Welcome to Brewster Yoga
Home of Kimshar Yoga & Massage
"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom" - Anais Nin
Kim is on sabbatical for Nia Dance classes. Please see www.NiaNow.com
Kim has pursued various practices along her own healing path, and yoga asana added a physical dimension that cultivated strength, grace and increased health. Kim's teaching style guides students into the practice of yoga as an authentic way of life. She teaches gentle hatha classes as well as a creative vinyasa flow practice that are inspirational and deep. Kim integrates spiritual practice with the physical practice of yoga in such a way that living yoga makes sense and is authentic and shares with her students the love and clarity with which she has received the teachings. Kim feels that yoga is not a competition with either yourself or anyone else, but rather a moving meditation into non-judgment, which she hopes for you, will become a life practice. Namaste.
On massage and yoga…
Often the best teachers
are the injuries that we have experienced. Kim had her right knee reconstructed
in 1988 and was told that she wouldn't figure skate or dance again and
would most likely walk with a limp. She was advised to avoid yoga, yet
yoga was the very thing that helped Kim heal.
Drawing upon her knowledge of yoga and massage, Kim offers group yoga classes and private yoga sessions that have helped people with back and neck pain. Some students have been dealing with chronic back pain for many years; others experience nagging back discomfort which they attribute to jobs which require too much lifting or sitting. All of them have sought relief elsewhere before trying yoga, and they share what has and has not worked for them. Kim's goal is to help them experience yoga and explore the ways in which it can help.
For Kim, yoga and massage go hand in hand. For example, she says, "We may work on the psoas muscle [in the pelvic region] and do things to experience the psoas. When we move into yoga poses, we maintain the awareness of what is happening in the psoas area. Where may restrictions be? With the knowledge that I gained in massage and with my hands, I know what a psoas feels like, where to find it and what might be going on."
Rather than prescribing specific yoga postures, Kim tries to help students understand their bodies, become aware of what is going on, and offer resources for exploring solutions. "There's no one answer, like do this pose or that pose, and it will for sure help you," she says. "I don't see a magic bullet with these things." Further, Kim admits, "It isn't like the teacher knows everything. I don't. I am not a doctor or a chiropractor. I don't diagnose. I have massage and yoga specialties and can work with people that way."
A student with acute back pain found improvement through taking the class and some bodywork with Kim afterwards. "But with back pain," says Kim, "when it gets better, you don't know exactly what made it better. You can think that what you did helped make it better, yet there are many pieces involved in health, release and healing." Working with Kim, it is evident that she understands the importance of "working with people where they are at, instead of where I think they should be or what I think they should be doing."
Kim has always had an interest in esoteric teachings and her path with yoga has been one of "starts and stops," sometimes doing it at home and sometimes going to classes. "Sometimes you need to know that 'this is my way,'" says Kim. "Now I feel more consistent with my practice."
"There are a lot of ways to use massage and yoga," says Kim. "It doesn't only have to be a yoga class at a yoga center. Come talk with me and let's work together as you continue on and explore your path to physical, emotional, and spiritual peace."
For more information about Kim's yoga and massage practice, email her: kimsharyoga@yahoo.com or call 617.510.3338.