Am I the teacher for you?
I am a yoga teacher and yoga student in Lafayette Colorado. I teach prenatal, postnatal, hatha, vinyasa flow, and core focused yoga. My style of teaching is to make yoga authentically accessible to everyone with consideration to their unique needs. I have practiced yoga for 20 years and have been teaching yoga since 2015. I am a certified PRYT Prenatal yoga teacher with additional trainings in postpartum yoga. My personal practice has also included both prenatal and postnatal yoga. Additionally, I am a certified Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist and biomechanics enthusiast. In the fall of 2018 I began the year long journey of 300 hour teacher training. You can find me teaching in the Boulder County area in group classes and private sessions.
Once a student of yoga, always a student of yoga. We are our experiences. My teaching is shaped by my experience of life, my practice, and passion for continual learning. Yoga is more than what we do on the mat, it is a way of living. My teaching is influenced especially by being a mother with two children born 10 years apart. I found yoga in my late teens which sparked my desire to ‘some day’ train as a teacher. As a broke college student my focus was a home practice, squeezing some poses (or VHS class!) in between college studies and working two jobs. Yoga for me was a form of exercise and a calm break amongst the business of life. It was not until later, after the birth of my first child that I discovered the true practice of yoga and all that it has to offer.
Yoga is multifaceted with the poses or Asana being only one small aspect. Traditionally in yoga the asana was intended to prepare the body for the quiet stillness work of yoga. Also traditionally, asana was designed to use up the energy of young boys so they would sit quietly. This is important when we consider our modern applications of yoga and the variety of people who practice. This is certainly a poignant consideration for what I study, practice, and teach. One aspect of the other parts of yoga is Svadhyaya or Self awareness and self reflection. The practice of Svadhyaya leads us to the surrender. This being the part of yoga in which we accept what is, let go of what is not, peel away the ego and surrender to what best serves enabling us to honor our own experience. Everyone who practices yoga will have their own unique journey. As a teacher, I am simply a guide.
It was the experience of first pregnancy which would eventually set me on a path of self discovery. My pregnancy was uncomplicated until in the final months when Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction left me nearly debilitated. Some days it was so painful I could barely walk. Accidentally stepping the wrong way or on uneven ground would have me laid up on the couch for days. Even more frustrating, is at this time the condition was known to exist by the medical field, but was not commonly named. Therefore treatment was essentially unknown, with the best advice being to remain immobile and wait until after the birth when it would resolve. Recovery after the birth was slow, but again mostly uncomplicated. The exception being to the PUPPPS which appeared after the birth despite being a “pregnancy” condition. We’ll chalk that up to hormones and anxiety about being a first time mother. If only I had realized at the time how yoga could help! Slow is really an understatement. It took nearly a year before I didn’t look pregnant. It was a frustrating and depressing time feeling like I was not living in my own body all while learning to care for an infant and be a wife and mother. I returned to my yoga practice after the birth of my son. Again my focus was a home practice as with a young one around, it can be a challenge to get to a studio. My practice was in effort to reclaim my body, to shape it into what it once was. It was a balance between parenting a young child and carving out time for myself. Eventually as the years passed, the time was right for teacher training.
Teacher training ignited my path forward and changed the course of my life like I never imagined. I was learning the art and science that is yoga, and it felt amazing. I felt stronger than ever. I was practicing more than ever. I was practicing challenging asana that I had only dreamed about. Then just as I finished training, all the hours of learning, the hours spent teaching, and my dreams for what the future would hold… I realized I was pregnant again after 10 years of infertility.
