"I teach, but I'm a student first."
"Arielle has so much knowledge! I loved that she really knows what she is talking about and does not beat around the bush."
~ Kaitlyn, USA, 2014
Before I started yoga, I was a competitive athlete and I didn't have a good relationship with my body. After trying other styles, things really started to shift for me when I found ashtanga yoga and committed to a daily self practice. My internal dialogue changed, in particular, the conversation with my body became more positive and respectful.
The practice became a mirror for my life. I started to realize that the things that were coming up for me, and how I was breathing, on the mat were a reflection of what was going on in my life, off the mat. Now when I hit an area of struggle, rather than fighting myself, I trust that if I stick with it, and breathe, then I can get through it.
I'm a mother of twins, so every minute I get to practice t is a gift. The dedicated time to work on my relationship with myself has a profound impact on how I show up for my kids - how I parent. Practice has also helped me get re-acquainted with my body and accept how it has changed after a twin pregnancy and natural birth.
I teach what I have learned through my own direct experience in practice, what my teachers have taught me and my additional personal study. I am grateful for the privilege to have travelled to Mysore, India several times to study with R. Sharath Jois and connect with the global Ashtanga community. My teaching is primarily influenced by my mentor Paul Dallaghan and teachers Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor.
I highly regard tradition and respect the roots of practice and the true purpose of yoga as a tool of self-understanding. At the same time, I applies latest scientific understandings of human function and what is practical for the modern student of yoga. It is Because of these connections that my teaching is a clear example of East meets West.
Following my passion for understanding what lies beneath my experience and the experiences I have witnessed in students, I am currently undertaking a research Masters in Exercise Science at the University of Victoria. Having been at the respected E-RYT500 level for over 10 years, and teaching movement professionals for 20, I teach continuing education courses for yoga teachers, focusing on yoga anatomy, fascial integration, Somatic movement, Prenatal yoga, and adjustment techniques. I have a keen interest in the effect of asana on the nervous system.
I teach, but I am a student first.