11/01/2025
✨ November Student Spotlight: Dani Keats! ✨
We’re so excited to celebrate Dani this month — a radiant part of our MHYC community whose energy, humor, and love for movement inspire us all. 💜 Read on for her beautiful story:
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“Dance and yoga are my favorite ways of celebrating my body by pushing physical and mental boundaries. My first yoga class was around 2007. I told the instructor I was there to improve my flexibility for dance, to which she replied, “that’s not what yoga is about.” I spent the next hour stifling giggles at wind relieving pose and got irrationally distracted when the gentleman next to me began snoring. Also, I brought a mat that had a fabric covering. Needless to say, it wasn’t ideal.
5 years later, I gave yoga a second chance in Los Gatos with a lovely instructor named Karen Holden. She embodied unconditional, gentle, loving, grandma energy. When I moved to Morgan Hill in 2021, I met another phenomenal yoga guru, Jen Carruba, and followed her to the collective. Having a great yoga teacher is just as important as finding a good therapist. And I truly feel connected with each of the teachers here at MHYC.
I come to vibe out to Sheila’s oldies playlist, and when I need Jen’s words of encouragement, or Stef’s 3-5 minute long hugs. I come to laugh with Paula as we roll out our mats together. I zen out to Kayla’s voice, reach toward the heavens with Dolores, and feel connected to our powerful universe with Jessica.
I’ve come to realize that, like dance, yoga is a universal language. Us humans all move and breathe the same, whether in Morgan Hill, Bali, Tulum, or Costa Rica, to name a few parts of the world yoga has brought me. I have also learned that any reason for showing up to your mat is exactly what yoga is about. Oh, if you’re still reading this (thanks), please know that I’m no longer judgmental of the class wind relievers and snorers, as I’m guilty of both. ;)”
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💜 We love you, Dani — thank you for sharing your story and your beautiful light with our community!
