My interest in yoga started in childhood when I first saw pictures from Light on Yoga. I grew up in Central Wisconsin. There were no yoga teachers to speak of. But when I was in college at UW Madison in the early 1980s, I got the Jane Fonda Workout record. This album and video incorporated yoga postures with aerobic exercises to the music of Michael Jackson’s “Can you feel it?”.
I started taking actual yoga classes in 1987, when I began graduate studies in Political Science in Bloomington, Indiana. My very first yoga teacher was Lynda Mitchell. Within a year, I was recruited to teach yoga. Though yoga classes became a passion, and I enjoyed teaching, I never considered teaching yoga to be a career option.
My interest in yoga has always been more than physical. For me it was a way toward a spiritual life. I loved how the postures made me feel physically, and even experienced a glimpse of what it was like to still the mind and find peace.
I started practicing Iyengar Yoga in Houston in 2002. I was pregnant, and my Ashtanga teacher at the time rightly directed me to the Iyengar prenatal yoga classes in Houston. What at first seemed to me to be slow, boring, and far from meditative or spiritual became increasingly important as my main yoga practice. In Iyengar Yoga, I learned technique and a method that soon allowed me to make progress where I had not done before. I stayed with Iyengar yoga and started teaching it in 2004. I also quit my tenured position at a local University. I took up yoga teacher training with Patricia Walden in Cambridge, MA from 2005-2007, and with help also from Constance Braden, was certified as an Iyengar teacher in 2008.
During the second year of teacher training with Patricia Walden, I became pregnant with my second child. I was blessed to have Patricia work with me as a pregnant woman in my own practice. I learned modifications for all classes of postures. I also attended conventions during pregnancy, and was adjusted several times by B.K.S. Iyengar himself as a pregnant student in 2005.
Today I continue to practice and study with Patricia Walden. Since 2010, I have also been studying with Randy Just from Dallas.
My Houston family is important to me. I have two active young boys and a husband. I feel I offer the experience of balancing family life and work, as a mother and studio owner/teacher, as well as some depth of philosophical knowledge from my many years as a practicing scholar. While I don’t insist that my students learn yoga philosophy, I encourage them to take it on, as it brings meaning and depth to the practice of the postures. Those who are interested should definitely see the “recommended reading list” in the Blog.
About Pauline’s Teaching
A Step by Step Approach for Beginners: Pauline’s classes start with fundamentals and gradually lead to complex and more subtle actions. Houston yoga students work from the periphery—feet and hands, legs and arms—to the organic and spiritual core, one step at a time.
Knowledge: Pauline’s knowledge includes an understanding of the basic actions in simple postures and how all other, more advanced, postures are built upon them. Houston yoga students begin with standing poses. In time, other postures are added, including forward bends and backbends, twists, inversions, and restorative poses. Salamba Sarvangasana (shoulder balance) is introduced as soon as students are ready because of its many therapeutic benefits. Each class ends with Savasana, corpse pose. Students learn to rest and relax profoundly, completely releasing the body and drawing the mind towards the peace within.
Clarity: In Pauline’s Houston yoga classes, you will find clear demonstrations of postures with specific actions given. She will observe you with a keen eye, and offer specific teaching points to awaken the intelligence of the body. All of her instructions are offered as a way to teach you how to align your joints for the safety and wellness of your body, and for the spread of prana (life force or energy) throughout your vehicle.
An Individualized Approach for Every Body. You don’t have to be thin, flexible, strong, or athletic to start a yoga practice. Come as you are. With a deep-seated knowledge of the yoga asanas (postures), Pauline teaches individual adjustments for each student. B.K.S. Iyengar pioneered the use of props and adaptations to make the benefits of classical postures available to various body types, injuries, and conditions. The Alcove is a well-equipped studio, and Pauline regularly teaches modifications of classical postures for head and neck injuries, knee problems, and lower back pain; and for women’s conditions such as pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause. Of course, yoga in Houston is not a substitute for medical care. We expect you to see your doctor for serious or chronic conditions and follow your doctor’s advice.
Yoga for Transformation: If you want to change your life, you need a practice that changes your consciousness. This is what yoga is all about. You can’t change your life if you’re not aware of who and what you are. In asana classes, you will become gently aware of your postural habits. For example, you may start to notice that one leg is tighter than the other; one shoulder has pain and the other does not. Pauline is the kind of teacher who will show you how to work with these imbalances, and then inspire you to connect them to their root causes. Physical habits and mental patterns are revealed. Learning to penetrate the body-mind connection in this way, students become awakened to other, more subtle patterns in their lives. Yoga practice becomes a journey of deep discovery. In addition, Pauline’s compassion and commitment to yoga philosophy offer insight and inspiration to investigate and move beyond habitual patterns that are no longer useful.
Community: The Alcove is a beautiful, new space designed specifically for yoga. Classes are limited to 14 students, offering real opportunities for teacher-student interaction, and friendly environment for students. In addition, Pauline frequently holds events at Alcove Yoga including special classes, guest teacher workshops, films, and gatherings that feature vegetarian meals. The Alcove is an intimate and lively space in the historic Houston Heights.
