My yoga story begins with my first class on my 40th birthday. But the journey of my yoga–that took me those entire 40 years to get there. I spent most of those years resisting, pulling, pushing, and forcing my life, so by the end of my first class, after feeling the exhaustion in my body from all the effort and crying all the tears out of my eyes, I felt something had shifted, a surrender. But it’s what ensued the days following that got me back onto the mat. I noticed more on how I was pushing, I reflected more on how I was resisting, and I started to feel more. So, I went back–for more. The yoga mat became this refuge for me where I could feel the feelings I had shoved away, explore all the lurking thoughts, and for the first time in my life, be ‘me’ without all the filters. At last, I could finally breathe, but I also knew that the work was just beginning. The practice continued to let me see everything I am and while it brought along with it deep sorrow, it also ushered in incredible joy. This incredible joy led to acceptance, and this acceptance led to wholeness and a love of all things. I no longer felt depleted, exhausted, and lonely. So, I kept practicing and continued to listen while I learned how to be the most authentic version of me, peeling away layers and layers. For some of us, the mat is the first place we ask ourselves, “What do ‘I’ need?”. For some of us, the mat is the first place we ‘see’ ourselves as the practice reflects back to us the truth—the get-down-and-dirty-in-this-very-moment-inner inquiry-personal-truth. And now, for those with whom we journey together, I encourage the same—a safe place, a refuge that you have the power to create and support all the time–watching, listening, evolving, and letting go.
Since 2012, I have been on an amazing path of teaching full-time and feel such a deep reverence and gratitude for sharing the transformational power of yoga, mindfulness, and breath awareness. When we practice together, expect to breathe, expect to slow down, expect to feel your body and notice your thoughts as you discover the power of your practice and how it lives deep within your breath and how the true strength is in the courage to let go. We will travel into deeper states of acceptance and loving-kindness while exploring energetic alignments and creative visualization led through meditation practices.
With 20+ years in the healing/expressive arts and my passion for yin yoga and meditation, I specialize in trauma and emotional freedom, cancer support, children, addiction/recovery, and Autism. More about me and my offerings at www.lisagarrido.com
