Leah Marshall Yoga & Personal Training

While I had always been athletic and interested in gymnastics, I was never a star athlete or very competitive. In college at Portland State University, I chose yoga as an elective taught by Holiday Johnson. At that time, I had no clue what yoga was. It simply fit in with my schedule! I realized that physically, I was skillful at yoga. The asanas—postures—and movements came relatively easily to me, and more importantly, I really liked it. After college graduation, I ventured to New York City, then to Madrid, and back to Portland. I met my husband and had two children. During all those years, I had my yoga mat--the same one I finally replaced during the winter of 2013. Sometimes I practiced only once a month, but more often I practiced three or four times a week. I loved practicing so often. In Feb., 2013, while on vacation, I practiced yoga daily with an inspiring instructor, and I realized then that I wanted to dig deeper into the study of yoga. I wanted to teach and share my love of this practice. I also recognized that yoga comprises so much more than attaining postures. After considerable research, I enrolled in YoYo Yogi's 200 Hour teacher training program which I completed in November, 2013. I admire the approach to teaching that Alex and Terri Cole take in the course, and I admire their energy, their support and their love of this inspiring practice. Along with this course, I have practiced with other inspiring teachers: Holiday Johnson, Ryan Crosby, Vanessa Morret, Jill Knouse, Lara Gratsinopoulos, Nick Manci, Meaghan Gannett, Char Rice and Kristen Miller. I am enthusiastically energized to continue learning about, and teaching, this marvelous practice I so greatly value. I treasure the challenge, the flow and energy of power/vinyasa yoga. I believe that yoga is a balance between ease and effort. Yoga helps one feel centered and calm while it builds strength, decreases tension, aches, pain, and stress. When I teach, I hope to guide practitioners of all levels safely through a journey, rather than through a class. I want students to emerge from savasana (final “corpse pose”) feeling release, lightness, strength and more profound awareness and self-appreciation. While I enjoy guiding vinyasa yoga, I also value the more moderate approaches of Yin and restorative practices. I bring my love of music to the studio for an inspiring and energetic environment. I aim to bring a soothing and relaxing energy to a moderately intense class, and I maintain constant guidance with directions for corrections and body awareness. Phillip Moffitt expresses my feeling about yoga practice very well: “Jackie Joyner-Kersee, the Olympic gold medal track star, once said of her running style that she established her speed as quickly as possible and then concentrated on relaxing while she allowed her body to run. You can find the appropriate structure of the pose for yourself on any particular day with your body just as it is, then relax into the experience regardless of the pleasantness or unpleasantness of the sensation. Don't waste energy creating tension, judging the pose, or wishing you were somehow different than you are in this moment.”

Lokah Samasta Sukhino Bhavantu – “May all being everywhere be happy and free.”

I look forward to seeing you on the mat. Namaste. Leah

Leah Marshall RYT 200
http://leahmarshall77.wix.com/leahmarshallyoga