Heather Deriso

PodFlow1 Teacher/PodGentle Teacher/PodBasics Teacher

Yoga first crossed my path in 2009 after a car accident left me with fractured vertebrae and facing back surgery. I needed to strengthen and stretch my back and my medical doctor gave me the recommendation for yoga to ease my physical suffering.
Yoga and I communicated perfectly right from the start. I felt connected and strong as I repaired, renewed, toned, and built flexibility in my body. Still, something was missing from my practice. The first time I stepped into a community of people like me, whose goals and aspirations for living a life conncted in mind, body, and spirit, I felt like I had found where I belong.
In late 2013, I experienced a kind of suffering that was not physical. I was left stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed…which led me to another car accident. For the second time, I turned to yoga and my own breath to heal my body and mind. In spring of 2014 , I began to realize that I had it within me to convey this powerful instrument of healing and balance. It was then I became certified as a yoga teacher through a 200 hour teacher training program, Om2Yoga. I am continuing with my yoga education journey with a 300 hour teacher training, once again through Om2Yoga. The more I share my yoga with others, the more joy I am filled with.
I strive to share this beautiful practice of yoga through the physical practice of asana, and also through the depth of peace yoga provides the heart and mind off mat. I practice my yoga on and off my mat and honor the vibration of Om through awareness of self in all of my day to day life, as best as I am able. Connecting with my students is one of the most rewarding aspects of my yoga, and is second only to connecting with myself.