Cathy Koley

As a lifelong fitness enthusiast, I have practiced yoga on and off for many years. My first yoga class was at the corporate wellness center in Chicago where I worked in the advertising business. I entered class as a stressed out young professional; and I left class as a human being, once again. For many years, yoga was something I turned to when I needed to “calm way down”!

In 2011, during a time of great change and struggle in my life, I began to practice yoga daily and in earnest. The help that it provided me and the healing and transformation I experienced (mind, body and soul) were profound. Eager to learn everything I could about the benefits of yoga, I completed my 200-hour RYT training in February 2012. I happily re-entered the “work” force to do something I LOVE, after years of staying home to raise my 3 children. My favorite part of teaching is watching students go through their own shifts and changes; their own journeys of healing and transformation.

I’m now working toward my 500-hour certification and I LOVE to travel and train with master yoga instructors. I recently began pursuing specialized certifications, including stand-up paddleboard (SUP) yoga therapy and Trauma Sensitive Yoga because for me, yoga has been both a therapeutic endeavor AND a joyful one.

In my alignment-focused classes I try to energize, inform and inspire each student toward self-acceptance and growth. The “most relevant lessons” I have to teach come from my own experiences and my own committed yoga practice. I’m not sure who gets credit for the saying, but I believe “yoga is not about touching your toes; it is about what you learn on the way down.”