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MY STORY
Anna (Cook) Bohacs
E-RYT 500, YACEP, Ayurvedic Health Counselor
yogini, friend, partner, mother, student, teacher
Through intuitive movement and mindfulness, I am in practice both on and off the mat. I completed my first teacher training in Asheville, North Carolina at Asheville Community Yoga. ACY is a donation-based yoga studio that operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. It is here that the seed of yoga as service was planted. This service lives in the core of my offerings. I completed my 300 hour yoga training and Ayurvedic Health Counselor certification at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. I have taught more than 1,000 hours of varying styles of yoga to varying populations.Yoga and Ayurveda together influence the lens through which I see the world, and the foundation upon which I teach. My intention is to provide students and clients with explorative options that allow them to cultivate peace in their own bodies, minds, and hearts, and to prevent dis-ease. This looks like diet and lifestyle recommendations tailored specifically to the innate and present constitution of the client.
MY PATH TO THE PRACTICE
I had a blind date with yoga in Boston in 2009: a hot room, no water, no towel, no idea what the teacher was saying. It was miserable and when leaving that class I felt confident there would be no second date. Twelve years later, I've completed a 300-hour Ayurvedic teacher training at Kripalu, after completing a 200-hour training in 2014, and other smaller trainings between the two. I've taught over 1,000 hours and hope to teach many, many more. This is because yoga literally changed my life. While I was drawn to the practice for the guaranteed work out, I stayed with the practice because of the palpable shift I began to experience in my body and my mind.
Though I am very strong and able-bodied, I navigate life with a finicky immune response. I was diagnosed with connective tissue disorder, Sjogren's Syndrome, and Raynaud's as a senior in high school. My doctors supported me in the best way they could and offered medications to manage my symptoms and mitigate my discomfort. At one point, this looked like taking nine pills a day. I don't recall the point at which I thought, "hey, this doesn't make sense. I'm young," but that thought arose. With the support of friends and family, and my yoga practice, I stopped taking most of the medications. I changed my diet (hi, college). I became aware of my sleep habits (still looking at you, college). I went to yoga every day and began to find comfort in my body again. I began to trust my body and see it as strong, despite my limitations, again. Perhaps, to be transparent, I went a little yoga overboard. I swung from one direction to the other.
Lots has changed since 2009. The girl I was when I found yoga is not who I am today. My yoga practice is not nearly as physical as it once was. After two children, I am softer in my body and my mind. I am quicker to give grace to myself and to others. I know the quiet power I hold within me. I am living in practice as I experience life with my husband, my kids, my peers, and my fellow students. I am a teacher, yes, but I am forever a student. I am forever observing, exploring, learning, shifting, growing, and loving. I want you to be those things, too, and so I share the practice in the best way I know how.