Yoga, for me, is a gateway to feel good in my body, so that I can get things done.
I thought to myself…
When my body feels good, grounded in well being, I am able to accomplish anything I put my mind to.
I strive to create this feeling for my students. The Body and Mind are intrinsically connected, yet in this modern world, they have become grossly disconnected - Yoga is the link that connects the two. There is a sense of equilibrium and a trusting in one’s intuition after practicing for a period of time.
I discovered Yoga in the mid 90's while living in New York City. I was struggling to find balance while paving my budding career in Textile Design. I found myself sitting more, glaring at a computer screen for 8-9 hours a day, and I began to feel it in my body. At that time, I thought joining a gym was the solution, so I did. However, I had a petite and lithe Indian co-worker who moved around the office with ease, grace, and most of all Strength.
I want that!
I asked her how she got to be strong. She uttered: YOGA!
Having never been exposed to YOGA up until then, I became curious to try it out. During that time, in the mid 90’s, when I found Yoga, New York City was a fertile breeding ground for many sprouting styles of Yoga which radiated to all other parts of the country - The concentration of which was were I was living. Yoga studios and their traditional styles where available to me at walking distance or a train ride away. After my first 2 classes, the fire (AGNI: Digestive Fire in Sanskrit) had been lit and I was thirsty to learn more and more. I tried it all from traditional Hatha Yoga, Jivamukti, Integral, Kundalini, Iyengar, Anusara, Ashtanga and more.
My first class was at a studio in Brooklyn close to where I lived. On a rainy night, I tiptoed my way into a class. Not expecting what I was in for - afterward, it felt like I had fallen into a new universe of opportunity to develop my sense of self and body awareness. Every class felt like a renewal and a recognition of my true self. I felt seen, but not judged.
These days my practice is lead by how I am feeling vs. trying so hard to fit in.
There is a sense of equilibrium and a trusting in one’s intuition after practicing for a period of time.
During this pandemic, I especially value her calm, loving presentation. After class, I feel connected back to the part of me that is resilient and capable, because the breathing and the poses brought me back into the present moment and to my center. During these days, the benefits of yoga are essential. Shireen understands this and her classes are a point of physical and mental unity taught with kindness and a depth of knowledge and compassion.
- Nancy
My Personal Journey
As a young girl growing up until the age of 7 in Tehran, Iran, my Mom enrolled me in ballet classes. I was, and felt stiff as a board while other girls were able to perform straddle splits and back bends. I sat in the back and did not want to be seen. I didn't get to know the teacher. Later on in elementary school, after we immigrated to the U.S., my mom enrolled me in gymnastics at the local Y for semi-private classes with my younger sister. Our teacher was attentive and sincere and made sure we were in good form.
When we moved to another suburb further out in Greater Boston, I enrolled once again in gymnastics. This time, however, things were more competitive and my blossoming prepubescent body felt shy and exposed when it came to the “performance” and competitive aspect of the discipline. I felt uncomfortable being seen as my body was changing. I chalked it up as simply not being athletic. The 2nd year I “tried out” for the team, I didn't make it. Despite my mom's encouraging efforts for me to be physically active, I felt like I was never going to be strong or limber enough. I never felt like I had a natural or physical talent in that arena – oh but wait – Now I am a Yoga teacher and to you, my dear students and readers, I may seem strong, limber, and supple.
So…stepping into that Yoga studio aptly named: The Energy Center: Yoga for Life, I found some consolation in not only a physical practice, but a spiritual one even if I was solely concerned with the physical. The combination of being guided to listen to my breath by being aware of it as I moved through the new postures being introduced to me was mind blowing! I felt a sense of the familiar from my background in ballet and gymnastics, but this Yoga thing was different. I didn't feel judged and nor did I have to perform or prove anything to anyone or myself. The sound of my new a teachers' voices started to create space in my busy mind. I was able to approach them.
the essence of Yoga: The student-teacher relationship.
The floodgates of learning had opened. The relationship between the student and the teacher is one of the most essential aspects of growing and sticking with Yoga. And I am so grateful to have met and learned from many greats!
12 years into my Yoga practice, I felt ready to enroll in a Yoga Teacher Training (YTT). I enrolled with YogaWorks and our lead teacher was Natasha Rizopulous. I realized teaching is a skill and art made to look very easy by so many teachers I admired. I struggled to find my voice, but I kept at it. I continue to learn from Natasha as her precise teaching technique help me to practice and teach better. In addition, Kate O’Donnell is a teacher I look up to for Ayurveda inspiration and learning. I am also informed by Andrea Fotopulous who teaches a distinct Hatha inspired method which has also helped me dig a little deeper and become a better teacher as a result. Now 20+ years into my practice and 10 years into teaching, I am becoming more interested in helping people understand themselves through Yoga as it has lead me to discover myself.
For me, what sticks throughout my Yoga studies is the healing and non-judgemental foundations of Yoga and its teachings by my early teachers in NYC. Now, I combine Iyengar Yoga techniques with classical HATHA Yoga Postures alongside the flowing movement of Vinyasa. My teaching reflects the collage of my varied life experiences.
“After Shireen’s class , I feel like I have had a massage and a latte; my body is relaxed, my movement is more fluid and I also feel focused and clear. She emphasizes the connection to the breath and offers subtle yet important adjustments to the postures that help me recognize alignment. I have learned so much about my own body from her teaching; she is understanding and encouraging. ”