Hello, I'm Hope!

What do you love about teaching for the BYEP?

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I love teaching Yoga surrounded by Black and Brown bodies. The majority of my life, especially in Yoga spaces I frequent both as student and teacher, I have been the only person of color in the room and almost always the only Black person in the room. It is empowering, affirming and healing to be a part of a collective of students and teachers who are all People of Color  sharing the power of a healing practice created by People of Color. We belong here too. When the spaces are created for us to access wellness practices we show up. 

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Share a cool/interesting fact about you

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I was a competitive oboe player and was invited to audition at Juilliard and Manhattan School of Music for college. I didn't get in, yet the arduous path to get there was rewarding. My FERVER for practicing music has transitioned into the joy and surrender of practicing Yoga. 

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Tell us about your teaching/classes you are offering for the BYEP.

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After teaching Vinyasa Yoga for nearly 10 years I am studying Iyengar Yoga to become a CIYT. I have many feelings around the elitism and whiteness within my current practice yet the origins of the practice, the fruitfulness of my study and its resounding presence in my personal and professional life are the reason I continue. I teach Yoga as a way for us to get to know ourselves INTIMATELY. Our true selves, outside of our conditionings. To me asana is a way for us to expand our consciousness within our bodies, to then be able to expand our consciousness within our minds, peeling back the layers from self to soul. Starting with awareness within our bodies is powerful.  I pair static poses with flow-like movements. In my Yoga class you can expect some workshopping, demonstrations, use of hands-on adjustments and descriptive language to teach beginners how to be in their bodies and teach more seasoned practitioners how to sense their bodies a bit deeper.