Mentors

The people who appear in the photos below have all had a profound influence on me and I would feel remiss if I didn’t acknowledge them.

Lakshmi Voelker

Lakshmi Voelker is the creator of chair yoga, bringing adaptive fitness and exercise programs to those who could not benefit from traditional methods of physical activity due to age or limiting physical condition. Her creativity in developing this program inspires my chair yoga teaching.

 

Tao Porchon-Lynch

Tao Porchon-Lynch is a 96 year-young yoga master whose presence and positive energy are contagious! She is still teaching and holding workshops, and when I had the honor of taking her workshop twice, I thanked her for making me feel like a teenager who could do anything! Her motto is “I don’t think about what I can’t do; I think about what I CAN do!”

Devarshi Steve Hartman and Priti Robin Ross

Devarshi Steve Hartman and Priti Robin Ross are the co-directors of Pranotthan School of Yoga, where I did my 200 hours of teacher training for certification. Through their program I was inspired  to teach with a deep understanding and respect of the yogic traditions as well as learning the “how’s” of teaching the various asanas or poses that one usually thinks of as a yoga practice. With their emphasis on prana – the life force known as energy – I gained an appreciation of being present and aware of each moment in life, and being mindful. I have the deepest respect for their wisdom and their ability to share it with their students.

To all these people who have influenced me I want to say “Namaste”, which means “The light in me honors the light in you” or, as my grandson whose name for me is Nana, would say, “NANAste!”