Karen Schwisow

Yoga resonated in my body and mind from that first night and since then I've found it to be a constant source of joy, challenge and learning. Although I had practiced meditation for over a decade, I found that yoga had an equally powerful ability to quiet the mind while simultaneously nurturing the body. I received my Master Yoga Teacher Training in 2005 from Pacific Yoga Teacher Training in Seattle. A full circle moment came for me when I received my Certification from the Center for Mindfulness University of Massachusetts Medical School as a Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Teacher.  I had read Jon Kabat-Zinn's book on that subject 18 years earlier and it was the seed that very slowly grew into the fulfilling work I do now. I am co-founder of Three Trees Yoga and the 200 hr RYT & 300 hr RYT Three Trees Yoga Teacher Training Program .  To me, the asanas are a moving meditation.  Its less about finding the perfect pose and more about being curious about how it feels to move in deliberate ways and listen to the messages our body sends us.  Yoga gives us an opportunity to watch our own habits of thought and reaction and find a place of stability and ease in both mind and body. At the same time, we usually manage to laugh at least once in class and not take ourselves too seriously.