The story of my own awakening

Hey y'all! My name is Leah, the founder & creator of Asana Awakening Yoga Project. I'm a teacher of Ashtanga Vinyasa (very modified) and Yin; I have married the two styles together to form my own style of yoga that I feel helps us balance both our Yin & Yang energies. I believe that we experience too much Yang energy in this world of hustle culture and a go-go-go mentality, which is why I feel a calling to bring more Yin energy to our community.

​

So, how did it all get started? 

​

In August of 2016, I left my military career of 8 years for the sake of my mental health. It wasn't until I was free from the daily go-go-go stress of my job in the military that I was able to slowwww down and feel my feelings, but it was intense; It dropped down on me like a ton of bricks. I was met face to face with my own PTSD and feelings came up I had been trying to suppress for years. During this time I felt like I tried EVERYTHING to heal myself (meds- so many, diet & exercise, acupuncture, devices- alpha stim, etc) and NOTHING worked permanently- only a temporary fix & some actually made things worse. Don't get me wrong, some of these things can be great & I still incorporate some of them in my life today, but unfortunately not one of these things alone made me feel like myself again.

​

In January of 2020, I made the decision to travel solo to Nusa Lembongan, Bali, Indonesia for a month long 200hr Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training. I honestly had no intentions of teaching yoga, although I had prior experience in the fitness industry; I was traveling to Indonesia as a last ditch effort to heal myself. I viewed it as a "retreat" that would give me a certification I could possibly use in the future. I could have never guessed what I would actually experience. It was there on that small island off the coast of Bali that my life changed forever.

​

It was at this training that I experienced my first ever Yin class and I FELL IN LOVEEEE. It was messy, but it was beautiful. I remember sitting in pigeon/sleeping swan feeling SO UMCOMFORTABLE... sobbing, with snot running down my face uncontrollably. I had the realization- THIS is yoga, not just bendy pretty poses, but real and raw human emotion and connection.

​

I didn't just heal, I transformed. I am forever grateful for the space All Yoga Teacher Training held for me to express myself, feel my feelings, and become a new version of myself. I was no longer focused on feeling like my old self because I finally realized I would never be that girl again... and that was okay. I awakened my own truth and I felt a strong calling, a pull even, to help others do the same. This is how Asana Awakening Yoga Project was born.