Lucy Lomax
Certified Yoga Therapist C-IAYT, E-RYT 500, RPYT, YACEP, C-WAE, C-iREST®, C-Y4A:Yoga for Amputees
In the light-hearted, practical manner in which I approach life, I teach therapeutic essentials of alignment-based yoga. In every class and every pose, I teach alignment of the bones, muscles, connective tissue, & breath.
My yoga background includes over 23 years of study and practice in alignment-based yoga, which helped me strengthen and heal my overly flexible body. Since 2011, I have focused my studies on specialized training in yoga for seniors, the military, and those dealing with cancer, amputation, stress, trauma, and PTS (post-traumatic stress).
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In 2017 I became a Certified Yoga Therapist. Whereas a yoga teacher is focused on teaching yoga techniques to students, a yoga therapist focuses more on applying those yoga techniques to individuals or groups to help ease specific health issues or concerns.
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My teaching is based on anatomy, posture, movement, and integrative body/mind principles; my focus is on trauma-sensitive yoga and meditation, and accessible and adaptive yoga for injuries, illnesses, special conditions, and recovery. I teach with a light-hearted and practical approach believing that the yoga you do in class should be fun, and should support you in everyday life. Further, I believe that yoga is not about doing a specific pose well, but in doing a pose that might need to be modified to meet you where are on life's journey.
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Finally, I am a yoga teacher trainer for both entry and advanced level yoga teachers (RYT 200 and RYT 500 levels), am co-director of the Yoga Center of Columbia's Yoga Teacher Training 200 level program, and an adjunct faculty member of its Yoga Teacher Training 300 level (for RYT 500 status). I also am a Master Trainer, trained by Marsha T. Danzig, for her Y4A: Yoga for Amputees program, and an Accessible Yoga Teacher. I teach public classes, workshops, retreats, and private yoga therapy sessions.
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My Journey
My journey into yoga began in the 1970’s with Transcendental Meditation, TM, and the little book, Richard Hittleman’s Yoga: 28-Day Exercise Program. This was long before there were yoga studios in every town ready to teach how to do yoga, and only people like the Beatles were meditating! I loved doing the Sun Salutations described in the book but as an overly flexible person I often ended up with sore joints. Still, I continued meditating and doing yoga, on and off, into the eighties and early 90’s as a full-time working mom finishing my BS and MPFM (Masters in Public Financial Management) at night. Whew.
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In 1998 I went to Miraval Spa in AZ with friends and walked into a restorative yoga class, a type of yoga I hadn’t done before – and I was hooked. My body felt so good, my mind relaxed, and I knew I wanted to bring yoga back into my life full time. I returned to Annapolis, MD, where I lived and started studying with someone recommended by a body-worker at the spa, this teacher was an experienced older, very wise yoga teacher who opened my eyes to the breadth of the yoga and meditation practice.
I began teaching yoga in 1999 after taking one short, one medium, and then one full year yoga teacher training program. I started teaching in a gym, a church, then moved to teaching in studios, at Willow Street Yoga Center for 8 years, and at the Yoga Center of Columbia from 2007 to the present After almost 33 years as a financial policy analyst I took an early retirement to become a full-time yoga teacher. Although I really liked my early career, I much prefer teaching yoga!
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