I came to yoga reluctantly. After many sports-related injuries I needed a different approach to my physical activities. I was initially afraid of yoga because I was afraid to be still. Constant movement was my way of avoiding painful truths.

When I first decided to try yoga, I felt backed into a corner; it’s in those moments that I tend to make life changing choices, which was exactly what my decision to do yoga ended up being — a life-changing choice.

My relationship to yoga was not an immediate love affair. I came to it in fits and starts, dabbling in different styles and places. Eventually, I found a teacher whom I loved and my relationship to yoga deepened.

Before I moved back to the East Coast, I finally bought my own yoga mat, ready to embark on the daunting idea of doing yoga on my own! That was nine years ago.

Yoga has been a place where I can find stillness and peace and that has become a really good thing; a gift.

My favorite style to teach is Vinyasa yoga. I like its heating and challenging nature as well as its unpredictability. I also enjoy teaching Yin yoga and am loving the complimentary nature of Yin with Yang. I bring my massage background to my teaching, lending an eye to alignment and a hands on approach. One of my favorite moments in a yoga class is when a student performs a posture they thought they would never do. It’s such an inspiring process to witness.

Being the mom of a five year old, I’ve recently become interested in teaching kids yoga and trained in Storytime Yoga in the spring of 2009. The half hour I spend with 4-6 year olds each week is a lesson in remembering to take life more lightly and that yoga is not only about the postures.

I am a teacher, whether as an Outward Bound instructor, a raft guide, a kayaking instructor, a high school teacher, a massage therapist or now, a yoga teacher. I was born to teach, to facilitate change in the lives of others.

Portrait by Sharyn Peavey. Visit www.sharynpeavey.com for more information.