About Me
I was born and raised in Colombia. In that last fifteen years I have been living mostly in the U.S. I have been blessed with a wonderful life and travel partner in my wife Camilla. We have been fortunate to travel and move around. We went from living in Chicago to traveling for 14 months in Europe and South America. Then we got to experience life in a small college town in the middle of cornfields in Illinois before moving to southern Thailand for almost a year. After a trip around Southeast Asia that included Vietnam, Cambodia, Bali, Malaysia and Singapore we returned to the U.S. to live in the high desert of Flagstaff, Arizona. In that time, we were lucky to find our way to Mexico and Colombia a couple of times, as well as a visit to the Czech Republic. For the last two years, Camilla and I have been enjoying the weather and the bodies of water in and around Tampa, FL. We have also found time to visit Colombia, India and a couple of cities in Scandinavia. Traveling has taught me to be open to meet people, learn from the world around me and be flexible. Travel always motivates me to explore and examine my beliefs and ideas.
Although not as varied as my travels, my studies in systems engineering, fine arts, educational technology and anthropology have helped me exercise different aspects of my mind and have enabled me to work in a wide range of environments, including painting in my studio, teaching art for under served populations, conducting social research, teaching a variety of courses, providing software support, designing web sites, writing technical documentation for computer software, developing and delivering IT training, performing quality assurance on software, etc. These experiences have provided me with opportunities to learn from others and to feel comfortable in varied environments.
With so many changes, moving and travel, there is one ‘thing’ that has been a continuous gentle guiding force in my life: Yoga. I began practicing Yoga daily in 1996, and every day I look forward to the overall well being that Yoga brings into my life. In spite of having a full schedule, I continued to study Yoga and to practice over the years. As is the case for many yogis, Yoga has inspired my way of living. So, when family and friends started asking me to lead Yoga sessions for them, I felt honored and exhilarated to have the opportunity and responsibility to share my love of Yoga with them. In 2005, everything aligned beautifully for me to enroll in a Yoga teacher training program so that for 2 years I could invest most of my time and energy deepening my practice and my understanding of Yoga.
Every day I look forward to the overall well being that Yoga brings into my life. As is the case for many yogis, Yoga has inspired my way of living. I am grateful for the opportunities I have to touch other people’s lives through Yoga and I hope that Yoga brings as many teachings, joy and well being to them as it has brought to me. I feel that teaching Yoga, besides being a dream come true, is an honor and a responsibility that requires attention, knowledge, caring, preparation and flexibility. More than a teacher, I see myself as a dedicated student who loves to practice, learn and share. Every day I am excited to explore, research, practice, and share Yoga with others. Following the example of teachers I admire, in every class I do my best to help students discover their own way of practicing Yoga.
My Yoga process
Starting to practice
I attended my first Yoga class in 1987 in Bogotá, Colombia. At the time, I enjoyed the class and went to a few more classes. Although I really liked the classes, it wasn’t until 1996 when I decided to practice Yoga again. I had experienced low back pain problems and decided to practice Yoga as a way to prevent future complications. I bought a small book, Richard Hittleman's Introduction to Yoga and started practicing. Soon I realized how inflexible my body was! I also noticed that practicing had a calming and relaxing effect that lasted throughout the day. It was astonishing to see how quickly my body started feeling different and becoming more flexible. Overall, practicing Yoga made me feel centered and healthier. That feeling was enough motivation, still is, to practice consistently. In addition, as a person who loves learning, the continuous learning that happens through Yoga practice has been a constant reward.
Learning from injuries
Over the following years, I continued practicing daily. I started exploring different sources to learn more about Yoga including The Sivananda Companion to Yoga and, of course, Iyengar's Light on Yoga. Slowly, I tried to make sense and to apply into my practice every bit of information I got. Most of the time practicing made me feel relaxed and energized. And even with moving around and traveling, Yoga became a constant presence. Nevertheless, once in a while I would be so eager to do more or to achieve a certain pose that I would not pay attention to the signals my body gave me to indicate that I was going beyond my ability. I was lucky enough not to injure myself seriously. However, not listening to my body caused me to suffer a number of injuries. These injuries, besides teaching me about honoring my limitations, also taught me about the importance of being detached from my expectations and being open to receive whatever benefits the practice brings. As a result, I have come to understand that Yoga practice is an ongoing live process that requires attentiveness and sensitivity to the feedback we receive so the practice is appropriate for our level, condition, circumstances and needs.
Learning by leading
At different times, family and friends started asking me to lead Yoga sessions for them. Other friends came to practice with me. Even though I loved the silence of my home practice, I was excited to practice with friends and family. In some cases the practice was part of a friendly social event, like a Yoga brunch, where we practiced and then shared a meal prepared collectively. In other cases, the sessions were composed of only two people. For instance, one of my friends practiced with me 3 times a week for a year. Sharing my love for Yoga with other people was a tremendous learning experience for me. Preparing the sessions, thinking about concise and useful instructions, finding relevant poses for different people made me reflect on my own practice and made me think about limitations in my knowledge and in my own practice. I am grateful to those friends and to my family for giving me opportunities to keep learning and growing.
Widening perspectives
Even though I had been practicing Yoga for a few years, I had not set foot in a Yoga class since I had lived in Bogotá. While living in Flagstaff, Arizona, I decided to expand my knowledge and enrich my practice by attending classes. Flagstaff has a strong Yoga community. I was fortunate to find excellent teachers from a wide range of Yoga traditions. Some of those caring and very supportive teachers include Lisa Connor and Julia Olguin. In addition to widening my perspective on the meaning of Yoga and on various approaches to the practice, taking classes helped me learn about teaching styles.
During my time in Flagstaff I also started observing silence and meditating daily. Observing silence on a daily basis helped me witness the seemingly endless restlessness of my mind. My meditation practice opened a glimpse into mindfulness. Partly as a result of practicing silence and meditation, but also as a result of reading Joel Kramer’s seminal article Yoga as Self-Transformation, I started to understand Yoga as an internal practice, i.e. a practice that unfolds from within.
Deepening
Leading Yoga sessions prompted me to think about devoting more time to teaching Yoga. Moving to Tampa provided a perfect transition to dedicate more time to learning how to teach. Although teaching was part of the motivation to enroll in a teacher training program, my strongest motivation was the desire to continue deepening my practice.
I feel very fortunate and very grateful to my wife for her patience and support during my time of study. In my teacher training program over 18+ months, in addition to my daily practice, I spent countless hours completing self-study assignments that required study, practice and reflection and numerous weekends attending workshops (including excellent workshops with Navtej Johar, David Keil, Dharma Mittra, Ganesh Mohan, Christina Sell, Monica Voss and Mark Whitwell). I also attended a 10 day, life-changing teacher training with Erich Schiffmann in Venice, California. As a result of investing time and energy to further my knowledge, my practice and my teaching have grown significantly. Thus, Yoga for me remains fresh and exciting. I am grateful every day to notice how my expression of Yoga, on and off the mat, continues to unfold.
Sharing
I started teaching formally at TreeHouse Yoga in Tampa in September of 2005. I currently teach in a few studios in the Tampa Bay area. I have enjoyed teaching immensely. I feel that teaching Yoga, besides being a dream come true, is an honor and a responsibility that requires attention, knowledge, caring, preparation and flexibility. More than a teacher, I see myself as a dedicated student who loves to practice, learn and share. Everyday I am excited to explore, research, practice, and share Yoga with others. Following the example of teachers I admire, in every class I do my best to help students discover their own way of practicing Yoga.