Beyond the Pose: How My Practice and Teaching Continue to Evolve

AIReal Yoga™ | Inspired Wellness Through Movement

Beyond the Pose: Evolving Practice & Teaching

When I first started practicing yoga, I thought advancement meant deeper poses, longer holds, and more flexibility. However, over the years, my definition of “advanced” has completely changed.

“The more I practiced and taught, the more I understood: a truly advanced practice is one rooted in awareness, not achievement.”

Through personal experience, injury, pregnancy, motherhood, training, and recovery, I’ve learned to listen more closely. To tune in and meet myself and my students where we are. Most importantly, I’ve learned that less is often more.

The Gift of Continued Education

I’ve been lucky and trained with diverse teachers, studied with physical therapists, doctors, and elite performance coaches, including the Red Bull High Performance Team. In addition, I’ve learned from leaders in physical therapy, neuroscience, and functional movement. Each of them gave me tools I now integrate into how I teach and how I live.

“Flexibility isn’t the goal, function is.”
“Yoga isn’t about ‘perfect’ poses. It’s about self-awareness and adaptation.”

Yet, some of the most powerful lessons have come from my own life. Injuries forced me to slow down. As a result, I had to re-evaluate, modify, and explore physical therapy and rest not as a setback, but as a vital part of the journey.

Pregnancy gave me empathy I didn’t know I needed. As a gymnast, movement came naturally. However during and after pregnancy, everything changed. I experienced the kind of physical and emotional challenges so many people face and consequently, it inspired me to study prenatal yoga, corrective exercise, and functional foundations more deeply.

Why Teachers Must Keep Learning

As teachers, we often feel pressure to have all the answers. Nevertheless, the truth is: teaching reveals what we still need to learn. That’s the gift.

“You know you’re a teacher when you can’t help but share what’s helped you because you want others to feel that relief, too.”
“Cueing isn’t about control. It’s about awakening others to their own awareness.”

I now work with a wide range of clients, from young athletes to older adults, from hypermobile students to those with MS, Parkinson’s, and brain injuries. That’s why I keep learning. So I can support them in a way that’s safe, informed, and empowering.

Hypermobility, in particular, has been a major focus for me lately. In fact, many students and teachers don’t know how to properly support hypermobile joints. We need to cue differently, move differently, and most importantly, teach differently to prevent injury and protect long-term health.

“Every imbalance is an invitation, not to fix, but to feel and evolve.”

Teaching More Than Just Yoga

While I still teach AIReal Yoga, my work has evolved. In addition, I now integrate functional movement, corrective exercises, physical therapy principles, and nervous system support into every session.

“Yoga taught me to stop performing and start connecting.”
“Balance isn’t symmetry, it’s integration.”

Whether someone is recovering from surgery, navigating chronic pain, or just trying to stay strong and safe as they age, I want them to feel supported. Seen. Safe. Ultimately, I believe in personalized teaching where every cue, every posture, every variation is about helping the individual feel better, move smarter, and live stronger.

The Practice Is Always New

I often say: Yoga is the most selfish practice in the best way. It’s about doing what’s right for you, today, in this body, with this breath. And that truth applies to teachers too. We can only teach what we’ve learned through experience. And we’re never done learning.

“When you stop trying to look like the pose, you start to embody the practice.”

So I keep showing up. As a student, a teacher, as someone who knows that the deeper you go into this work, the more humble and curious you become.

And that’s the beauty of it.