Teacher Talk Tuesday: Meet Annie our Fearless Leader/Owner

1. What is your favorite asana & why?

   My favorite asana is triangle pose. I feel very grounded, strong, and stable in the pose while at the same time I also feel lengthened, opened, and energized.

2. Least favorite/why?

   My least favorite would probably be camel pose. While I can do the pose, being on my knees and reaching back it just not my favorite way to find support for my body. I may be opening my heart, but inside I’m secretly wishing I was doing something else. Maybe my heart needs to open more for this pose…

3. Recommended Reading (Yoga & non-yoga)

   My favorite books are The Celestine Prophecy and Awakening by Matthew Sanford. I would say they are both yoga related, but Matthew Sanford’s book is yoga specific.

4. Funniest/most embarrassing yoga moment?

   This probably ranks with funniest and most embarrassing...when I was trying to demonstrate a headstand in the middle of the studio and tumbled over 🤪 

5. Best/most rewarding yoga moment?

   Honestly. my best and most rewarding yoga moments are when students tell me how wonderful they feel or how something I said or show them changed their thinking or when they let me know that practicing with me has changed their life. And the most rewarding part of my own yoga practice is when, in daily life, I choose to pause and breathe as opposed to react. 

6. Who knew? (interesting tidbits you might like to share)

   I love beets. My first dog that I got 18 years ago was named Yogi. I love music. My hair has caught on fire. And I absolutely love meeting new people.

7. Outside of yoga what is your passion/Where can you be found?

   Outside of yoga, nature is where I can be found — the beach or the mountains. Ideally, where the mountains and beach come together is where I would love to reside all the time. Hiking is my absolute favorite thing to do besides yoga. And, of course, spending time with my friends and family.

8. What inspired you to be a student of yoga? To teach?

   I came into yoga because my body hurt all the time and my mind was off and so jumbled dealing with how to handle my physical pain as well as emotional pain and mental stress that I had been juggling for many years. Within my first few classes, I finally felt like I had some control over my emotions and my ability to stabilize my thoughts and worries. It is still an ongoing practice that I have yet to master, but I have become a lot better at discovering my ability and believing in myself to do so. 

   As for teaching…I first knew I was going to be a teacher when I got asked to sub a class very last minute — literally a minute before the class was supposed to start. I was planning on attending as a student, and I had just received my certificate for teacher training. As I was walking in to take the class with one of my favorite teachers, the manager of the studio stopped me and asked me if I could teach the class as the teacher was unable to make it and the class was already packed. Of course I said a resounding “NO!” But he knew I had just went through training and asked about that, so I, though reluctantly, said told him I had never taught a real class before. I had attended her classes many of times and knew what I felt like I needed in my body which was a little bit of everything as always. So I finally said YES, and proceeded teach my first (BIG) class. It was after that class that I felt like I actually could be a teacher. 

9. One piece of advice you like to give your students?

   You are your best teacher. No one knows you like you do or has the ability to; no one feels what you feel, so learn to listen to yourself and create your OWN practice.

10. Favorite yoga quote or mantra?

    “May the sun bring you new energy by day, may the moon softly restore you by night, may the rain wash away your worries, may the breeze blow new strength into your being, may you walk gently through the world and know it's beauty all the days of your life.”
    ― Apache Blessing

11. Favorite yoga tunes?

    I just have too many to pick a favorite. Depends on my mood…Between by Satsang is one of my newer favorites.

12. What else?

    I just want to mention is how much I love practicing and teaching at Blue Sky with all of the amazing students and teachers that we have.️