MORE ABOUT HANNAH
AND HER TEACHERS
If you want to know more details about me, my yoga journey, and my yoga teachers...read on!
I'm happy to share my journey with you.
I grew up in Nashville, TN and I was a "jack-of-all-trades" kind of kid. I enjoyed playing soccer, taking dance classes, singing in choirs, acting on stage, and the list goes on. There was even a stint when I played the clarinet!
During my college days at Butler University, I continued my love for acting and earned a degree in Arts Administration and Theatre. It was during Uni that I decided to study abroad in Adelaide, South Australia. I attended the theatre program at Flinders University, and I didn't realise then what an impact this choice would have on the trajectory of my life.
While studying abroad, I met two of the greatest loves of my life...my hubby and Yoga.
(I'll get to the hubby in a sec...)
As part of the theatre program at Flinders, we were required to take Yoga classes most mornings on campus. This was my first experience with Yoga, and I LOVED it. It was a Vinyasa style class, and I enjoyed that feeling of building heat and strength in my body. Because I was a dancer and an athlete growing up, I resonated with the pace, rhythm, and choreography of the Sun Salutations. And then being able to rest and slow down in Śavāsana at the end was the icing on the cake. It felt fun and free. These classes were different than anything I had experienced and it was the first time I had done breath work and really paid attention to my breath while moving. The body/breath connection made everything so much more intentional and deeply felt. It was grounding, calming and soothing and took me to a different place.
This was my first taste of what would become a long and enduring love affair. Now, speaking of love affairs...
When I met Joshua (my beautiful husband) it was kind of a no-brainer...he was my guy. After my semester in Adelaide, Joshua came to live with me in the Indianapolis and over the next few years we did the dance of living back and forth between the States and Australia.
While enjoying a stint living back in Nashville, I met Taunia Rice, one of my most influential Yoga teachers. I would take her classes every Tuesday night in the heart of Hillsboro Village. Her classes were heart-felt, accessible, and created a sense of community and vulnerability that really drew me in. We all felt safe in her Yoga circle. And it was the first time I had experienced a teacher who created classes around a theme. Her themes would call us deeper into Yogic principles, and offer us an intention and an opportunity to engage with Yoga on a deeper level. I started to feel more and more comfortable in the stillness, the slowing down, and in relationship with myself.
In 2017, another event would change the trajectory of my life forever, the birth of my first son Cy. Pregnancy and childbirth transformed me in a way I could have never imagined. Other than a few injuries growing up, I had not experienced many physical limitations. Well, pregnancy and the postpartum journey taught me a lot about taking things slow, being kind to my body, and understanding that I needed to be able to adapt the way I moved. So, my Yoga practice evolved in a whole new way. It slowed down a lot, and I explored more accessible approaches to poses, included more prānāyāma and meditation, and my idea of what "practice" could look like evolved and expanded. Yoga became such a sanctuary for me and a place I could ultimately be with myself to
rest, relax, and recharge.
With this deepening relationship to my personal practice, I craved more knowledge and understanding of this vast tradition, and my yearning led me to my first teacher training which I completed in January 2018. This 300hr training with Yoga Trinity was enlightening, challenging, and invigorated my dedication as a student and practitioner. I would like to thank my teacher, Heather Agnew, for her wisdom, guidance, and generosity during this training. It really opened my eyes to the skills of a teacher. I learned that being a teacher is not only about planning a well-thought out āsana class, but more importantly it is about being able to teach to the students who are in front of you. This training was full of knowledge about how to adapt postures to different levels and abilities and how to honour this tradition in a way that meant it was accessible and inclusive. Because of this knowledge, when I started teaching out in the real world, and realised that a typical "Vinyasa" style class was not accessible to most of my students, I was able to adapt and take a slower, more gentle approach with my students.
To me, if you leave one student behind, you are not teaching Yoga.
Over the last few years, I have completed trainings in Restorative Yoga with Ana Davis from Bliss Baby Yoga and Supreme Release Yoga with Kaya Mindlin. I would like to thank these teachers for their wisdom in the realms of Yoga that restore and soften, nourish and soothe. Can you see a trend?
I have been slowly slowing down...even more. Through my second pregnancy/childbirth/postpartum experience with my son Otis, I have gravitated towards a much slower, softer approach to Yoga, both as a teacher and a student. My Yoga practice is a time to let go of outward distractions, and listen from the inside as I nourish my body/mind. It is a sacred practice of rejuvenation, not depletion.
And this is what I wish for my students.
I am currently in continued studies with my teacher, Kaya Mindlin and am enjoying her courses on Vastu, Mantra, Ayurveda and the Bhagavad Gita. She has opened my eyes to the depth of the Vedic Tradition, advanced pedagogical frameworks, and the transformative power of Yogic wisdom.
This is a tradition that goes beyond the mat and has the power to influence every aspect of our lives.
And so that is what I've been doing throughout my journey as a Yogic seeker, I have been learning, adapting, and integrating...and letting it sink deeper and deeper into my bones...falling into a deeper love of Self along the way.
And with that, I'll leave you with one of my favourite quotes from Gitte Bechsgaard...
"We need to fall in love with our practice in order to become completely and utterly absorbed in it. We can then use that method as a way to enter into the realm of the sacred."
I look forward to holding space for you in your own unique Yogic journey.
See you in practice.
xx