TIFFANY ELY (she/her)
I have always been drawn to the expression of spirit through movement. At a young age it was through dance, which I was blessed to make into a brief career in my early twenties. However, I found a dancer’s life to be one that was too physically and emotionally difficult, and soon realized it wasn’t meant for me. I left it behind and landed a job in the travel industry, and as I navigated the stress of corporate life I was searching for a new (yet similar) way to connect to my body.
I discovered yoga via VHS tapes (yes, dating myself here) and began practicing at home a few times a week. It wasn’t until a few years later when I was in-between jobs, that I stumbled upon yoga classes at my local gym. The teacher was so patient, welcoming and kind, and I was hooked. At a time when I had little to no structure, I decided to discipline myself to go three times a week. At risk of sounding dramatic, this serendipitously changed the course of the rest of my life. There was an emotional ease on the mat that I've never felt before and the years of suffering from anxiety, eating disorders and panic attacks felt like they just dissipated. Yoga provided me with the perfect recipe…an invigorating physical workout, with a calming effect for my mind.
It wasn't until years later that I opened myself up to what Yoga had to offer, besides just the physical experience on the mat. I left my career in the travel industry to study with local teachers, David Vendetti & Todd Skoglund and completed my first RYT certification with them in 2009. I'm an avid learner, so a couple years later I enrolled in another RYT with Kelly Morris, the founder of the (now defunct) Conquering Lion Yoga in NYC, which was heavily steeped in Buddhism. Most recently, I studied with former Yogaworks Lead Teacher & Trainer Alexandria Crow, the creator of the Yoga Physics method, and it has greatly influenced the way in which I teach now. My hope for you is that, while I’m there to lead you through a class, you will instead learn to intuit what is best for your body in each and every pose and transition.
I've been teaching in the health & wellness field in the Boston area since 2003, and to compliment my yoga studies, I am also an ACE certified Group Fitness Instructor. In addition to teaching yoga and fitness classes, my life's work also includes a dedication to my extended fur family, as a professional dog walker and pet sitter.
What You Can Expect From My Classes
My intention in class is to provide a space where you can bring strength & ease of mind & body into stasis, and come to realize that yoga is so much more than the physical movement on a mat. My yoga classes are typically a slower style vinyasa and usually set to music, and all of my classes are influenced by many different movement modalities. I will always stress the importance of prioritizing breath and honoring where your body is at in each and every moment.