Monica's yoga journey began in 2009 when she started experiencing intense pain from a developing knee injury. It was then that she decided to give yoga a try, thinking that it would help stretch and promote faster healing for her knee injury and get her back into high impact sports training again. It wasn't long before she began to feel the restorative healing effect that the yoga was having on her body but more importantly she realized that there was a deeper impact to be gained from her practice than just physical. Monica was lucky to study with a few very inspiring teachers in Los Angeles (Ally Hamilton and Kate Duyn Cariati) who began to challenge her to take an introspective approach in order to gain a clearer understanding and awareness of her true motivations, strengths, and weaknesses. For the first time she began to look internally for answers and although her yoga practice was initially more of a physical outlet, the more she gave to her practice on the mat, the more she felt a sense of clarity and contentment off of the mat and in her daily life. Yoga has been confrontational, revealing and healing for Monica. She is passionate about sharing this practice with others in the hopes that she can help facilitate the same positive shift in another person's life the way her teachers and mentors have done for her. Monica's sequences are designed for all levels of yogis to achieve a sense of self-awareness, opening in the body and connection to breath through movement. She leads a well rounded class with a sense of structured-playfulness while maintaining a safe yet challenging environment. Monica also loves to incorporate fluid movement and creative transitions into her flow using her dance background as inspiration for a fresh perspective on this traditional practice.
Monica received her 200 RYT Yoga Alliance Certification in 2015 from Yogis Anonymous with trainers Ally Hamilton and Kate Duyn Cariati, and completed a 50 hour Laughing Lotus Chakra Certification in 2016 with Kate Duyn Cariati, Ali Cramer and Jasmine Tarkeshi.
Give some extra love to your legs and thank them for taking you where you need to go every single day! In this flow we meticulously work on opening up the hamstrings, quads, IT band and calves while working on strength and balance. Enjoy this strong dynamic flow dedicated to your lower half.
This is a dynamic flow offering lots of playtime to work on your arm balance and inversion practice. Our focus is on strengthening the abdomen and its surrounding muscles to first get our alignment right before heading for takeoff! Buckle up, everyone!
Crack open your heart chakra to uncover the truth in your flow. In this class we work through a strong vinyasa sequence with an open heart so you can really see where you are in your practice today. By tuning into the body and mind, your practice will reveal the areas in your life that need to be focused on so we can ultimately find contentment; even if just for a moment. That moment is just the beginning!
Fly high and get out of your comfort zone by pushing your own limits! It's not about the destination, so just have fun and stay centered along the way as we open the hips, shoulders, and hamstrings and fire up the core, hone the focus with balance poses, and maybe have some laughs, too!
In this class our main focus is on rooting down as we flow through each pose with intention and stability. We will open our hips and work on standing balance poses as well as arm balances including hand stand and crow to strengthen the body and test the mind. The key to any balance pose is finding your roots and I challenge you to visualize your limbs extending into the earth as you rise and create your own support system to work through any challenge.
We start off with a slow warmup to get us centered and prepared both physically and mentally for a strong balance flow. Playing with side planks, eagle pose, handstands, revolved half moon and more, we work through physical challenges on our mat to learn how to combat the external challenges that we face in our everyday lives. After this class you should expect to feel more balanced, centered, open and ready to take on the world with all of its wild unpredictability!
In this energetic flow we work out our wild side through challenging poses while focusing on the breath to cleanse and rejuvenate the body and mind. Although we are flowing through a strong class that will get you ready for your savasana meditation, you should actually leave this class feeling lighter and more energetic, and ready to take on the day! Enjoy, Yogis!
In this well-rounded class we focus on open hip poses, and then finding our twisting poses and counter-twists to balance the body and mind. Of course we play with arm balances and inversions to challenge ourselves and change perspective... All you need to do is show up with an open mind and be ready for anything!
Self care is our theme as we push some physical limits through a challenging flow intended to build heat in the body to open our hearts and ultimately prepare us for meditation (Savasana). Breathe deep yogis!