Life forever changed. My surprise baby was such a blessing. He opened my eyes, and every day he brings me new light. However, he threw a curveball in to my plans! I still wanted to teach, so I sought out a practice and training that was relevant to my situation. I embraced prenatal yoga as part of my weekly practice. I trained in Mom & Baby Postnatal yoga, then Toddler Yoga. Toward the end of my pregnancy my practice had morphed from a strong Vinyasa to the more gentle, softening, and awakening of prenatal yoga. I began teaching prenatal yoga, and after having my baby I sought out prenatal training. It was through this that I learned not only about the need to rebuild your core after birth and the condition of abdominal separation, called diastasis recti, but that I HAD it! Ten years I lived with 6 pack, rectus muscles that were separated by 3 centimeters. I would later learn that the depth of the separation was equally, if not more important when assessing DR. Mine was about 2 cm deep after the birth of my second child. During pregnancy in the early months I felt that twinge of pain in my pubic bone. The tell tale sign of impending Pubic Symphysis Dysfunction. I knew I must be cautious and treat my body with honor. This meant surrender to what was, the Svadhyaya of yoga. I cut out certain poses, and practiced others in a more conscious way refined to my needs. Fortunately I was able to keep the intense pain at bay and remained fully mobile through the pregnancy. I was empowered by my practice and new knowledge. Thus began my mission to use yoga in a therapeutic way to prevent injury, to heal myself, and a renewed passion for teaching so that I may help guide others to honor themselves with their yoga.
My shelves are filled with books on anatomy, pelvic health, biomechanics, women’s health, and yoga. I took workshops and trainings on the pelvis, and trained as a Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist. The more I read and learned made me realize that this is not common knowledge. Much of it is applicable to all people, not just women who have had babies. It’s also not information that is included in traditional yogic asana training. It is also certainly not information that women learn when they are pregnant (although “diastatis recti” has become somewhat of a buzz word these days). I quickly realized that women need much more postpartum care and support than our society currently provides. They need to know they are not alone in these common but NOT normal conditions which can carry with them or even manifest later in life. All students should feel empowered by their practice.
My passion was born. To teach yoga which will prepare the mind + body + soul for surrendering to oneself and building a practice which honors who they are instead of striving to fit a mold. For women on their sacred journey to motherhood, to guide them through an easeful pregnancy, prepare their mind + body for birth, assist a quick recovery, and teach them yoga so they are able to tackle whatever lies beyond. For all my students, it is an honor to stand before you and teach you the humbling and empowering practice of yoga.
I stand before you. Am I the teacher for you?
Anne’s Bio: I am from Ohio. With my husband we spent a year living in Wales where our first boy was born. In 2007 we found our way to the place we call home in Colorado. I have many teachers and influencers. Here are the most predominate ones: My 200 hour teacher training was at Yoga Junction in Louisville CO with their team of wonderful yoga teachers. I trained in Mom & Baby postnatal yoga and Toddler Yoga at Mama’Hood in Denver CO with Sarah Guenther. I’ve attended training on Yoga for the Female Pelvis with renowned teacher and author Leslie Howard. I am certified as a Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist with Dr. Sarah Ellis Duvall, and I integrate this physical therapeutic approach to my teaching. At Mount Madonna Center in Watsonville CA with teachings founded by yogi Baba Hari Dass, I trained in Prenatal and Postnatal Yoga with Hannah Muse. I am influenced by the work of biomechanist Katy Bowman, founder of Nutritious Movement. I am inspired by the work of Dr. Ginger Garner, the founder of Pro Yoga Therapy Institute and author of Medical Therapeutic Yoga. Finally, but not least I am a dedicated student to Lori Glazebrook creator of Feel. Focus. Flow.™ and have embarked on the journey with her 300 hour teacher training. Namaste my loves. All that is within me honors all that is within you.
Anne & her youngest child at the Hanuman Temple in Watsonville CA
I live in Lafayette Colorado. I am married with two children, two dogs, and one cat. When I am not practicing, teaching, studying yoga, or chasing an energetic 2 year old around, I like spending time with my family enjoying the variety of outdoor activities Colorado provides. This ranges from spending time around town, to visiting the mountains for hiking and snowboarding. I learned to sew in elementary school and can sometimes be found sewing for myself or other people. I am also a fan of gardening and teaching young people in the Learning Garden at Lafayette Elementary School.