Why Try Yoga?
According to many translations of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, yoga is “quieting the fluctuations of the mind”. In my practice, I have come to look at this more like “observing the varying tendencies of the mind without being disturbed by them.”
Essentially, the goal is to recognize the difference between your brain activity and the being who is witnessing, but separate from it. When we understand that we can separate ourselves from our thoughts and desires, we reveal a deeper ‘true nature’ that exists within.
I see this as having the ability to be fully present in a moment, able to recognize, dismiss (and maybe even laugh at) distractions as they occur. It’s not about changing the way your mind works. It’s about loving your mind and accepting it exactly how it is. When we have compassion for our minds and selves as a whole, we can learn to better exist in harmony with ourselves and others. We can learn to forgive ourselves for making mistakes. We can learn helpful tools to self regulate. In time, with regular practice we can begin to expand our capacity for dealing with internal and external stressors.
If you’ve avoided meditation because of the thought, “I can’t stop my thoughts,” I would love to show you another way. Or several! I have a wide variety of techniques and ideas for helping even the most distracted minds find joy in meditation. And your first class is free!
Accessibility Commitment
I’m dedicated to making movement, breath work and meditation more available and approachable for people of all lived experiences.
This means that the majority of my classes are led from a chair or in bed. I also teach chair/mat hybrid classes that give options for either style of practice. But they’re all fairly mellow, gentle and self-guided experiences that focus mostly on breathing and feeling. Every exercise I guide has variations and modifications that you can choose to tailor your class to your own needs.
I take careful consideration to make my classes a relaxing place for people who deal with sensory overwhelm. I don’t play music in class. Movement in any form is always welcome and stillness is never upheld as a goal. You may never feel comfortable in stillness and silence. I don’t believe this should prevent you from having a fulfilling meditation practice.
This commitment also means that I provide sliding scale pricing for all of my offerings and scholarships for those experiencing financial hardship. I also offer free support spaces and donation optional classes every month.
About me
I’m Lake. I am a lover of plants and animals, an artist and a queer, non-binary person. I live on the land of the Wangunk, Saukiog and Tunxis people, colonized as Hartford, Connecticut, USA. I’ve been using yoga philosophy, postures, breath work and meditation as tools to better understand myself since 2009.
I’m a neurodivergent person who lives with significant trauma. I’ve spent most of my life struggling to be a focused, “productive” person in a world that has never quite understood me. Yoga has helped my ability to be focused and present. More importantly, it’s helped me challenge the expectations and narratives I’ve internalized that make me feel like I’m not good enough. I’m now more able to arrive in a place where I accept and appreciate myself exactly the way I am. I want nothing more than to make this a possibility for as many people as I can.
For this purpose, I have trained to make my classes a supportive place for personal growth. My initial 200 hour training in 2016 was at Sacred Rivers Yoga “Yoga for Every Body” learning to create person-centered yoga practices. In the years following this, I trained extensively with various organizations in accessible and trauma-informed yoga techniques to help me better meet the needs of people of all abilities and experiences.
If any of this resonates with you, please reach out! I’d love to see how I can help make yoga work for you.
You can read more about me in this introduction blog post.
“Lake has this exceptional way of allowing you to let go of what you know and just experience the flow”