It was due to Anne’s chaotic, restless life that she approach the yogic journey - a path that led her inward, finding that deep quietness everyone was born with.
Before she started practicing yoga, Anne was deeply troubled by insomnia. That nightly bedtime class of wine was gradually losing its efficacy. In her first yoga class she actually fell asleep in peace. A long-term insomnia suffer, she suddenly realize the spiritual refuge she has been long searching for turned out to be quietness. Ever since then like a sponge suddenly came in contact with water, Anne has never stopped her yoga practice.
From the beginning of looking for external comfort to trying out various types of yoga classes to finally falling in love with the quiet focus she felt with Ashtanga Yoga, she is grateful to have encountered yoga. In 2010, she completed her first teacher training with Paul Dallaghan and Neil Barker. In 2011, Ann felt she came to a spiritual impasse. She didn’t know what she wanted, but knew she didn’t want whatever she had at that time. With resolution, she cast aside everything in Taipei and embarked on a journey seeking for the root of yoga. She started in KPJAYI institute of Mysore, Southern India and ended up in Himalaya Yoga Academy in Rishikesh of Northern India. It was there for the first time in her life, she felt that utter “surrendering”. She saw how the heart of the teachers of the Himalaya tradition and their behavior were congruent. Their speech and action were filled with compassion and true humility. In that two-month period, Anne’s heart felt a calmness that was not there before. All the accumulated questions she had since childhood were fully answered.
All of this reflected in Anne’s teaching. Anne believes when a yoga teacher teaches, her practice, her breath, her thoughts, the direction of her mind are all present in the room. She is often self-reflective, remembering the teaching from the Himalayan School – to love, to serve. She hopes to spread this truth and goodness like seeds to help every yoga practitioner realizing that quiet joy.
