The longer I teach, the more apparent it is to me that love is really the guiding light.

IN STUDIO

The longer I teach, the more apparent it is to me that love is really the guiding light. In the beginning I was really attached to my mind, and thoughts. I clung to form. I guided class with as much precision as possible. It took me a long time to find my style, I think I really fluctuate from one extreme to the other. I love to be funny, and make people laugh in class (if that is my mood) but I also love to share knowledge of what I have read, am reading, what I am learning. In the beginning I was nervous, I didn't want anyone to hurt themselves, and I felt so connected to the asana.

SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE, THE ASANA WAS NOT AS IMPORTANT TO ME. I WAS LOOKING FOR MORE CONNECTION. BREATHING IN VARIOUS SHAPES WAS POSITIVE, YET IT SOMEHOW WAS NOT ENOUGH

I get more excited when I talk to people before or after class, and I find out how they are, how they are processing the practice, life, different experiences...I am genuinely curious to know how people are.

THE TRANSITION FROM BEING A YOGA INSTRUCTOR, TO DIRECTING A STUDIO, CO OWNER OF YOGA GARDEN, IT IS A MASSIVE SWITCH.

In the beginning when we first opened in January 2020 I was ridiculously stressed, and overwhelmed. Then we had the first lock down, and I believe I held it together (mentally) summer came and I still had courage. The fact was I stopped practicing, I lost interest. I was preoccupied with the intensity of the world. I also couldn't stop thinking.

INSIDE, I REALLY KNEW THAT WHAT WAS IMPORTANT TO CULTIVATE WAS DEEP LISTENING SKILLS.

I can be very present and hear you out, I can remember everything you say but I will also interrupt you while you are telling me a story. It's work in progress, I know I am not alone. All of us need to learn to be better listeners. Holding space, with our silence, and presence, without the need to say something. Sometimes that support is so vital.

Last year in the autumn Yoga Garden closed for a significantly longer time then in the Spring. I was in a bad place. I drank a little too much vino in the evening. I kept conversations short, and I felt SO DEFEATED. I was angry. But I had to work out those feelings, and I had to work them out because I was leading a team of teachers who were now fully unemployed by me...but so loyal and supportive and available for all the new ways in which we had to re-invent ourselves, our teaching, and expand our platform.

I ALSO HAD TO PERSEVERE BECAUSE I GENUINELY WANTED TO BUILD A COMMUNITY.

SO HERE WE ARE DEAREST READERS.

If you are still reading this, then to a certain degree you too feel drawn towards Yoga Garden. We can all love the place for different reasons, and we all receive something else from our practice.

What is clear to me though is that I am genuinely interested in people's well being. I am genuinely interested in expanding our community by making it more inclusive. Inclusivity is a hot topic. It has always been a hot topic for me. When we take a moment to listen, and hold space for what is being said it can very much inspire inclusion, and connection, rather then separation and rejection

YOGA GARDEN HAS TWO STUDIOS ONE IS THE MAIN ROOM AND THERE IS A HOT ROOM. THE STUDIOS ARE SILENT BEFORE CLASS AND AFTER CLASS.

This silence is there because SO MANY people need it. It is also an invitation to meditate. To sit still, and cultivate quiet within. Our beautiful hang out room is just as spectacular as the studios, and it is a perfect place for you to chit chat, talk, laugh, cry, drink water or tea.

WE WANT TO KEEP CREATING A POTENT VIBE. The highest potential we have as humans is to be open to love. To meet from that place of intimacy. It is a radical act to be loving, and caring. We live in times of great separation, enormous judgment, and divide. We are connected to gadgets and screens, and alienated from nature. We are preoccupied with being right, and competitive as well as perfectionists. There are many incredible people, communities, places doing the work to align with unity. To pave new possibilities, ecosystems.

I would like to invite us all to show up from that place of love, from a place of vulnerability and compassion so that we can move forward together as a community of people, who want justice, kindness and peace to navigate our future.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, INTEREST, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT.

I look forward to seeing you all at the studio over and over over again.
Big big Love to YOU
Christina