About Elaine

Sukha (Sanskrit); happiness, pleasure, ease, joy or bliss

Dukkha (Sanskrit); 'suffering' or ‘dissatisfaction of life’.

When I first stepped onto my yogic path 20+ years ago, all I wanted was to look like Madonna. With her sculpted muscles , I remember a reporter asking her how she got in such great shape. Her reply was, “Yoga” The reporter promptly asked, “Thats it?” She emphatically replied, “Yep!” 

I was quickly hooked by the rigorous discipline and self-control that Iyengar Yoga inspired in me. The “Type-A” perfectionist in me loved the strict alignment based practice - so disciplined, so right vs. wrong, so black and white with no gray area. If my Half Pigeon didn’t have my shin parallel to the front of my mat yet, just give it time and vigorous practice. I’d get there someday!

Many years and two babies later, I started to notice little aches and pains — mostly in my knees and hips. I assumed yoga could help with pain, not cause it — which was correct — but what I would come to learn was that my practice was missing it’s other half.

In 2016 I experienced Yin Yoga during my first teacher training program, and, as they say, the rest is history. Upon regularly practicing Yin Yoga, I immediately noticed three major changes: 

• I experienced better mobility - specifically in my knee joints
• My every morning aches and pains were significantly less 
• Most importantly, my awareness of and relationship with my mind drastically improved. 

This quieter practice required me to notice the subtle sensations in my body more that any other hot, sweaty, muscled yang practice. Yin yoga gave me the ability to focus my life force energy - prana or ‘qi’ - directing it toward the areas that needed healing - a damaged knee joint, a sore neck, even a broken heart. This mindfulness — or art of paying attention — was what I needed to tame my anxious, “wild horse” mind. I noticed that I could now have a better relationship with formal seated meditation as well.

I am constantly learning, now and forever a student of yoga in its many forms. My constant striving is now replaced with a simple desire to be the calm presence of gratitude for what I’ve learned, and to humbly pass it on. I created the Lunar Yin Program so that we can, together, build a more compassionate and peaceful world with more sukha and less dukkha. 

Namaste,

Elaine