My Yoga Love Story

I spent many years in my 20s telling people, “I don’t like yoga”. I grew up with soccer and Taekwondo and thought that yoga was “too slow” and “not intense enough” for me.

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What changed my mind was an Ashtanga power yoga class at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in NYC. The class was filled with semi-professional dancers. A petite & spunky lady with dramatic hair—Irini Res—stood at the front, cueing us through twists and backbends and inversions. 

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I left that class feeling mesmerized and inspired. Seeing all the dancers gracefully flow through different poses that I couldn’t do gave me a physical goal to work towards. I began attending this particular yoga class every week, hoping to eventually master all the poses with as much grace, power, and flexibility as the dancers had. While I was initially motivated by these physical goals, what eventually kept me coming back was how calm and centered I felt at the end of every class.

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Over the following years, yoga was always there for me as I grew, grieved, and moved across the country. Yoga has increased my flexibility, both physically and mentally. As I journeyed into motherhood, yoga has helped me maintain–then rediscover–my strength throughout my pregnancies and postpartum recoveries. 

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Nowadays, I have a new goal: I’m here to spread the joy of yoga. I want to help others experience the physical and mental benefits of yoga. I hope that everyone could feel the same state of calm and centeredness that descended upon me at Alvin Ailey.