September 07, 2016
September 07, 2016
I am from Cincinnati Ohio and grew up here all my life. I always had an interest in yoga from watching my father do headstands all the time. When I was 19 years old I had begun dabbling in Primary Series of Ashtanga yoga and even tho the practice was very challenging for me I kept coming back to it. A little after that someone told me about Larry Schultz and Rocket yoga, they told me that it was a complete form of yoga and that Larry had developed one of the first teacher training programs in the United States and that I should learn to instruct yoga. That set me on a course to San Francisco to meet the “Yoga Man”. What I discovered was more than I could have hoped, I lived at Larry’s studio at 848 Folsom st. for a month. I was woken up every morning with the heat being turned on and yogis showing up for morning practice, this is when I began to develop my personal practice that I stay true to today.
From the years 2000-2011 I continued to make my bi-annual and sometimes more frequent trips to San Francisco to study with Larry and get the “juice” which continued to further my practice and my teaching. It was a magical time in San Francisco and yogis like MC Yogi, Reed Taylor creator of Method Yoga, and Clayton Horton owner of Yoga Tree were regulars at Larry’s now famous studio. We all studied traditional Ashtanga and The Rocket together. What I found was that The Rocket had a lot more poses and offered strengthening moves to support more advanced poses. I feel in love with the Rocket and watched yogis from all over the world coming to learn the Rocket and get certified by Larry.
Everything began to come together for me on and off the mat. Before I began practicing yoga, I was just a regular girl waiting tables, dreaming of going to art school and trying to find some type of direction in my life. Thru yoga I began traveling around the world and help people gain more confidence in their bodies as well as empowering my students to find their voice and connect to their inner teacher.
During my yoga career from 2000 – 2011, I helped certify 1000’s of instructors with Larry, including help launch his teacher training in my hometown, Cincinnati and as well as Vancouver Canada.
I continued to educate myself on traditional Ashtanga, and have studied with Tim Miller from Encinitas California, Lino Miele from Italy, and Chuck and Maty Miller the owners of Yoga Works in LA. However I always came back to the Rocket for my home practice and supplementing Primary Series once a week.
In 2007, with Larry’s blessing, I opened Yoga ah Studio in Cincinnati Ohio offering Rocket classes following the 6-day-a-week practice schedule.
When Larry left his body in 2011 I was overcome with grief and sadness of losing my best friend, however thru my grief I pushed on and continued my practice and began writing more. I wrote a lot about my sadness and healing process a lot of that is on my Yoga ah blog.
I also wanted more yogis to try Rocket yoga if they never heard of it so I created a routine called the Bottle Rocket which is a beginner approach to Rocket practice. The Bottle Rocket can be practiced in 45 minutes and offers the foundation for Rocket 1 and Rocket 2 practice.
Currently, I take care of my studio, Yoga ah and have begun offering 5-day Rocket trainings, all over the world. For me the Rocket has given me purpose and focus, it inspires me daily and challenges me in a healthy way. The Rocket is a tool for living the life you love and allowing your dreams to become reality.
I am also a writer, mother, artist, photographer, world traveler, lover, fashionista, blogger and naturalist!