When you practice with Anna, you will leave her challenging yet playful class wanting more. What brought this amazing yogini to the mat and what does she enjoy most about it?

What brought you to yoga?

I spent the first two decades of my life dancing, and in my teens, practiced daily as a member of a ballet company on Cape Cod. But I knew that dance would never be a career for me. So, when I left for college I realized there was a void in my life of moving my body daily. In I walked to my first yoga class (little did I know it was Bikram), but I was sweating and moving and I loved it. What I didn't know, was that I was hooked on that mind-body connection. Over the next few years I tried a variety of classes and realized I enjoy the flow-like quality of a Vinyasa class, which developed into a more regular practice. It has been over ten years since I took my first class, and so much growth along the way.

What’s your favorite thing about teaching yoga?

My favorite thing about teaching yoga is helping students. I left that sentence broad on purpose. It may be to help them physically achieve a new pose, but it may be to help them smile for the first time in a day. It may be to help them mediate/calm the mind' for an hour. In essence, yoga is a practice of service. In Sanskrit, we call this seva, or selfless service. Ram Dass explains this beautifully: “Helping out is not some special skill. It is not the domain of rare individuals. It is not confined to a single part of our lives. We simply heed the call of that natural impulse within and follow it where it leads us.” I'm lucky that yoga is my passion and that I am able to help others use yoga in their lives.

Aside from yoga, what are some of the things you’re most passionate about?

I guess it's no surprise then that my other passions involve some form of movement. Skiing, hiking, swimming. Because of my yoga practice, not only am I physically capable of other activities, but I also have this mindful connection with everything else I do. Take skiing, it's just me and the mountain every time I click my boots in. There is something so meditative to me about being on the mountain. I grew up on the ocean, so of course long walks on the beach and swimming with sharks (jk) are other passions of mine. The ocean has that same quality as the mountains. Mother Nature is something. I also LOVE to cook, I am Italian after all, and eat, and travel :)