Kira Morton

kfayr@optonline.net

914-740-5326

Finding My Roots

A Yoga Biography

    I fell in love with yoga while living in Anchorage, AK 8 years ago.  I enjoyed the flow, the energy and sense of balance it brought to my life.  Wanting to share the benefits with others, I completed a Level-One certification with YogaFit.  This was only the very beginning of my yoga journey.

    As yoga began to change my life, other changes also occurred. Simultaneously, I began substitute teaching in Anchorage, Alaska.  I found myself naturally breathing with the kids, taking a moment out of the day to stretch, maybe do a pose or two.  It sort of became just another tool I threw into my bag of tricks.  When the energy level moved to extremes or when transitions were a struggle, I found kids responded to yoga breaks.  I took this back with me as a substitute teacher in New York, a teaching assistant, a camp yoga instructor, and a leave replacement.  I looked forward to the day I could bring yoga into my own classroom. 

    Along the way, many children have told me how much they enjoyed doing yoga.  Whether it was at school or the camp (where they called me, “Yoga Kira”) the children didn’t need to tell me how much they enjoyed yoga.  It was in the reaction of their faces, or the movements in their bodies.  As I moved from school to school I watched children move through their day incorporating their own version of yoga into their lives.  Whether it was on the carpet, at their desk or on the playground, children desired to move.  This movement is part of development and yoga can encourage this development naturally. 

    When I returned to my roots in NY, I went on to complete my 200-hour certification with Yoga Mountain in New City.  There I practiced yoga as an “art of gentle persistence.”  At the same time I began my Masters Degree at Bank Street College of Education in New York City.