“I could always find a yoga class regardless of what part of the world I was in…”

I did yoga for the first time back in 1993 or so. When I left that 1st class I knew that one day yoga would be a very big part of my life. At the time I was a struggling artist and even paying for one yoga class per week was not affordable.

1998 when things were slowly picking up with my career, I joined the YMCA which had a variety of different yoga classes happening every week. In the beginning I would go maybe once or twice a week. I notice a difference in my personality and mood right away. I would leave a class and feel energized and happy. Over the next year or so the frequency of my attendance increased to maybe 3 times a week. The more I went, the better I felt.

In 2001 I started touring internationally with artist such as Pink, Paulina Rubio and La Ley. Whether I was in Miami, Bolivia or Argentina, I would always go straight to the hotel concierge and ask where the nearest yoga was. I could always find a yoga class regardless of what part of the world I was in but the quality was not consistent.

	“When the body is free of toxins the mind is more stable and focused”.

In 2004, while in Mexico City and also another time In Chile, I was introduced to Ashtanga yoga and the Primary Series. Primary Series is a series of postures linked together by the breath which is done in the same sequence every time. The student is encouraged to memorize the series of postures on their own and practice it 6 days a week. I was hooked and immediately dedicated myself to this practice. By doing so I could do my yoga practice anytime, anywhere without always relying on a teacher. In addition to increasing strength and flexibility, the Ashtanga practice produces heat in the body, increasing circulation and oxygen in the blood, and detoxifying the glands as well as the muscles. When the body is free of toxins the mind is more stable and focused.

“I became more peaceful, calm and grounded”.

I began to notice that things that once aggravated me no longer bothered me at all. I became more peaceful, calm and grounded. I became much more sensitive to how things I put into my body affected my. I stopped eating meat and drinking alcohol completely for a time because they dragged me down and made me feel cloudy and sluggish. Even though I spent much of my time either on a plane or on a bus I would always make time for my yoga practice even if it meant doing it at 2 a.m. in my hotel room after a show. I definitely had more balance in my life and a more cheerful heart. Whenever I didn't practice I had a tendency to become very depressed and impatient.

In 2005 I decided to take a teachers training course so that I could share this wonderful healing art with others. I did a 5 month pre course study in the US and then my final month of training was on an isolated part of an island called Ko Samui in Thailand. We studied diet and nutrition, ayurveda, anatomy, sanskrit, meditation, history, philosophy and chanting all day every day for a month. After being certified to teach in December 2005,
I toured until July of 2005. I was burnt from the road and decided I needed a break. In August of the same year, I began teaching yoga at several studios in the Los Angeles area. It's been very rewarding. It keeps me on my toes in regards to my life and my own personal practice. It's such a beautiful thing to end a class and see the looks on the faces of students who feel refreshed, cleansed, open and somehow FREE. When I leave a class I realize that the students have taught me just as much as I've taught them if not more. It's all just an exchange of energy, an exchange of Love.

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