Yoga:

Nikki was a gymnast for many years in her youth, but an injury led to her removing herself from competition while still in high school. As a college student, she was introduced to yoga and found that the chance to stretch, bend, move and breathe was very liberating and felt great. She would take classes on and off when offered or easily accessible.

Once she moved to CT, Nikki found Samadhi Yoga Studio in Manchester and began to take classes more regularly. One instructor finally approached her while she was so deep into a Warrior 2 that the muscles could not hold her bones within the joints. Quietly, and with reverence, that instructor lifted Nikki’s torso until the front thigh was parallel to the earth and said: ‘It is not about how bendy you are. Use your muscles and see what happens.’ As if opening a whole new world, Nikki discovered that there was an approach to yoga that was both fluid and opening while being very strong and working to build muscles and stamina. She was addicted.

For many years, Nikki practiced as a student and refined her practice and tried different studios, teachers and styles. In 2009, she began the Yoga Teacher Training program at Samadhi Yoga Studio in order to deepen her own practice. She had been doing Thai massage and was traveling to Thailand during this time to deepen her work as well. She wanted to be able to offer students before-class yoga to help stretch and move, as most students new to Thai Massage report that their bodies are quite sore from this new style of use. After completing the 10-month program in June 2010, Nikki was invited to begin teaching an early morning class at 6 AM on Mondays and Fridays. She jumped at the opportunity and had held that class until October 2019. She taught at Sacred Rivers Yoga, also at an early morning time slot, from 2019 through mid-2020. Currently, she offers free yoga on Mondays at Veterans Base Camp for veterans and military families.