Who was I before yoga?
Writing That Takes Me Back In Time
It’s hard to remember who pre-yoga Amanda was. I started regularly practicing yoga when I was in high school, and began teaching at age sixteen. Yoga was with me through heart breaking friendship shifts, homework meltdowns, the typical teen vs family quarrels and everything in between.
I practiced, learned & studied yoga for me. Turns out when I taught, it also made me feel better. (Spoiler alert, practicing, learning, studying and teaching still makes me feel better today).
The first “class” I guided was bedside yoga in the pediatric oncology department at a local hospital, through the non-profit Kula for Karma. Week after week, I cultivated creativity with my words & rewrote the narrative about what yoga can and should look like.
I was the proudest of me when I wore my volunteer badge. Moments still stick with me to this day, like guiding gentle breathwork and smiling with a mom and her toddler who was undergoing treatment.
I’m not sure why these memories feel relevant to share. Well I guess I do.
Yoga has shaped who I am in the world in every sense. And last week when I realized I was handed an extra $100 — I didn’t have to think twice about handing the money back and making sure the merchant understood the interaction correctly too. (The concept of satya or truthfulness).
Yoga was with me through college — through roommate snafus, study abroad and dancing at nightclubs. And equally as important it was with me during every single course I took towards my Bachelor’s & Master’s in Social Work. Every student I tutored, every support group I led (at domestic violence shelters, psychiatric hospitals or cancer centers) included the integration of mindfulness & somatic practices. Thank G-d for yoga.
One year ago I stepped into private practice full time. I didn’t know that in addition to building my therapy practice I would also find so much joy in teaching yoga more regularly through We All Feel Programs. I’m not going to lie, I still teach because it makes me feel better. And I teach… for you.
xoxo,
Amanda
PS In case no one told you today, I love you.
PPS It’s my birthday on 3/11 — celebrate with me on 3/10 at Live the Process in TriBeCa for Yoga + Connection. Register here.
PPPS Save Sunday 4/7 for the next We All Feel Women’s Circle in Malibu