YOGA WITH ERIN

In 2013 I moved to Hong Kong in hopes of finding my passion and setting a course for my life and where I was heading. Having landed a job at a company I really looked up to, I thought I had finally made it. The years were fantastic as I learnt so much working there,  but I was more stressed, was eating unhealthy and I wasn't happy with who I was slowly becoming, I would get easily annoyed and angry and it was affecting my relationships with people. I started to take note of my health too and realized I was becoming ill more often, so I decided to get back on track with my fitness routine and joined classes like Muay Thai, Aerial Yoga and Self-Defense, and at the time I was only doing YOGA for cool down and stretches over YouTube videos.

 

Overtime however, I started to notice the effects of doing the yoga cool downs and so, gradually concentrated more on practicing yoga. I finally ended up going to an actual Yoga class and THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING. I was able to move much better and started to become more conscious of my breath, more aware of my body movements and alignment, simply because there was an instructor there guiding us and physically adjusting our postures. Yoga classes were also the only classes I had attended where the instructors focused so much in BREATHING, and quite naturally I started to integrate the breathing techniques into my day-to-day life whenever I felt a bit overwhelmed. This was when it really started to hit me that YOGA isn't just for on-the-mat practice, you get to take it OFF the mat and apply it to your life!

 

This realization was a BREAKTHROUGH for me, and decided to pursue my passion in Educating and bringing Awareness to people as much as I could of the benefits of Yoga, hoping that I have helped someone, somewhere to think a little differently about HOW and WHY we do WHAT we do.

 

After 3 years of yoga practice, I enrolled in a Teacher's Training Program at LIFE MANAGEMENT YOGA CENTRE (LMYC) in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. They are affiliated with the oldest yoga centre in the world located in Mumbai, India, THE YOGA INSTITUTE.  Their teachings focused  more on the CLASSICAL YOGA teachings and how yoga is a way of life and not just about the poses or the body, which is just about 10% of what Yoga truly is. This idea resonated with me, and I continue to apply it into my life as well as in my classes. 

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Having found the many benefits of practicing yoga, I decided to take it further by enrolling myself onto the AntiGravity® Aerial Fitness Teacher Training program. I had always enjoyed the Aerial Yoga classes I attended and decided that I want to make it more accessible to my own students as well. In November 2017, I completed the Fundamentals 1 & 2 training and subsequently completed Aerial Yoga 1 in July 2018. I currently teach both Yoga and Aerials in studios, and continue to introduce these practices to children and adults of all abilities. 

 

Yoga has helped me see things from a different perspective. Despite the fact that my goals in life might have changed a little, I'm truly grateful that it helped me find my purpose in life. This is only 1 of many reasons why I know I will continue my journey with Yoga.