BREATHING IN, I CALM MY BODY. BREATHING OUT, I SMILE. DWELLING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT, I KNOW THIS IS A WONDERFUL MOMENT. I HAVE ARRIVED. I AM HOME. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
With roots in New Hampshire and upstate New York, Rachel moved to New York City in 1999 to pursue a career in theater and dance. After completing her BA at Hunter College in 2001 and completing the William Esper acting program in 2004, she ventured into the world of auditioning and performance. However, it wasn’t until she found herself in a tiny little yoga studio in Brooklyn on a dark winter night, that she found home.
Here, she learned the wisdom of her own heart. There is something profound that happens when we stand tall and connect to our breath; an intelligence arises within us that existed all along. We only have to get quiet enough to listen.
The world seems to tell you that you are not enough or do not have enough. Yoga cuts through that illusion like a sword.
Rachel continued her studies at the Jivamukti Yoga Center in New York City, a vigorously physical and intellectually stimulating practice leading to spiritual awareness. Rachel studied under her teachers Rima Rabath, Monica Jaggi, Dechen Thurman and Cassandra Rigney for years and is eternally grateful for the wisdom and love of yoga they have passed on to her.
Rachel completed her 200-hour teacher training at Yoga Works in New York City, under her teachers Sarah Bell and Chrissy Carter. Here she was steeped in the Ashtanga (Sri Pattabhi Jois), Iyengar (B.K.S. Iyengar) and Vini (T.K.V. Desikachar) methods. Rachel has also studied at OM, Iyengar Institute, The Greenhouse and Yoga Sutra in New York City.
Through the ancient art of Yoga, emotional, physical, intellectual and emotional strength are cultivated. By bringing together all opposites in the heart center, they dissolve and only pure awareness remains.