Sweet YDL students,
It is an absolute honor to be a teacher in your life. A concept that inspires me the most is the idea of a lit candle and the power of seeing that candle light others and those candles light others and so on. Before you know it, the whole world will shine brighter. The power of yogadownload.com is that I have the opportunity to spark the light within you and you have the chance to spread that light. Together we make a ripple effect. To even consider that your downdog and backbend work in your kitchen or a hotel room might be impacting lives for the better across the globe brings a giant smile to my face. I bow deeply in gratitude.
In your words, what is yoga?
Yoga is a practice of lightening up and loosing up. Using the breath and the body on our mats, we open the tissues that are congested and find greater mobility in our spines, hamstrings, and shoulders. Using our words and our actions, we share kindness and joy with those around us. Using our thought and prayers, we become beacons in dark times for ourselves and our world. My practice of yoga is actually much more difficult off of my mat that on it. I often say that the reason my sequences are so challenging is they are preparing me for the real work when the poses are done. My teacher says, if what you are doing is not making you kinder and softer, it is not yoga.
What inspires your teaching?
I am inspired by my life. I absolutely learn so much in warrior two, on my mat, in a yoga studio, but the greatest lessons and inspirations in my life are Mother Nature, my husband and dogs, and the teachers I encounter in the grocery store, the coffee shop, and the airport. I teach from the "seat of student." While the amount I suffer, from tension in my low back or between my own two ears, has greatly decreased via my yoga practice and meditation, I do not have it all figured out. Every day I learn something new if I keep my eyes, ears, mind, and heart open.
What teachers have impacted you the most?
I bow deeply to ALL of my teachers. I respect the practice and could sing praises for every teacher who held space for me in this tradition. Today the teachers who have shaped and continue to shape the teacher I am today are Dave Porter, Lisa Richards, Rusty Wells, Gina Caputo, Danielle Barbeau Cook and Kelli Precourt. Thank you for sharing your practice with me, bestowing the gifts of great instruction, leading by example, and for opening the door for me to serve.
If you need anything else from me, don't hesitate to reach out. I know that I have shifted the website/social info a lot during my 5+ years with YDL, so I thought I could be specific
www.christenbakken.com
www.meaningfullmentorship.com
@letitbemeaningfull
Thank you again for holding space for me to teach.
Get inspired with Christen. Practice one of her unique, heart-felt classes now!