Vanessa Ross

I have been practicing yoga off and on since 1994 when I took an Iyengar class for a college PE requirement. When I discovered Ashtanga yoga a few years later, I fell in love with the Sun Salutations, with the flow of the postures and their devotional connection to the natural world.  Though over the intervening years, my ability to attend classes was limited by becoming a midwife and then a mother of two, I kept coming back to yoga for the energy and peace it brought to my body and mind. I practiced at home and with a variety of teachers and tried almost every style of yoga out there.

In 2011 I was suffering from chronic pain due to a herniated disc despite practicing several times a week. A teacher from another studio suggested that I try hot yoga at Shiva Shakti. I had never understood the appeal of practicing in the heat, but I quickly began to experience the incredible therapeutic effect it had on my back pain. After only a couple of months, I was seeing my chiropractor less, felt my body becoming stronger and more balanced, and discovered I had "grown" a half an inch. I was hooked. I went to a Baptiste Immersion later that year and felt even more inspired to deepen my practice. When Brandon and Naima planned their first teacher training, I jumped at the chance to be a part of it, and I have been honored to teach at Shiva Shakti since receiving my 200 hour certification in February 2013.

Beyond the physical benefits of the practice, I love the way Baptiste Yoga connects our practice on the mat to our lives off the mat, bringing together the physical and the spiritual, which is truly what yoga is all about. I have found that the more dedicated I am to my practice, the more benefits I reap in all aspects of my life, particularly when life becomes most challenging. Becoming a teacher has been an amazing experience for me as a student of yoga and of life, and I am grateful to be on this path with all of you.