Find Your Joy Yoga is yoga for the maturing body, mind, spirit. I joke that it's yoga after 40, but it's much more than that really. It is a spiritual practice that aims to find space in the body through asana. Calm the mind, through meditation and connect with the spirit through breathe and deepened awareness. It is a practice for those who are no longer interested in rockstar poses or contorting their bodies in such a way that leaves them hurting or worse, injured. There are a thousand options out there for a yoga practice that is physically based. There are strong, power vinyasa flow classes in every studio and gym. Find Your Joy Yoga is a different kind of practice.
I created Find Your Joy Yoga because I, being over 40 myself, wanted to practice in a different way. And I couldn't find a class or style of yoga that was more about connecting with spirit than about getting into difficult poses. That was more of a spiritual practice than a physical one. But I still wanted to flow, to move but more gently, deliberately, with intention rather than attention to "master" a certain pose.
Yoga for me is a practice. I am always learning, changing, evolving. I do not believe I've "mastered" a single pose, it's not why I practice. And I found I was no longer interested in going into a class with mostly 20 something's doing rockstar poses. Don't misunderstand me there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to be able to do a difficult yoga pose, challenging yourself and finally being able to do a pose you've worked up to. When I first came to yoga in my early 20's I wanted to do those poses too, and I did, most of them. And that was fun, for awhile, but ultimately unfulfilling for me and my practice changed. It became less about asana and more about stillness, tuning into my higher self, connecting with higher consciousness. The practice of asana became a way to truly listen to my body, create openness.
So for the last 10 years I've been primarily teaching to folks over 50, and I created this style of yoga for my students and for me and for anyone for whom this style and concept resonates with. There are so many styles of yoga, a yoga for everyone. We find a style that suits us given where we are and what we need at the moment and that changes and evolves with time. Then we find the next path that suits us better, helps us grow in perhaps another way.
There's an old yoga saying "the paths are many, the Truth is one." There are unlimited ways to arrive at the same truth, to reach "samadhi" or enlightened consciousness. One way or another we all will get there. Find Your Joy Yoga is one way. If it resonates with you, practice with us. I'd be honored to share the journey with you.
Namaste