HEAT ALCHEMY
The Fire element is a catalyst for spiritual development and overall health
the fire within becomes the courage and strength you need to step forward
Heat Alchemy describes the purposeful use of heat for a transformational experience.
Although I practised yoga, pilates, and tai chi since I was 19, I found that Hot Yoga has made a lasting impression on me. After graduating, I was looking for a new yoga studio back on Long Island, and after trying some local places, I found that the classes felt nice but didn't seem to have much of an impact on my everyday life.
Speaking as a native New Yorker, someone who was hardened by a way of life that doesn't teach us to value our more sensitive sentiments, it was apparent that I needed a practice that could break down a tough exterior.
I remembered my Bikram days, and how that was a super healthy shock to the system, but I craved something more spiritually connected. I wanted to learn and experience Yoga. I soon started at a hot yoga studio that drew upon the Bikram heat tradition, but the essence of the space and the vibe of the owner and teachers made all the difference. It was powerful, it was purposeful, it was yogic - and my patchouli-scented self felt welcome in that hot moist Nag Champa air.
Fast forward, and now I've been the a Managing Director of my yoga studio for over 10 years!
During this time, I have continued to explore the power of heat rituals, and yoga practices in the heat, learning the similarities that many cultures share when it comes to heat rituals and health wisdom.
I've enjoyed creating and delivering sessions that aim to create a profound experience for my clients, whilst maintaining the intentional use of heat in the space for yogic practices - practices that bring us deeper into connection with Self and Source.
These days, I continue to develop and offer events and training to invite new ways of bringing purpose to the heated practices we call 'hot yoga,' and letting my offerings grow alongside my personal experience and interest in traditional sweat lodge purification rituals, European sauna culture, Shamanic journeys and drumming, and the use of embodiment techniques for Feminine, Tantric, and Earth-based practices.
Check out some of my new offerings being held at my studio, Soul Fire Yoga. I'll be happy to speak more about bringing these offerings to your location.
Heat Alchemy Sessions
Want a more spiritually and psychologically guided yoga practice in the heat?
Love being in tune with the elements through your body's movement?
These sessions have been developed from previous "Deep Heat' workshops where time and space are given for introspection, meditation, and sometimes written reflection to give context for the hot yoga alchemy experience.
Here, we savour a full 90 minutes for more focused intentions and creating a purposeful process through elemental asana sequencing.
This is a guided session where you you be led into different aspects of the physical and energetic body/mind to shed light of awareness on any issues, fears, doubts, or confusion that you bring with you to the session.
Deep relaxation and time for group sharing make this a more connected and holistic experience that will create a lasting impression on those in the group.
Bring yourself in your fullness, or your fear, to face what you are 'dealing' with. This is a safe and supportive environment for healthy group connection, where we can offer non-judgemental witnessing for support.
*Please note this is not a group therapy session and is not intended to substitute professional psychotherapy treatments. No professional advice will be offered, however, I am happy to support those seeking help with recommendations to trusted professionals.*
SHAKTI FIRE - Devotional Heat Ceremony
Have you felt the power of heat?
Do you know it?
Do you love it?
Have you been transported to a deeper place of creative potential, and spiritual connection through heat rituals?
'What happens' in a hot yoga session, a steamy bath, or a sauna that makes you come out feeling revitalized, clear, clean, strong, and resilient to the waves of life?
Questions like this have tantalised me for years, and why I have created a space for more fluidity and depth when moving in the heat. Inspired by many transformative heat practices held in both spiritual and seemingly non-spiritual everyday settings, I seek to bridge the gap in perception for why humans are healed and fortified by the heat - and yet shy away from it.
In this session, we explore elemental movement with heat as a catalyst for transformation. Imagine a hot yoga session, with less routine asana prompts, and freedom for more fluid movement. You will be given a basic structure and suggestion to move along with, yet, the experience will change each time.
The practice becomes structured by the deeper resonance of your body's makeup - what it craves, needs, and wants, as you awaken and emerge... feeling more alive.
We will invoke intentions and support from traditional earth-based lineage directions and spirit guides for stepping into the heated environment in this way. This will set the scene in our safe ceremonial container for the inner work being done as we explore heat-charged movement practices.
Following the movement, we will dive deep into a drum-induced Shamanic journey, then return to share space with one another to help process and integrate our experience.
Perfect for those...
who love therapeutic heat rituals and practices
interested in developing a more ceremonial and intentional use of the heat for healing, health and spiritual connection
who wish to expand their current experience with heat and go beyond contemporary images of 'hot yoga'
All levels and experience with hot yoga/heat practices are welcome, however, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you have attended at least 3 heat experiences before participating in this workshop.