How To Choose the Yoga Type That’s Right for You

I have been a dancer for most of my life. My dance career began when I tried my first ballet class in after school care at 5 years old. My entire childhood and young adolescence consisted of dance classes five days a week, performances, competitions and rehearsals. It was a demanding exercise regimen and commitment, but I was in love; in love with the feeling of being on stage, performing for hundreds of people, and getting lost in music and choreography. Then, I got injured.

I developed a serious case of achilles tendonitis and had to give dance a break. Once recovered, I dabbled in cheerleading and other sports, and discovered, as a young adult, my fitness routine would consist of strength training and cardiovascular exercise, mostly through cardio dance combo classes. In college, I reignited my passion and majored in Dance Education and obtained a Master's degree in Exercise and Sports Sciences. I had tried yoga a few times, but could not swallow it! I even walked out of a class, which I am totally ashamed of. I could not handle the structure, the slowing down. I was trained to expect a fast paced, hard core workout that pushed me to the brink of exhaustion.

In 2012, I was going through one of the most trying times of my life, of which I'll elaborate on in another post. My anxiety was rampant and I was in a very dark mental space. I decided to give yoga another shot. I visited a studio by my house and took a Vinyasa class taught by Kelly Brandon. Ninety minutes later, I was floating! I had reconnected to that feeling; the love of movement, of being lost in music & choreography; but this time, my mind felt comforted a tended to. That was just the beginning. I started to attend class more often, and got swept away with this whole Yoga thing! Once I was able to really grasp the concept, connect the breath with the movement; embrace Yoga; that's when the magic happened.

I tried many classes and many different teachers, but found that Vinyasa was the right fit for me. Maybe it's because of its similarities to dance, maybe it's the music, maybe it was Kelly, but this style is where I always can find that magic. I eventually enrolled in a yoga teacher certification program and now, design my classes with a fusion of Vinyasa and dance techniques in hope of helping others find that same magic. Namaste!