"At first a yogi feels his mind
Is tumbling like a waterfall;
In midcourse, like the Ganges,
It flows on slow and gentle;
In the end, it is a great
Vast ocean, where the lights
Of child and mother merge in one."
- The Song of Tilopa (988-1069)
Is tumbling like a waterfall;
In midcourse, like the Ganges,
It flows on slow and gentle;
In the end, it is a great
Vast ocean, where the lights
Of child and mother merge in one."
- The Song of Tilopa (988-1069)
about me...
Born and raised in Ecuador, I discovered yoga, mindfulness, and meditation as a young teen. I was brought up in a home that blended Western and Eastern cultures, and where exploration was always welcomed. I moved to the US in 1996, going to school in Montana and Maryland, and working many years in Washington, DC in trade and international development. I am a trained economist with an MA in International Relations/Development and Conflict Management from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University, who has worked with numerous research and international organizations (If you have arrived here looking for that professional side of my life, just send me a note or fill up the contact form below). Currently, I am the Programs Director for Tara Mandala, an international Buddhist organization based in Colorado. I also serve as an adviser to Quechua Benefit, a non-profit organization working to empower Quechuan communities in the Andean Highlands of Southern Peru.
I feel it has been one of my life’s greatest blessings to have found yoga during my formative years and to have learned to welcome mindfulness and a method for inner-discovery. I attended "yoga school" starting at the age of 13 in a self-realization center directed by a Jesuit priest, inspired by the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, and where the wisdom of all religions and mystical traditions was respected. And, as an adult attended many trainings in Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Sivananda, Restorative and Iyengar yoga, gratefully joining several sangha communities because I simply wanted to learn more and practice....oh the joys of curiosity!
Now, I am a Yoga Alliance 500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher, a Vajrayana practitioner in the Magyu Lineage receiving the teachings of 11th century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön and the Great Mother of Transcendent Wisdom (Prajña Paramita) under the guidance and instruction of Lama Tsultrim Allione. As of 2020, I have also entered the Osel Nyingtig cycle of teachings revealed by Ad.zom Paylo Rinpoche. Since 2017, I am authorized by Lama Tsultrim to teach and facilitate the Feeding Your Demons process.
When not teaching, I do many other things. I am the owner and principal fiber artisan of Hiladora, LLC, a weaver, a knitter, a writer, an adventurous traveler, a freelance photographer, to name a few.
I have learned and continue to learn from teachers in diverse yoga lineages as well as contemplative and spiritual modalities. My daily personal practice and teaching style reflect the influence of these lineages as well as the transformative evolution of my journey as a constant explorer. I believe in the importance of a mindful, reverent practice that invites us to integrally immerse with curiosity in the present moment, fully embodying our form, following our breath and watching intently. As a teacher, I bring into the practice the wisdom knowledge and experiences that emerge from the yogic tradition, religious traditions, philosophical and mystical schools, shamanism, and scientific fields, and most of all, my intuition. Nothing is off the table. Nothing is just physical or just intellectual. In my classes students are invited to open their minds and hearts, and to explore reality with wonder, rediscovering their own self-cognizing center. I offer a safe space holding the role of catalyst for each student's self-realization and awakening thru the cultivation of autonomy and self-sufficiency grounded as much in a consistent practice of exploration and fascination with the subtle landscape as well as in the journey via philosophical adventures.
I feel it has been one of my life’s greatest blessings to have found yoga during my formative years and to have learned to welcome mindfulness and a method for inner-discovery. I attended "yoga school" starting at the age of 13 in a self-realization center directed by a Jesuit priest, inspired by the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, and where the wisdom of all religions and mystical traditions was respected. And, as an adult attended many trainings in Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Sivananda, Restorative and Iyengar yoga, gratefully joining several sangha communities because I simply wanted to learn more and practice....oh the joys of curiosity!
Now, I am a Yoga Alliance 500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher, a Vajrayana practitioner in the Magyu Lineage receiving the teachings of 11th century Tibetan yogini Machig Labdrön and the Great Mother of Transcendent Wisdom (Prajña Paramita) under the guidance and instruction of Lama Tsultrim Allione. As of 2020, I have also entered the Osel Nyingtig cycle of teachings revealed by Ad.zom Paylo Rinpoche. Since 2017, I am authorized by Lama Tsultrim to teach and facilitate the Feeding Your Demons process.
When not teaching, I do many other things. I am the owner and principal fiber artisan of Hiladora, LLC, a weaver, a knitter, a writer, an adventurous traveler, a freelance photographer, to name a few.
I have learned and continue to learn from teachers in diverse yoga lineages as well as contemplative and spiritual modalities. My daily personal practice and teaching style reflect the influence of these lineages as well as the transformative evolution of my journey as a constant explorer. I believe in the importance of a mindful, reverent practice that invites us to integrally immerse with curiosity in the present moment, fully embodying our form, following our breath and watching intently. As a teacher, I bring into the practice the wisdom knowledge and experiences that emerge from the yogic tradition, religious traditions, philosophical and mystical schools, shamanism, and scientific fields, and most of all, my intuition. Nothing is off the table. Nothing is just physical or just intellectual. In my classes students are invited to open their minds and hearts, and to explore reality with wonder, rediscovering their own self-cognizing center. I offer a safe space holding the role of catalyst for each student's self-realization and awakening thru the cultivation of autonomy and self-sufficiency grounded as much in a consistent practice of exploration and fascination with the subtle landscape as well as in the journey via philosophical adventures.
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in my newsletters you might find...
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