Yoga and Dance- A Very Happy Couple

My first brush with a regular yoga practice came when I owned a dance studio a year ago and we hired a yoga teacher to help bring in extra income. The yoga teacher was fabulous, but the studio had issues which kept the classes very small. I felt obligated when there were not enough people in his class to take the class myself and during this time I fell in love with yoga. What began as an obligation ended up sometimes being the best part of the day. The physical benefits were all I had hoped for and more. My teacher was (and still is) the type of teacher that performs near perfect asanas (poses) during class and we wanted to perform near perfect asanas like him. Dancers understand copying body positions in the mirror so his teaching method translated well for us. My body became much stronger and more limber than it's been in years. I had better feet, better extension, better backbends, and fewer injuries. Not to mention I looked better, a nice bonus. My teacher talked a lot about breathing, focus and meditation but I never quite "got it". I was too enamored with perfecting asanas, which was all I could do at that time. Then, through a series of unfortunate events my studio ended up closing like many small businesses in our economy today. I am so grateful for the time I got to spend practicing with my teacher at that studio. I learned a lot.

After three long winter months I was stuck inside my house with no studio, no income, and no yoga I met Porsche Vanbrocklin-Fischer. Porsche is the owner of Lifesource Yoga located right across from Summit Mall in Merchant's Square Plaza. I knew the day I met her that her studio was going to be a success just because of her incredible energy. Porsche is passionate about yoga and she's establishing a studio full of great teachers (including my teacher, Ron White) and all different types and levels of yoga classes. She also has a child care facility for a very small fee so moms don't have to find a sitter for just an hour class. She sells yoga attire, mats, dvds, and other stuff in the boutique. I just love the way I feel relaxed the minute I walk through the door. Anyone who is a fan of yoga HAS to come and check it out. I was so happy when she asked me to teach a "cardio shimmy" class because now I'm officially part of the Lifesource family. We started shimmying in May and we are there every Wednesday 5:30-6:30 pm so please come and join us sometime!

So at this time I feel I'm in a whole new phase of my yoga journey at Lifesource yoga. I'm starting to learn what it feels like to train your mind through training your body. I am also finally starting to "get it" with the breath and that is huge. At this point I have realized how much dancers as a group have to benefit from yoga. Completely opposite the yoga world where you are supposed to let go of competition and judgment, the dance world by its very nature is competitive and judgmental because it is a performance art and not a practice. Everyone is looking to advance themselves to a solo spot or the front line or to own their own dance troupe, own dance studio, be a star, etc. However, my yoga practice has helped me greatly in this area. I'm convinced that yoga is essential for all dancers and should be part of every dance program. Any dancer who is striving for excellence will appreciate being stronger, and more flexible and learning to manage performance nerves. Like a baby learning to walk it happens in stages. For me, I had to learn the physical aspect of yoga first (I am still learning there are so many poses). Then came the breath/ body connection and finally training the mind through training the body.