Laura
E-RYT500/YAECP
From: Westhampton
About Laura: I currently live in Westhampton and have been practicing yoga for about 15 years. I remember taking my first class and leaving feeling different, but i couldn't really pin-point why. But it definitely sparked something in me and I kept coming back. I was practicing 5-6 days a week at various local studios and through that time i just fell in love with the practice and always left wanting more. At first the physical practice was the hook, but in time i started digging deeper into the philosophy of yoga and that really changed everything for me. I am so incredibly grateful to all of the teachers whom i have had the pleasure of learning from. My thanks and appreciation to Millard Roper, Leslie Pearlman, Ana Forrest, Tukaram Das and Wisdom of the Sages. I feel like i have learned from some of the best yogi's out there and I look forward to continuing to learn from them and other great teachers that cross my path.
Why Laura started practicing and became an Instructor: At first it wasn't something i wanted... meaning when i took my first teacher training it was about me wanting to deepen my practice, never about teaching. But at some point in that training it clicked to me that it was my dharma. Before I graduated I had gotten a teaching opportunity and i jumped right on it; it felt so natural and what i was truly meant to do. Now i have had the opportunity to teach countless classes at multiple studios over the years, teach at various teacher trainings and give the knowledge i have received to the next great yoga teachers. Yoga is about understanding how to navigate this world, how to rise above situations that cause anxiety, fear, or anger and respond in a way that is loving and kind even when it is hard. It is about understanding that you can be in this world but not of this world and one way to do that is to connect to source, which is in all of us. Through devotion you can live the best possible life and I have and will continue to devote myself fully to this practice.
What inspires Laura off the mat: My inspiration comes from many sources. First, I love things pretty and well designed. I am an Interior Designer and have my own firm in Southampton. I have been in the industry since 2006. I love taking someone's vision and turning it into a reality. In theory I do the same thing as a yoga teacher. So often I hear students tell me what they can't do, but in time I watch them grow in their practice, tap into their strength and see them do the thing they said they "could never do". It is inspiring to me when something I teach resonates with students... that's what keeps them coming back and that is my biggest inspiration.
A note from Laura: I teach classes that are challenging but extremely approachable. You will find an essence of many different modalities of yoga weaved throughout my classes and that is what makes them authentic and real. As i mentioned earlier, I am passionate about teaching and you can feel that in every class I teach.
