I started coming to Love Yoga in 2017. With a lifetime of sports behind me (track, swimming, gymnastics), I assumed yoga would be fairly accessible to me. And as a new mom with a toddler, (who’s now almost a tween!), the hikes I had imagined possible with a baby carrier then shattered my illusion of how I could be out and about in the PNW.

Enter a sign for a yoga studio in my neighborhood!

I was a bit nervous at first. And also confused about the role of a teacher. Are they a coach (should I tell them about my abilities and injuries), a spirit guide (what does that even mean), or something else that I’ve not yet experienced.

 I’ve never been afraid of woo, really, but the fact that there’s a whole language in English/Sanskrit and new concepts to learn, I do remember wondering if I’d be able to get it.

With bravery and willingness, I started with Friday night drop-in classes. Low cost, no commitment… I figured I had nothing to lose. Plus, there was a financial weariness that the $5 Friday class alleviated. It cost just enough to commit but not so much that I felt shamed if I didn’t make it.  Shout out to Suzanne for inviting me back in… with no shame!

Gymnastics doesn’t make space for modifications, different expression, or personal adjustments. In that world, things that don’t look a specific way are just wrong.

Which is likely why I was drawn to Vinyasa Flow over other more intense forms of yoga. The freedom and creativity resonated with me yet it still took a while to sort through classes and teachers to find the experience I didn’t even know I’d been seeking.

Looking back, I know now that my slow start was never about the practice but about finding where it fit in my life.

I can now better regulate my nervous system and use this practice on the mat and in my life. It helps with work, parenting, partnering and interfacing with people. (something I do willingly but that also, at times exhausts me). #introvert/#extrovert

My brain rarely stops thinking, processing and planning, so classes that allowed that to happen calmly, or not at all, has been such a huge blessing! (Plus, I’m so unlikely to do a savasana at home).

As a teacher, I know that a good class is truly a collaboration between myself and each person on the mat. That’s really cool when I stop to think about it.

My goal is to share ideas, a flow, spread curiosity about movement- it’s everyone else’s goal to listen, do as they can and as they choose. (Even when I call my leg an elbow in tree pose. In my defense, in tree, the leg DOES look like an elbow  : )

Lastly, I know I can always keep learning about bodies, breathing, movement, and yoga- I think that’s pretty rad.

Classes:
Vinyasa Flow, Mondays 9:30am

Click HERE for the schedule and class descriptions

Payton comes to us from Des Moines, Iowa by way of Bellingham, WA. Quite the adventure to land in Albany! She has embraced Sunday mornings at Love with her curiosity and creativity to create an experience that is accessible to all. You can also find Payton at the First Alternative CoOp in Corvallis enjoying the farm fresh lifestyle and natural approach to living that she embodies.