Erica Shockley

My curiosity about yoga sparked at a time I was seeking a place for my compartmentalized and overstimulated mind, body, and spirit to land in one place. And after my first few classes, I discovered energetic release in movement, stillness in meditation, and a powerful new relationship with my breath. I found space where I could just be, messy and uncertain, brave and curious, discerning and appreciative, grieving and joyful. I landed in a community practice that helped me feel connected, especially as a queer person seeking belonging. I found yoga, or maybe yoga found me. And as I explore these ancient yet contemporarily relevant practices from India, I continue to learn ways to be wholly present, strong, flexible, and balanced in my life.

Through my student’s experiences, I believe that this practice is for everyone and it will meet you where you are. One week our resilient tree pose might be resting on the ground while another week we are a strong, rooted oak. At times, we cling to our interconnected roots while the strong wind blows, and other times we delight in play, like dancing leaves. Together we investigate how this pathway helps us remember our strengths and gifts, free our minds and assumptions, navigate the transitions in our life, and discover ways to be in alignment with each other and the natural world.

I offer respect and appreciation to my teachers: wisdom holders who have opened the windows and doors of my mind and heart, community healers, teachers, warriors, and visionaries that remind me to show up every day, students I get to explore this abundant practice with each week, and nature, who’s cycles of beauty, suffering, healing, accountability, and creation both break my heart and offer healing every day.

“Feel into what is truly happening – the unraveling of it all. Then harness the power to believe in our capacity to build something so much more beautiful from the rubble underneath us.” Michelle Cassandra Johnson