This yoga journey of mine began back in the summer of 2012 in Orlando, FL. At the time I was a personal trainer and hadn’t spent more than 2 seconds thinking about yoga. I was working at lululemon at the time so I suppose it was inevitable.
By the end of the year, I found myself at my first class. It was an early 6:45am class in a hot studio. Oh and lucky me, the class involved using dumb bells! Fortunately a very knowledgeable and patient woman named Alex was guiding our practice. I still look forward to her classes today…with out the dumb bells!
A month or so later I decided to dig a little deeper. I found out about an inversion workshop that was coming up. I had no idea what this meant but I heard the teacher was really good and might learn a lot, so I signed up. Not only were they right but that experienced got me hooked on yoga! The energy in the packed “mat to mat” room, the 2 hours of constant information, and the self worth I felt when I left were undeniable. At the end I quickly rushed to thank this stranger for giving me an experience that I new had just changed my life. I said , “Hi my name is Brendon, its nice to meet you. Thank you so much for being here!” She replied, “My name is Rachel and you’re welcome.” Of course I asked for a picture to document the moment. I went home and began to research my new teacher, Rachel Brathen. I would go to a few more of her workshops over the next year and even took HER to favorite studio here during a visit. Practicing next to my teacher was a very different, very cool experience.
Thus began my yoga journey. A year later I began assisting a local community yoga class. What an amazing experience that was! We would have several hundred people in class on any given Sunday. I have seen it go over 450, which is why we needed assistance. I developed my love for connecting and teaching. This is also when I developed my habit of attending the Yoga Journal conference. I’ve lost track of many I’ve been to and how many wonderful things I’ve learned. I did have the opportunity to learn some world renowned teachers including Amy Ippoliti, Colleen Saidman, Gina Caputo, Jason Crandell, Kathryn Budig, Taylor Harkness, Rodney Yee, Sadie Nardini, and Sean Corn!
In the middle of it all I made the decision to enroll in a 200 hour yoga teacher training. I graduated from Sacred Voyage in October 2014 in Big Pine Key, Florida.
I’ve spent the years since trying to discover my place as a yoga teacher. I teach privates, small groups, & workshops. In December of 2016 I had the honor of assisting my hero, yoga mentor, and friend Kathryn Budig during her Aim True weekend. This only further fueled the fire. I jumped in to 2017 ready for more, ready to give more, ready to see where else this journey will take me!
By the end of the year, I found myself at my first class. It was an early 6:45am class in a hot studio. Oh and lucky me, the class involved using dumb bells! Fortunately a very knowledgeable and patient woman named Alex was guiding our practice. I still look forward to her classes today…with out the dumb bells!
A month or so later I decided to dig a little deeper. I found out about an inversion workshop that was coming up. I had no idea what this meant but I heard the teacher was really good and might learn a lot, so I signed up. Not only were they right but that experienced got me hooked on yoga! The energy in the packed “mat to mat” room, the 2 hours of constant information, and the self worth I felt when I left were undeniable. At the end I quickly rushed to thank this stranger for giving me an experience that I new had just changed my life. I said , “Hi my name is Brendon, its nice to meet you. Thank you so much for being here!” She replied, “My name is Rachel and you’re welcome.” Of course I asked for a picture to document the moment. I went home and began to research my new teacher, Rachel Brathen. I would go to a few more of her workshops over the next year and even took HER to favorite studio here during a visit. Practicing next to my teacher was a very different, very cool experience.
Thus began my yoga journey. A year later I began assisting a local community yoga class. What an amazing experience that was! We would have several hundred people in class on any given Sunday. I have seen it go over 450, which is why we needed assistance. I developed my love for connecting and teaching. This is also when I developed my habit of attending the Yoga Journal conference. I’ve lost track of many I’ve been to and how many wonderful things I’ve learned. I did have the opportunity to learn some world renowned teachers including Amy Ippoliti, Colleen Saidman, Gina Caputo, Jason Crandell, Kathryn Budig, Taylor Harkness, Rodney Yee, Sadie Nardini, and Sean Corn!
In the middle of it all I made the decision to enroll in a 200 hour yoga teacher training. I graduated from Sacred Voyage in October 2014 in Big Pine Key, Florida.
I’ve spent the years since trying to discover my place as a yoga teacher. I teach privates, small groups, & workshops. In December of 2016 I had the honor of assisting my hero, yoga mentor, and friend Kathryn Budig during her Aim True weekend. This only further fueled the fire. I jumped in to 2017 ready for more, ready to give more, ready to see where else this journey will take me!