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 am a LIVE LOVE TEACH vinyasa and yin yoga instructor, and I call Arlington, TX my home. I love to combine my experience as a registered nurse with years of training in myriad yoga styles to teach fun, safe and exciting classes for students of all levels, shapes and backgrounds. Integrating elements of vinyasa and yin yoga (YINyasa), students are led in an energetic yet restorative and light-hearted practice suitable for all levels.

In my decade of yoga experience, The Yoga Project and Live Love Teach 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.

Kathy is a mother of two fabulous teenage daughters who support and encourage my yoga practice and who remind me every day about what really matters.

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 have been practicing yoga since 2004 but it was not until I found Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga in 2008 that I felt a true connection with my mind, body and spirit. As a result, I am fun, energetic, authentic, committed and open to the adventures and lessons of life. The more I practice Power Vinyasa Yoga, the more it becomes clear to me that I am ready to step into my personal power, challenge myself to the edge, and light up my community with enthusiastic smiles and energy. I feel that I am "transformation in progress" - uncovering layers of blockages is now a fun-filled explorative game rather than constantly feeling that something was inherently wrong with me and I need to fix myself. I can now laugh at any "mistakes" or "failures" because I know there's no such thing! This life lesson is a blessing and a gift that I cannot wait to share through yoga teaching, practicing and assisting.

My inspiration to teach came to fruition when I trained at the Baptiste Level 1 (2009), Level 2 Teacher (2010) Training, and LIVE LOVE TEACH - Advanced Vinyasa Teacher Training (with Stacy Dockins, Debbie Williamson and Philip Urso). As a teacher, my intention is to authentically share my experiences and myself with all students. My desire is to provide for each student a safe place to express their true selves, excite them to discover their power and strengths they may not know they have, and serve them with love and compassion while having fun!

I apply yoga principles to all areas of my life whether I am with my husband, family, friends, or as an IT Consultant at work. I find life to be exciting and loving with my husband as we start a family here in Texas and continue to travel and explore the world. I am blessed to have a big, caring international family allowing us to visit Philippines, Thailand, Mexico, and many states in the US. I look forward to meeting and seeing you at TYP and we'll begin our yoga journey together!

I believe that the greatest teachers in life are great because they unveil our own teachers within. I take the seat of the teacher as a sister, an inquirer, a fellow journeyer in life, and my primary intention in sharing the practice of yoga is to support students in tapping into their own inner-teacher. My own experience has shown me that yoga has a profound ability to instill peace and healing in both body and mind, and I hope to help others find that within themselves as well.

I actually first came to recognize the healing potential of yoga in a sort of unexpected place - working as a research assistant in a university psychology laboratory. Behind the objective lens of the scientific microscope, I could literally see the interdependence of mind and body with my own two eyes. I realized that deep breathing literally changed the activities of the nervous system and that conscious movement could build new pathways in the brain. On my mat, I felt yoga re-teaching my own body to operate in a radically different way - all in the safe and supportive space of a loving community. Before I knew it, I'd dove head first into the yoga teacher training in order to "explore the practice more." The rest, as they say, is history.

I am passionate about the yoga we practice on and off our mats. My hope is live a life in service to a greater cause—whether it be the expansion of knowledge, support of my community, or increasing global health. In some small way, I believe sharing yoga is an opportunity to do just that. In the words of Mother Teresa, "We can do no great things; only small things with great love."

The old saying is, when life gives you lemons make lemonade. Well, finding Yoga has not only empowered me to make tasty lemonade but also grow and harvest my own lemons. The enrichment and impact Yoga has in my life is indescribable. I try to put it into words sometimes and then I stop myself because I realize it is something you just have to be in.

Discovering my practice and landing on my mat has brought me not only physical strength and agility, but has opened doors to exploring an overall deeper wellbeing spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. Such as life, it always has a new obstacle for us to overcome and by incorporating Yoga into my life flow I have been better equipped with receiving the universe. Yoga has allowed me to invite myself into me, hence empowering myself to let go and allow my authentic light to shine.

Having been blessed with experiencing the gift of Yoga with TYP has guided me to step off the mat and pursue my calling as a teacher. Yoga has deepened and empowered my life and I want to perpetuate the gift and energy to others so that we all can flourish in this life together. Being able to share this journey of awakening and enlightenment with people is my passion and purpose.

In my past I had two instances where I said the phrase, "I will never…" one was being a teacher and the other was taking another yoga class. Who knew? Thank God the universe had a different idea! I cannot imagine my life now without the experiences both have gifted me.

Yoga came back to me in another form, Power Yoga, opening up the most incredible opportunities to grow physically, mentally and spiritually fit. I had equated fitness with power and control, but it only resulted in less of both. As I tried to maintain control, insomnia, obesity, depression, anger, and pain became my constant companions. From the very first Power Yoga practice changes began to take place. I slept all night after the first 60 minute practice! Somehow, over time, the things being said in class began to sink in and become a part of my very being. As my strength grew, so did my ability to face my fears. Before long, it was not unusual to hear, "You look different", "You act different" "You seem so peaceful", followed by "How?"

The story doesn't end there. My recent path has allowed me to experience the healing power of yoga. Old injuries and genetics led to a diagnosis of Severe Degenerative Disc Disorder in my lumbar spine. I tried to ignore it and push through the pain until I could no longer do activities of daily living. Months of steroid injections and pain pills lead to spinal surgery on March 8, 2011. Yoga has been integral in my healing process, even the doctors have said my recovery is incredible.

I could not have experienced any of this without passionate, knowledgeable teachers and it is an honor to pay it forward. Yoga is empowering and healing but like your favorite dessert, it is best experienced first hand.

I'm like thousands of people out there, i used to have a very narrow view of what a yogi looked like and it was NOT the person looking back at me in my mirror.  3 yrs ago I decided to bite the bullet and walk into a yoga studio.  Turns out that yogis look a lot like you and me; some can touch their toes, others can't yet, some can stand on their heads while others don't.  The one thing that all yogis can do is find the ability to get out of their own way and take a chance to be better, different, extraordinary (why not).

  I can distinctly remember days when I would look at people around me and think "I could NEVER do that."  Only to find that one day I could (and did).   Maybe this is the beginning of "one day" for you.

There are many reasons that TYP is an amazing place but one of the things I love best is that it is really OK to laugh during class (sometimes it's even required) because yoga can be fun.  Yoga can be anything.  YOU can be anything.

The most amazing yogi I know is Sarayu, my 2yr old daughter.  She reminds me that every movement is a blessing, every breath is an opportunity, and that ice cream fixes everything.