We were a group of friends riding hard one sunny day when out of the blue, Stacy Dockins announces she wants to teach yoga. “Great”, I said, “I’ll make you a CD”. We continued riding hard, but something was already different with me. That was five years ago and I have followed Stacy’s Baptiste yoga practice ever since she spoke those words. I’ve asked myself lately, why? Is it the incredible, powerful workout that twists and tones my body to a whole new level? Or is it the new way I look at life in a more positive and effective way. Could it be the friends that become friends-for-life that I’ve met in class? Or the way I connect so authentically and lovingly with my eight year old daughter and wonderful husband. (Not to mention our four dogs, one lizard and a ferret!)

My journey with this yoga has brought me to a deeper understanding of who I am at every level imaginable. Spiritually, my beliefs in God have become alive and more real than ever. Masks and layers of unwanted stories have fallen off leaving me authentic and grounded for life.

Now, today I want to share this avenue, this opportunity with others. As a yoga teacher at TYP, I know this will happen. That tiny moment in time five years ago has created a new way being for myself and others….thank you Stacy!!

Bringing the joy of yoga to others is my way of sharing the tremendous gifts of health and healing that yoga has given to me. The techniques that I have learned while practicing on the mat sustain me through every day life when off the mat, and I cannot imagine a more fulfilling calling than to share this life support with our community.

I began practicing yoga in 2001. In November 2007, I took my first Baptiste Power yoga class, and I thought I wouldn’t make it through the first thirty minutes! I loved the way I felt at the end of class, and I have been practicing Baptiste Power yoga since. Baptiste Power yoga has transformed my yoga practice and my daily life.

I completed Level One with Baron Baptiste in October 2009 in Tulum, Mexico. In May 2010, I will go back to Tulum and complete Level Two with Baron. In addition, I am a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance and a Registered Nurse. While no longer practicing patient care, I am excited to provide a source of healing for others through yoga.

I am the mother of two fabulous teenage daughters who support and encourage my yoga practice and who remind me every day about what really matters.

In my decade of yoga experience, The Yoga Project remains the most supportive and fulfilling environment in which to learn, refine, grow and practice yoga, and I hear this from our practitioners every day. I am so grateful to be a part of TYP and their community. My commitment as a yoga teacher is to support your practice and help you to leave each session with health, healing, and calm energy that will sustain you off the mat.

From the moment I stepped onto the mat and made my acquaintance with yoga, I knew that I had landed in what would eventually become my life’s work. The introduction of yoga created instantaneous changes in me and continues to transform my life on a daily basis. Yoga has become the vehicle that brings unity to my body, my mind and my spirit. In a life full of demands, deadlines and constraints, yoga stands in stark contrast to all of those limitations. There is not an aspect of my life that this practice has not impacted. Physically, I am growing in strength, flexibility and balance. Spiritually, I continually become more aware of the necessity of letting go and allowing myself to fly. Emotionally, I am more grounded and steadily becoming less reactive to the curves that appear in my life’s path. Yoga continues to open my eyes to the absolute necessity of unifying every aspect of my being.

When the timing was right, an opportunity to be a part of The Yoga Project team presented itself and the pieces fell into place in a very organic way. My connection with TYP and Texas Power Yoga Teacher Training School led me to new places and afforded me the opportunity to unearth the places within me that are allowing me to be the most authentic, effective teacher that I am able to be. True to life, teaching yoga is proving to be a never-ending journey, thus making it easy for me to feel impassioned about it. The fact that I am blessed enough to have the opportunity to spend my days offering up something so entirely good for other people ignites me… I cannot think of anything that I would rather do with my time and energy.

When I am not on my mat practicing, guiding a class, or facilitating happenings at the studio… you can find me soaking up every spare moment of time with my two beautiful little boys, Noah and Micah.

I wanted some change in my life. I believe that if you want something different, do something different. So about 5 years ago I walked into the gym where I worked out and into a yoga class. I walked up to the instructor and said, “I’ve never done yoga before but I’ve been told that I can do this and you won’t laugh at me.” She laughed. I’m not really sure what happened next – but about an hour later I was dripping with sweat, had a killer workout, my mind was clear and I thought, “What the heck just happened?” So began my yoga journey.

I never thought that I would teach. I just kept practicing and I continued to say ‘yes’ to the opportunities that would arise. Yes to an all day boot camp, yes to a 3 day boot camp, yes to an assisting workshop and eventually yes to teaching. It gives me an opportunity to continue to grow in my body, my mind and my spirit. At the same time I can give my students that same powerful opportunity – to be huge! To realize on the mat what we realize in life – that we are capable of so much more than we ever imagine.

For me yoga has always been fun. I laugh my hardest and smile most genuine smiles on the mat. Yes, sometimes even during abs! I bring that energy to each class I lead. I never want to manufacture the fun and the good news is that it’s not necessary. Just bring out the energy and fun that is hiding, locked up inside each person. They want to laugh, they want to work and they want more. Open the door wide for them and watch them leap through it into something new. Try and not smile and laugh out loud when you seen that happen.

In addition to my time on the mat, I am father to the two most amazing children, a key leader in a life management program and own a financial planning, tax and accounting practice.

I started yoga a few years ago without any idea what I was in for. At first it was simply an awesome physical practice for me. It got me in touch with my body, and through flexibility and strength opened the door to better performance in activities I already trained for. As I spent more time at TYP I realized that there was something more. There was an ease and calmness to the poses beyond the stressing and grunting I usually practiced. This was huge! I now practice the idea of having fun and being easy in every step of my life! I feel the yoga mat is a tool to practice how we approach anything difficult in our life. Seriously, if you can smile during crow pose, you have no reason not to smile anytime! Through yoga I've grown to stop controlling the world around me, observe how I get in my own way, and come into the world as a positive and loving force! My life is my asana...