Sandy’s fascination with Eastern culture began at an early age, and after college her spiritual curiosity only continued to gain momentum. Over time, she has experienced a variety of yoga traditions that have uniquely shaped her course as a student and teacher. 

Initially, her love of yoga and meditation stemmed from a Buddhist framework, but years later pilgrimage to the holy villages of India opened her eyes to Bhakti. While Buddhism is still dear to her, Bhakti has transformed her heart as well as her personal practice and perspective. Bhakti, sometimes referred to as the yoga of love & devotion, is the path of directing spiritual consciousness towards the divine to cultivate a spacious loving soul, rather than (mis)identifying “my” ego-self as the center. She is grateful for guidance in Bhakti by Raghunath and via the teachings of Ram Dass and Neem Karoli Baba, and returns to India annually to deepen her understanding and commitment to yogic life.  

Sandy is an E-RYT 200 yoga teacher and certified Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) based in Boston, MA. She also holds a 500-hr academic certificate through the Yogic Studies school. Given Sandy’s experience teaching yoga classes (asana) and nearly 20 years as a student, she understands how to make yoga philosophy meaningful to yoga students and teachers.

With deep gratitude to Eastern traditions and her collective teachers, Sandy shares these teachings through her heart, mind, and the experience of being a dedicated practitioner of yoga. Once exposed to the greater context & spirit of yoga, she trusts this wisdom will continue to unfold for students, inspire a deepening of their practice, and transform their life. Contact Sandy to bring philosophy into your yoga teacher training, workshops, retreat, or spiritual community. Read more below.

The Story of Modern Yoga:
How did we get here?

The history and philosophy of yoga is remarkably vast and poetic. Yoga scholars say that there is not one yoga, but many yogas, which have adapted and evolved with the influences of history, time and culture. And yet, sturdy truths & threads of yoga have survived - and need our collective effort to be preserved. Together, we will contextualize the physical poses (asana) within the greater spiritual practice and trace the origins of "modern" yoga. This workshop will provide an organized accessible overview of yoga’s fascinating history. Time permitting, we will dip into some of the controversies arising with yoga's growth in Western popularity.

Foundational Teachings:
Key concepts & stories

While yoga is quite broad, there are certainly core concepts that are the bed from which many yoga traditions grow. We will explore elements of Sankhya, a philosophical school that was influential in shaping yoga, including the three qualities of matter (gunas); discerning what is unchanging (consciousness) from what is ever-changing (all else); and the relationship between our senses, mind, and soul from a yogi’s lens. Selected stories, karma, the paths of yoga, and definitions of yoga will help knit together the picture. These are ancient ideas though remain remarkably relevant to our daily experiences and even gave rise to much of our modern psychology.

Sacred Pillars:
The Yoga Sutras & Bhagavad Gita

Reading sacred texts (svadhyaya) immerse’s you into the incredible language, tone and texture of yoga. In The Yoga Sutras, author Patangali compiled and systematized Classical yogic teachings using somewhat cryptic notes. While maybe best known for “the eight limbs of yoga,” The Sutras house much more insight about the nature of the mind, suffering and consciousness. The Bhagavad Gita, a pivotal Bhakti text, pitched yoga-for-all — not just for ascetic, forest-dwelling yogis — by reinterpreting renunciation. This will give an orientation to these two expositions on overcoming the timeless challenges of our human experience. Both works are filled with incredible metaphors and stories sure to stick with you & inspire.

Bhakti: The Perspective of the Heart

Love is a very compelling force. As long as time, we have had a natural attraction to it. In 1984 Foreigner pleaded, "I wanna know what love is." Maybe Winnie the Pooh described it best, "You don't spell love, you feel it." Bhakti yoga is often called the path of love and devotion. It's a means of cultivating a spiritual heart, a loving way of being. Historically, Bhakti represented a revolutionary shift from yoga as a strictly renunciate practice, to an in-the-world approach for all. Love is effective: it spontaneously dissolves ego (the limitations of who we think we are, “I-ness”) into the infinitely wide space of our true nature (awareness). How do we get there? We'll dig into these methods that invite us into the perspective of consciousness (soul). Now, if you're skeptical of or allergic to words like soul, divinity, or devotion, Sandy felt the same way! She'll illuminate what she's experienced as personally transformative in a down-to-earth real-talk way, threaded with stories, metaphors, and historical context.

Mantra: The Stillness of Sound

You are likely very familiar with the superstar of yogic mantras, “Om,” yet the idea of mantra can conjure many associations. We’ll demystify the origins, purpose and potentiality of these sacred sounds & vibrations. Depending on the context, mantra can incorporate elements of meditation, prayer, song, community, devotion or ritual. You’ll learn how to chant on mala beads (japa meditation) and can experience mantra in song (kirtan). Mantra is the current of divine connection, or as some say the sound-form of love. The repetition of sacred sounds asks us to lean into simplicity, to disrupt our habits of thought and reaction, so we can turn inwards to our true nature and purify our heart. Who wouldn’t be curious about these spiritual sound waves?

Sadhus & Sadhana:
The practices of yogis

Sadhana refers to a yogi’s set of daily practices aimed toward a spiritual goal, which go well beyond physical poses (asana). This will bring to life the powerful practices of mantra/japa (repetition of sacred sounds), kirtan (singing), pranayama (breath), and dhyana (meditation). We will also explore Hatha, and the implications of tapasya (austerities that cultivate tolerance), svadhyaya (independent study), saucha (cleanliness), and the culture of sadhus (dedicated yogis). This session will be rich with visuals, demonstrations and opportunities to experience these practices. Practices and application are really the heart of yoga that lead to profound change; these practices breathe knowledge to life.

Contact Sandy to discuss how to tailor the content & depth of these classes to best support your needs. Offering workshops on philosophy, history and practices brings yoga to life for students and enhances your studio culture or program. The modules above are examples, though any of the topics can stand alone or be grouped as a series. This might be offerings for your general yoga community, incorporated into a yoga teaching training (YTT), or a retreat (virtual or local in-person). It is important to Sandy that these discussions be “live” and interactive whether in-person or virtual. A class could be 1.5-2 hours (min) or a partial/full day. Naturally, philosophy expands accessibility to all bodies and levels as there is no physical practice (though workshops can easily be paired with an asana class beforehand). Individual study sessions (virtual) can also be arranged. Sandy is a certified Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) and engages participants in discussion through her enthusiasm, depth of academic study, context gained through personal practice and travel in India, stories, and visuals.