Deborah M
– Barkan Method Hot Vinyasa Teacher Training Level II and III, 80 hours 2006 & Barkan Method Hot Yoga Teacher Training Level I, 200 hours 2007
– Vinyasa Teacher Training with the Yax Yoga Concepts, 50 hours 2009
– Rolf Gates Teacher Training, 500 hours Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training 2011
– Hot House Yoga RVA 25 hours Yin Teacher Training 2019
I began practicing yoga around 1997 at the YMCA in Norfolk (this was back when members had to pay extra for yoga! It was considered very novel and actually, mysterious, back in the day…so, it was a trial offering at the Y!). I had always been intrigued by what little I knew about yoga, and enthusiastically signed up for the experience that would change my life. In recovery from breast cancer surgery and treatments during the previous year, I needed to heal. And this beginning class was just what I needed. I found I had the abilities in yoga that others found in more aggressive physical sports, and thus, yoga not only helped me to heal but to be on equal grounds with my husband and friends.
Favorite quote: 13th century Poet Rumi – “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.”
I’m drawn to Rumi’s message because I envision, literally, a field of serenity where judgment is suspended, where no one is lesser than or greater than, where we are equals in this journey of Life.
Favorite pose: I love the pose Ardha Chandrasana – Half Moon Vinyasa Style. The pose offers the opportunity to shape the body in a magical position of lengthening the side bodies, of activating the strength of both legs, of gazing in the direction of the moon, of playing with balance, and importantly, of dropping inwardly to feel what we feel while sustaining the expression for a few conscious breaths.
Favorite song on your yoga playlist?: “Silent Running” by Carbon Based Lifeforms. The build of the tempo of this selection is powerful in flow classes, setting the tone to immerse the self in the practice.
What’s the biggest gift that Yoga has given to you?: Significantly, the physical and spiritual aspects of Yoga helped me to heal from disease. Getting through that very trying time in my life, I embraced the power of yoga to also help me to heal each and every day when challenging situations present themselves. Easily, any of us can be reactive, but through experience with yoga, I am called to take a step back from a difficult and sometimes bitter situation to acknowledge it, to gain information about it, to soften it the best I can with words or actions, and then, to let it go. Or, if not to let it go, to be more of a backdrop of my life, and not take hold of the essence of who I am.