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Sylvia Crossland
Born in Mexico City, I moved to the United States when I was six. I was mostly raised by my grandmother Sarah Penn Harris who was one of Austin’s original organic gardeners. I was lucky to have grown up eating the whole wheat bread she baked and the organic vegetables she grew in her amazing garden. I also had a fantastic mother who was the most creative artist I have ever known.
When I was thirteen, I had a very intense and realistic dream that I was at the Taj Majal in India with a large group wearing all white and standing in poses. Something about the dream told me this is what I was meant to do. It was 1973, and I did not know anything about yoga, so I assumed I was meant to do karate. I took several classes, and it never resonated with me, and I went on with my life. On a trip to Mexico with my mother in 1975, I met someone who showed me some basic yoga breathing techniques which helped me some when I went on to college. I got my degree from Texas State in San Marcos, focusing on Interior Design.
There were very few jobs to be had in the mid-80s in Interior Design, so I decided to get my real estate license. This was at the bottom of the real estate market, but I got lucky enough to start at the bottom and ride the market all the way up to the top in 2013. During this time I had children, and when they were little, I sponsored yoga classes in my home for other mothers. I had a fantastic teacher, Shannon Potts, for at least five years, until I let work get in the way.
Born in Mexico City, I moved to the United States when I was six. I was mostly raised by my grandmother Sarah Penn Harris who was one of Austin’s original organic gardeners. I was lucky to have grown up eating the whole wheat bread she baked and the organic vegetables she grew in her amazing garden. I also had a fantastic mother who was the most creative artist I have ever known.
When I was thirteen, I had a very intense and realistic dream that I was at the Taj Majal in India with a large group wearing all white and standing in poses. Something about the dream told me this is what I was meant to do. It was 1973, and I did not know anything about yoga, so I assumed I was meant to do karate.
I took several classes, and it never resonated with me, and I went on with my life. On a trip to Mexico with my mother in 1975, I met someone who showed me some basic yoga breathing techniques which helped me some when I went on to college. I got my degree from Texas State in San Marcos, focusing on Interior Design.
There were very few jobs to be had in the mid-80s in Interior Design, so I decided to get my real estate license. This was at the bottom of the real estate market, but I got lucky enough to start at the bottom and ride the market all the way up to the top in 2013. During this time I had children, and when they were little, I sponsored yoga classes in my home for other mothers. I had a fantastic teacher, Shannon Potts, for at least five years, until I let work get in the way.
I left yoga on the back burner and began working 60-80 hours a week and raising a family. I had chronic pain in my back, knees, and shoulders and at the end of 2013, I crashed. I could hardly get out of bed. I couldn’t get through the day without pain pills and anti-anxiety medications. I knew something had to change. I cut my workload in half and then in half again. I started retaking yoga classes and meditating on a regular basis.
One day I was in a yoga class, and I got in touch with my heart; this was rare since I was so out of touch with myself at that time. My heart told me yoga was what I wanted to do. I signed up for teacher training the next day. When I started teacher training, I could not sit cross-legged on the floor for more than 15 minutes. I had stopped taking the pain pills and the anxiety meds, but I was in pain a lot of the time. After the nine-month teacher training, I could sit on the floor, and my pain was almost entirely gone most of the time. I felt renewed!
After a recent trip to Costa Rica, I have begun practicing Kundalini on a regular basis and can also incorporate the healing sounds of the gong when I teach.
One day I was in a yoga class, and I got in touch with my heart; this was rare since I was so out of touch with myself at that time. My heart told me yoga was what I wanted to do. I signed up for teacher training the next day. When I started teacher training, I could not sit cross-legged on the floor for more than 15 minutes. I had stopped taking the pain pills and the anxiety meds, but I was in pain a lot of the time.
After the nine-month teacher training, I could sit on the floor, and my pain was almost entirely gone most of the time. I felt renewed!
After a recent trip to Costa Rica, I have begun practicing Kundalini on a regular basis and can also incorporate the healing sounds of the gong when I teach.
Because of my experience, I have decided to teach yoga to all people interested in learning. Mostly, I am excited about teaching yoga to people who have found themselves in a similar place as I was with stress and pain constantly in my life. Life can be better. You CAN heal your life! Contact me, and I will show you how.