Alexis Ray

Alexis Ray (she/her/hers) completed Yoga Sanctuary’s 230 hour Holistic Yoga Teacher Training in May 2023 and is a registered yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance. She started her yoga journey over a decade ago, during a "Yoga Thought and Practice" course at her university. The scope of learning about the religious and historical background of yoga as well as incorporating a movement practice with personal reflection was her first glimpse at the deeper side of yoga beyond just a workout. She became enthralled with the literature which coincided with her interest in psychology of the mind and body. This was also around the same time that she had begun more deeply probing and grappling with the crossroads of her identity.

While she had many starts and stops over the years with her personal yoga asana practice, the deeper emotional journey was always present. Fast forward about a decade later and she started taking on new roles and responsibilities that piqued her interest in teaching and mentorship. She decided that the unique role of a yoga instructor would suit her well and give her an outlet to express her gentler, softer nature. This side of her was something she was constantly at odds with, fighting the desire to be open and soft with the reality of life throwing curveballs and showing her how that wasn't "valued" by society. She tried masking her intrinsic nature to fit in and avoid harassment but as a result, became more estranged from herself. She was lost because she refused to trust in the compass of her intuition and that inner knowing that was always present even when she refused to listen or take its advice seriously. Sometimes she just didn't like what it had to say.

 The soft self and the armored self cannot exist simultaneously-she had to choose one. And for many years she thought that the armored self would get her where she needed to be. And while it served a purpose for a time, once she was able to finally see the dust settle in her mind, the clarity of herself that she had been trying to run away from all those years was right there in plain view. By disconnecting from her body, she had convinced herself that she was lost and confused, when in reality she had trouble surrendering to her body, mind and soul. She tried to override what her body was telling her it wanted and what it needed to be seen and loved. By re-engaging with that deep inner work, she was able to see a path forward and finally set some longer-term goals for herself, one of which was teaching yoga.

Respect, curiosity and honesty are the driving forces of her work. As a queer and trans* individual, she brings a deeply empathetic understanding of the unique challenges of embodied living through an LGBTQ+ lens. She wants to especially affirm all queer, trans* and gender expansive individuals who seek solace practicing with her. While not easy, she hopes to foster an environment where people feel called to practice regardless of where they are in their journey and how they express themselves.

Education:

Yoga Sanctuary 230 hour Holistic Yoga Teacher Training, May 2023

Registered Instructor through Yoga Alliance