Welcome! I'm Erin, The Traveling Yogi

I was 14 years old when my dad first introduced me to yoga as a way to soothe the constant pain I felt in my hips during black belt training in kenpo karate. I was shocked to find that a simple modification to Downward Facing Dog relieved most of my pain after months of physical therapy had failed to do so, and immediately recognized the therapeutic impact of yoga on a physical level. It wasn’t until adulthood, however, that I fully appreciated the transformative effects of yoga on the level of the heart, mind and spirit. Time and time again, I’ve observed that the principles that I practice on my yoga mat influence me even when I step off of it. They allow me to navigate life’s challenges with as much grace and authenticity as I can while rediscovering my own bright light and boundless potential. As my light burned brighter so did my desire to show others how they can use yoga to rediscover their own beautiful light and live life to their fullest potential.

After completing my Ph.D. in the Biomedical Sciences at The University of Chicago in 2007, my husband and I were blessed with the arrival of our first child and I found myself reassessing what was truly important. My mom encouraged me to finally explore the idea of teaching yoga, and the two of us completed several YogaFit teacher trainings together before sharing yoga with others in 2009. I started to witness in my students those same transformative effects that I had experienced in myself; moving through fear into faith, through anxiety into equanimity, and through anger and resentment into compassion and forgiveness. It was nothing short of extraordinary, and I fell in love with facilitating something so powerful using yoga. In 2013, I completed my 200hr teacher training with The Lotus Yoga Centre (another training experience that I shared with my mom!) and continued to teach several times a week in the classroom. Teaching became a form of meditation for me and I truly felt like I had found my purpose. My style is inspired by the Vinyasa tradition, although I’m quick to adjust based on the needs of my students and the purpose of each particular practice. Using a mindful interplay of the body and breath, I seek to bring my students to their comfortable edge while leaving them feeling revitalized, expansive, and nourished both inside and out. During this time, however, I realized that I wanted to further spread the benefits of yoga far and wide - but how? How could I reach people of all ages, all abilities, and even those who might not ever find themselves inside of a yoga studio for whatever reason? As an answer to these questions I created The Traveling Yogi.