Lisa Maxwell

Lisa has been practicing yoga for about 7 years and has experience with Bikram, Baptise, Kundalini, Hatha and Anusara yoga.  She received her teaching certification in Vinyasa Flow and Hatha yoga from Frog Lotus Yoga in North Adams, Massachusetts.  She also attended an apprenticeship program for teachers that focused on the specifics of communicating and assisting during a practice with the students as well as fine tuning more advanced asanas.

“I really appreciated that the program was not based on a specific type of yoga (Bikram, Baptise, Ashtanga, Iyengar, etc..).  The training was very specific in the anatomy of the human body, comparing males vs. females and how we all move differently, are genetically built different, and have compensated areas in our bodies over years of life due to injuries.  We worked on adapting the poses to the individual,  as opposed to trying to create the “perfect” pose according to a written document. A pose is very seldom wrong with any body, we as teachers are here to enhance what your body and mind already have.”

Lisa has always been active throughout her years with one form or another of competition. In her past days she was a very active racing cyclist and has taught aerobics & spinning.  She considers herself to have a very type A personality, hence why she has migrated to anything competitive. The yoga has allowed her to begin working on herself internally without all the pressures of having to compete with others and most of all with herself.

“I’ll never forget my first warrior pose, I went into this posture like a true warrior.  I wanted to make sure that everyone could see how strong I was, my brain was immediately in competition with the class, the teacher and myself, I was going to win!   The teacher walked over to me and said, “Lisa, relax into the pose, enjoy it,  this is not a competition, your warrior is screaming with anxiety”.  Well that blew the wind right out of my proud sails….. I thought that if you relaxed into anything other than sleeping, and enjoyed it at the same time, there was no way one could become better, so what was the point of being there.  No pain no gain was my motto. That was the moment I began learning to give myself permission to explore what I wanted, and not what I thought everyone wanted or expected out of me.”

“I began learning meditation and breath work through Kundalini to help teach myself to “chill out”.  Each day that I come to my mat, my practice teaches me how to be present and accepting of what my body and mind are willing to be at that very moment in time without judgement.  Learning to live and practice without the expectations I have always had of myself has allowed me to become content with myself and most of all free of all the opinions and reactions of who I am.  The even stranger thing about yoga for me is I find the more yoga I do, the more people I actually like.”

“I am still full of life with more energy then I need as I radiate the passion I have to share my practice with all.  My teaching is for me, but my practice is for you.  The more I teach myself the more my practice continues to enhance those who will share it with me.  I want my classes to reflect me, full of positive energy, lots of variety, great sweat, and loads of smiles and laughter, while still holding the space for each of you to be calm, centered and present during your journey that takes place on your mat.”

Cheers!