p a u s e . B R E A T H E . f e e l .
I have been drawn to and in relationship with yoga for over a decade. Though I knew little about yoga initially, I felt the pull to begin a practice, feed this continued curiosity with training and eventually start to share my own offering of it. What I now recognize is that yoga called me in to bring me home and unite me to parts of myself that felt far away. Yoga birthed a way for me to feel a sense of belonging and form a deeper relationship to my ancestry, the rich traditions and wisdom embedded in my lineage and my truest self. I am grateful to be a forever student of yoga.
I am certified as an E-RYT 500 with over 3000 hours of sharing yogic practices. Through the years of teaching + practice, over a 1000 hours of training and a decade of self study, I have found yoga to be a space to breathe, a doorway to presence and an invitation to awaken to what is. It is not only about the physical poses though these are so powerful and offer ways for us to strengthen and soften through embodied practice, but it is also the wider lens and philosophy through which we learn to observe our humanness and choose how to move through the world. Yoga is a way to relate to all the facets of our internal landscape and our external environments. It is a journey towards liberation that ripples outwards.
My most authentic offering is to create a space for you to pause and rest in the non-doing so that you can feel into what you need most to nourish yourself and your nervous system. Through the practice of mindfulness and slowing down with restorative and yin yoga and while making the choices that empower you to take care of you, you gift yourself your presence, compassion and breath. I aim to be a trauma-informed and responsive teacher and have spent the last years educating myself on how I can show up for students with respect and consideration to each individuals unique experiences. I strive to make what I offer accessible and inclusive for everyone.
My offerings are flowers that have bloomed from the teachings I have received and integrated. I humbly acknowledge all of my teachers and their teachers, ancestors, the unceded Ramaytush Ohlone land I am on and the gifts that come from those that were the original carriers of these practices. In relationship to yoga, I also study and share traditional Chinese tea ceremony, am a practitioner of the Japanese form of hands on healing known as Usui Reiki and have created herbal tisanes ~ SisterMoon Medicine from the earth.
Most recently, I completed a Masters in Social Work with a focus on counseling and school social work. After having taught yoga and mindfulness in under resourced communities and with systems impacted youth in schools for the last 6 years, I look forward to expanding my knowledge and bridging gaps in wellness and school communities. Currently, I work with SFUSD as a middle school social worker and wellness counselor.
I really really love lists, traveling, live music, sacred space, nourishing food & tea, ecstatic dance, nature, hiking and the ocean! You can most likely find me engaged with one of these...
In loving service,
Ally Devi
Many thanks to my teachers: Judith Hanson Lasater, Janet Stone, Cindy Meiri, Jade Brunel, Wu De, Jane Austin, Mimi Moncier, the Art of Yoga Project, Niroga, Headstand, James Fox & more . . . <3