Namaste, my name is Shira Cohen.
As I child I grew up with Hippy parents and travelled to different countries and experienced diverse cultures. We eventually settled in Australia. I grew up knowing how beautiful, raw and powerful nature is in such a pure place. When I was 10yrs old our family suffered a very traumatic event that pushed me on a quest of deep seeking and asking the question- Why do we live? This question eventually led me to Yoga and meditation. Yoga has been a journey of daily practice since 27yrs. Since then Yoga has helped steer my ship with grace through many not so graceful life choices and circumstances. Yoga is the tool that empowers each of us with the knowledge to become masters of our own health and live a life full of joy. I believe that all beings can find absolute freedom, love, abiding harmony and happiness through the body and mind using the practices of Yoga. This is my deepest desire for all life. Through Yoga I discovered that the power and beauty inherent in nature also resides within each of us. For more than 20 years of life seeking I have voyaged through depresssion, anorexia, drug use, burn out and post natal depression. I say voyaged and not suffered, as Yoga was always my island of safety. Yoga always guided me back on course. It always gave me something more solid and stable yet so subtle to hold on to. No matter which place I found myself in, Yoga is at the heart waiting for us to make those initial steps. Eventually Yoga led to a place where All Is Peace, Bliss and Truth. But it is not a place I am always in. I wish it was. But that would be to easy, and then what would happen to this game called Life? It is through Yoga practice that I can walk back to this peaceful Beauty again and again. The more I walk the path the wider it becomes the easier it is to find the way back. The less we stumble, but we still stumble. And no matter how often we walk away from that place it is alwayys there waiting for our return. But only we can walk that path for ourselves. Manuela Heider de Jahnsen was my teacher for more than 12yrs. In Manuela's clinic in Berlin I assisted as and worked in the field of Yoga therapy, body work, Ayurvedic diet, herbs and massage. Adressing conditions such as allergies, autoimmune dis-ease, asthma, injuries, stress, burn-out, insomnia, anxiety, depression and structural misalignment. My studies under many great teachers amount to more than 2000 hrs. But the study of Yoga is as long as this journey called Life, eternal. There is no way to certify true Yoga practice. The practice is embodied by the practitioner, and the effects felt by living what we learn in our practice, and bringing it alive in day to day matters. I work with the principles of alignment, how to apply the philosophy and deeper practices of Yoga into daily practice and off the mat. To quench my thirst for holistic understanding, knowledge and insight to all that pertains to Yoga I have travelled to India several times. Manuela Jahnsen de Heider, Pankaj Sharma, Judith Lasater and Usha Devi guide my study of enhanced Asana practice through better understanding anatomy. Rose Baudin in the deeper aspects of Yoga such as Pranayama, meditation and Swadhyaya. David Frawley, Dr Vasant Lad, Dr Svaboda and Dr John Doulliard are my teachers of Ayurveda, Mantra and Marma. Mr Goenka of Vipassana.. I have delved into the foundation of Yoga; Ayurveda, and its culmination; Meditation, so that when I teach, it is authentic. From personal experience I can guide others deeper into their practice be that physical, energetic, mental or spiritual. As a teacher I do my best to be devoted, caring and loving. I love to educate and be educated by my students. To me every creation in existence is a teacher. Namaste! |