDL teachers, I actually use YDL a lot to find inspiration for my own classes especially when I’m traveling. As I write this I’m in Nicaragua teaching for a few months, and just the other day a student came up to me and said, “I take your YogaDownload classes!” So THAT was really awesome! There’s so much that takes us away from our practice, SO KEEP IT UP, make sacred time for yourself, and keep practicing!
What teachers or teaching have impacted you the most?
I’ve done a lot of trainings, and the most powerful one was getting my Forrest Yoga Certification with Ana Forrest. Ana changed my life. The Foundations Training was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life! Ana is so strong. She taught me to let my hair down, speak from my gut and own my strength more. I love vinyasa too, don’t get me wrong, but to hold the postures longer than a few breaths is a powerful practice of patience, staying present in your body and not spacing out. It teaches you that you can keep going when your mind says you can’t. I have to also give gratitude for my other teachers Cheryl Deer, Saul David Rae, and Tias Little - to name only a few - who I've spent lots of time studying with.
What inspires your teaching?
Nature inspires my teaching. Like most of us experience, life gets stressful, and I find living in Denver I drive a lot, and the city is growing so it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Getting to the mountains and more importantly the ocean inspires me to roll my mat out a lot more on my own time. Learning to surf inspires my yoga. Learning about anatomy inspires my teaching. I’m also reading Path of the Urban Mystic by Darren Main (definitely pick it up). He talks about being a “yogi” in the modern times of living in a city, having cell phones and social media - and balancing it all as we seek relationship with Spirit. It’s a great introduction to more esoteric yogic philosophies like the Yoga Sutras, the chakras and pranayama.
In your words what is yoga?
Yoga is the union of Mind + Body + Spirit. Yoga is not if you can do a handstand. Thank goodness. Doing a cool yoga trick is always fun, and I love the physical benefits of the postures. I think everyone should be in yoga class doing some kinda of asana based yoga. But that’s not it. To me, it’s also smiling at a stranger. It’s being grateful for what you have. It’s the life long process of loving ourselves, of learning to react to things in a healthy way - to ourselves and to others - so we can be a loving, grounded human beings. It’s about letting our light shine, and allowing others to do that same.
Cher holds certifications in Power Yoga (200 hr Core Power Yoga), Yoga Sculpt (40 hr Core Power Yoga), and Forrest Yoga (240 hr Training w/ Ana Forrest). Cher owns pH7 Pilates Studio, with two locations in Denver, where also directs a Pilates Certification Program. Cher continues to study with and assist her teacher Ana Forrest at workshops and Yoga Journal Conferences around the United States. In 2012 she completed the Forrest Yoga Mentorship Program with Cheryl Deer.
Click here for a list of Cher's YogaDownload Classes.