Honoring my teachers
Often in yoga, teachers make all the difference. Here’s to honoring some who have most influenced me over the years so you can get to know them too!
Elizabeth Flint is a yoga instructor, healer, author and coach. After taking only a few of her classes back in 2014 in New-York, when I learned about an upcoming 200-hour teacher training that she was leading, I signed up for it without thinking twice. It was my first training and she made it even more transformational.
Elizabeth's natural grounding presence infuses her classes. She speaks in a slow, soothing voice. Her sequencing is always original and interesting, sometimes challenging. Inviting the subtle body in the physical practice is the true essence of yoga, but teaching that properly is a skill that very few teachers can master. Elizabeth is one of them.
And the best part of her classes was when she would start singing mantras in sanskrit during savasana (relaxation): true yoga bliss ❤️
Laurel Beversdorf is a yoga instructor and certified strength & conditioning specialist. Laurel was a teacher at Yogaworks in NYC when I chose her as a mentor for my 300-hour teacher training. She taught me pretty much everything I know about anatomy, sequencing and movement in general.
These past few years, I've enthusiastically followed her evolution into strength training . As yogis (and humans!) we all need more strengthening, and Laurel's fantastic teaching skills make it fun and entertaining to take that on.
To me, Laurel is the epitome of a smart yoga teacher. She is extremely knowledgeable about the science of movement and anatomy, but more importantly she is curious and always eager to incorporate new ideas into well established theories. She never fears questioning the status quo and long-held yoga dogma.
Chrissy Carter was one of the most popular teacher and teacher trainer at Yogaworks in NYC in the 2010's, and it's easy to understand why so many students were drawn to her classes. Chrissy has been practicing Iyengar yoga for a long time and smart alignment always infuses her playful sequences.
In addition to being an educator at heart (she loves sharing and teaching more than anything!), what makes her classes so special is her natural ability to bring real life onto the mat. She often uses a personal experience to illustrate a philosophical yoga concept. And to me, what makes Chrissy so inspiring is how yoga influences her entire lifestyle and way of life.
