About Linda Clark and Yoga with Balance

Linda Clark

Yoga With Balance
By the time I decided to develop my yoga practice into a business I had been learning and practicing yoga since 1971. Having played with a number of names I kept coming back to balance: What are the issues surrounding it? What is balance, really? Just being able to stand on one foot without wobbling? Standing on the head without falling? Stretching the muscles evenly and creating strength equal to the length? Balance is this awareness and so much more.

As my practice began to deepen, the awareness of balance as an internal manifestation of a quiet mind, a strong, flexible, and aligned body began to take shape in my understanding. It became clear to me that practicing yoga from a balanced point of view was reflective to living my life in a similar manner. Not too little, not too much. My business name grows out of all this knowledge about balance.

And now, presently, as I walk down the yoga path literally one step at a time, I continue to see the flowering of the decision to focus on balance in my business, in my life.

Linda has been learning about and practicing yoga for more than 30 years. She has explored a number of yoga styles including Raja yoga, Kundilini yoga, Karma yoga and Bhakti yoga over the years. In 1980 a trio of teachers came to Denver and introduced a blend of what they called Iyengar yoga and Vinyasa yoga according to their understanding at the time. This was the first of many times to study with teachers who embraced the Iyengar tradition of hatha yoga. This same year she was afforded the honor of being asked to teach three yoga classes and share what she had learned so far.

In 1983 she earned the first of three yoga certifications and as a nationally certified yoga instructor in the Iyengar tradition and a registered yoga instructor continues her education to keep her certification current.

In 1984 she attended the first of many conventions honoring an international yoga practitioner named B.K.S. Iyengar. That same year, Linda began learning about Vipassana Meditation. Little did she know at the time what effect and purpose these two disciplines, hatha yoga and Vipassana meditation, would have on her as the events of her life unfolded.

Linda has had the rare and graced opportunity to work directly with Shri B.K.S. Iyengar on several occasions. The most recent of these now was in 1993, just three years after loosing her right lower leg in an automobile accident. Those precious moments of such close exposure to a man who has devoted his life to his yoga practice were not only inspiring but contain a lifetime of information on practice and how to teach the art and science of Hatha Yoga as developed by Patanjali.

While in Denver, Linda was secretary of Yoga Teachers of Colorado for two years; spearheaded the formation of the regional Iyengar Yoga Association, IMIYA, and attended to Presidential and Secretarial duties during its first two years. She also offers a yearly workshop as a donation to The Yoga Group, an organization dedicated to inspiring people living with HIV/AIDS through the practice of yoga.

Having moved to New Mexico in 1999, she continues to welcome the opportunity to share yoga and meditation with the community. The magic of health, well being, and peace of mind that these practices offer is a rare gift to learn about. As an amputee, she has developed a deeper understanding into the nature of chronic pain, insomnia, and nervous system syndromes. Moving with life in a balanced and useful way is very much a part of how she currently offers yoga in her classes.

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