Why I teach

“We do not think ourselves into new ways of living, we live ourselves into new ways of thinking.”
Richard Rohr

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I first met Skeeter while vacationing in Whistler, BC. I had the great fortune of taking yoga lessons with her. I had never taken any yoga before nor opened myself up to the idea of balance that the practice offers. Skeeter walked me through an introduction to yoga with patience and compassion; focusing most heavily on my foundation, breath and alignment. Opening oneself up to yoga is a scary thing but Skeeter’s encouragement helped me become vulnerable and in turn stronger. She is a master at what she does and truly cares about each and every life she touches! She is a great inspiration and has had a significant impact on my fitness, health and overall state of well-being. Skeeter’s kind words and skilled approach has made me a believer in the power of yoga –I look forward to connecting with my mat each and every chance that I get! “ Gillian Bland (law student living in Manhattan, New York).

Yoga Opens me to the beautiful and humble process of honoring all of my Senses. Each day, breath by breath, my awareness of how we are all intricately interwoven with all living things expands. Yoga helps me understand, it is how we respond in relationship with Life that determines the quality of experience of our own Life. This is what I aspire to offer in my teaching.

Sometimes the experience is very subtle, easy, sweet and almost unrecognizable, a seamless flowing of gentle change and other times it just blows me away in all the best of ways and also in the not so easy ways……the edges where I am pushed and cling and hold on to old ways of being, it is at these edges where the transformation really takes hold.

skeeter swimming yoga with humback  whales on maui hawaii ocean yoga teacher trainings

Some days my companions are humpback whales, dolphins, turtles, and when these great Yogi’s reach out to play with me, to communicate a desire to share life, when they look in my eyes, send me love, and feel my love, there is a deep exchange of  trust.  This experience of trust deepens my faith in  the wild and mysterious ways of Nature.

In these  moments I know through all of my senses, that life is never more precious than when shared. When we allow ourselves to be vulnerable to face our fears and share our fears with each other, love expands. Yoga is a practice of attuning to the very source of life that creates, sustains and dissolves, us all. The more we open and listen to the rhythms of nature all around us and within us, the more the practice of Yoga becomes a expression of Beauty and Love.
Each day my life is blessed with  revelations/epiphanies, and tiny little awakenings that weave together, sow seeds and blossom into long term positive changes in the quality of how I Live and experience my own life. Nothing brings me greater joy than to witness students evolving to embody a greater presence, a persevering compassion and a joyful responsibility for their actions. I see first hand how the practice; opens, clarifies, heals and strengthens students hearts, minds and bodies. Open to Life Yoga is a holistic path designed to help all seekers create healthy dynamic, playful balance, in all aspects of Life.

“Skeeter is yoga. She lives her practice everyday, and in all things she encounters, it is a pleasure to watch her engage with her students, her insight and intelligence is remarkable.” Tom Sewell, Artist, www.tomsewell.com

Life is Movement, Learning to find and inhabit a pulsing alive still point of awareness, while in the play of life, this is where the beauty and the flow of life lives for me.  I often times find this balance in nature, whether sitting in meditation as the sun rises, on a mountain gliding through pristine snow, or feeling a ocean surging underneath me, carrying me, inviting me to  surf.

Human beings posses an innate desire to reach out to be of service to each other. No one can exist without the help of others. Each moment that I witness the Yoga path open a student to discovering and honoring his/her completely unique potential, I am filled with profound devotion to improve my skills as a student and a teacher. I teach as I have learned, unwavering respect for the responsibility of being a Teacher. In the beginning of my yoga studies I had no desire to be a teacher, but  it was my Astanga teacher who told me that to continue studying without giving back, through teaching, would not be honoring the path of Yoga.

“We must love one another or die.” W.H. Auden

I teach Yoga, because I believe in Peace as an attainable and sustainable experience. When we soften and open our energy fields to feel how we are all connected even while having profound diversity, we develop tolerance and even respect for our great differences.

“ I contain multitudes.” These “multitudes” are what keep a relationship fresh and interesting. But they can only nourish a relationship if we can accept the ways those we love are different from us— in their background, values, perspectives, qualities, sensitivities, preferences, ways of doing things, and finally their destiny.”  Walt Whitman.

Yoga expands student’s awareness of the value and beauty of Life, and in that recognition they develop and refine their desires and skills to Live in harmony with each other and our Sacred Environment. I seek to offer  Yoga as a path to help anyone learn to Live Fully, Love Deeply and Play Passionately.