Philosophy | History

My first Yoga class was in 1995 during a brief period of time that I lived in Hawaii. At the time I was heavily into weight training and had been running around a track from the moment I could just about make it on my own. A big accomplishment for a two and half year old. When I began Yoga it became a wonderful part of my fitness repertoire. My body was in the height of its physical shape and strength. When I returned to New York, life got in the way and several months had past since my last yoga class. I felt like something was missing. When I began taking classes in the Adult Ed program at a near by high school I realized what I had been missing was myself. Yoga had been penetrating through my physical self into deeper layers, of what I now know as my true self. My yoga instructor encouraged me to go to Integral Yoga Institute in NYC. I enrolled in the 1996 Teacher Training Program with the intention to learn, not the intention of becoming an instructor. As I began to instruct my certification class I was completely and utterly absorbed in what was happening in that moment. There was no longer this identification with Drema, as my personality, I was in a state of connectedness to everyone and everything that was happening in that room. Doubt was absent. I never felt so sure that I was exactly were I would like to be. After teaching for about a year at Integral Yoga Institute I began to branch out and explore other styles of Yoga. I started teaching at several different gyms and studios, but Shakti Yoga Center, in Staten Island, is where my practice and teaching roots have grown out of. I began teaching at Shakti and continued until I moved to Connecticut in 2005. The rest of the story continues with study of several different Hatha yoga styles, ashrams and philosophy, retreats and workshops with some of the most renowned yoga teachers. These last 12+ years have been an amazing process of gathering and sifting through to find the essence of what has come to be DremaYoga. Along the way I have joined a loving community that has open arms around the world. I have met wonderful friends and have been reunited with soul mates. I have been blessed to have the presence of my spiritual teacher, Babaji, in my life. The Aghor Lineage and Teachings are my gems. It is through this connection that I have established a friendship within myself that brings me a deep sense, a knowing, that I will never again feel alone. I am forever in gratitude.