Yoga, like life, is a never-ending journey. There’s always more to explore and learn. Every journey starts with a first step; Lalah took hers in 2008 while on a surf trip in Bagasbas Beach, Daet, Camarines Norte. The rush she received from that practice was intoxicating. She was surfing not only the waves but the clouds. It hooked her immediately, like a fish, that she went on to deepen her practice and immersed herself in the Ashtanga Vinyasa tradition and Vipassana Meditation.
It was in May 2010 when she completed a 200-hour Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training with Clayton Horton and Mo-Ching Yip. In March 2015, she completed a 20-hour SUP Yoga Teacher Training with Santosha Yoga Australia and was granted the license and title of Certified SUP Yoga Teacher.
Every year, since 2009, she attends and serves a 10-day Vipassana Meditation course as taught by S.N. Goenka, and until today continues to practice and study various wisdom perspectives – Yogic, Buddhist, Taoist, depth psychology, and other somatic approaches to movement and meditation.
She attends workshops and courses as much as she can, learning directly from senior teachers such as Manju Jois, David Swenson, Nancy Gilgoff, Danny Paradise, Prem and Radha Carlisi, John Scott, Sarah Powers, Bernie Clark, Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, Peter Levine, Deb Dana, Richard Miller, Trina Altman, Karin Gurtner, Sarah Warren, Erin Vaughan, and Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen among others.
In her classes, Lalah skillfully integrates Yoga, Buddhism and Psychology with her knowledge in Sports Science, Strength and Conditioning, Pilates, Somatics, and Osteopathy, crafting a balanced and holistic Aquanimous Yoga experience. Her exploration of the mind, heart, body and soul continues as she dives deeper into Somatic Therapy, Meridian Energy Techniques, Clinical Pilates, and Postural Restoration among others. This transformative journey has taught her about self-love, radical acceptance, and transformation, which guide her teachings at Aquanimous Yoga.
She encourages her students to explore their limits and navigate them with loving awareness and equanimity, all while accompanied by a gentle, flowing breath. She views surrendering in the asana not merely as a loss of control, rather, it signifies gaining mastery as the yogi becomes one with their breath and the water, discovering how to move both serenely and powerfully at the same time.
The insights she has gained about herself through yoga and meditation have been transformational. With each practice, with each passing year, with every new student and life event, she gains a deeper understanding of life’s essence.
The ebb and flow of this journey has never been easy, but it has taught her that yoga, such as life, is not about attainment; rather it is an unending process of self-love, self-discovery, self-acceptance, and self-transformation. At the level of action, they translate into various expressions of effortless service to others and to all beings.
In her perspective, our yoga practice is a powerful and valuable resource that transcends the confines of the floating mat, and can be seamlessly woven into our daily lives.