About the Brooklyn Yogini
Julia is an NYC native and has been an avid student of Yoga for more than 12 years. Her practice has transformed her body, health and view on life. She grew up playing soccer to stay fit, and in high school starting going to the gym for additional training and exercise. While she enjoyed being active and the camaraderie of team sports, it was never a true passion and always a struggle for inspiration. Seeking stress relief and a new way to get the body moving, she was first drawn to Yoga while at Boston University. After completing a degree in Finance and first entering a career in the ever-challenging world of Wall Street, she had little time for anything else beyond work, and it took a toll on her body and spirit. After a few years of monthly donations to the gym and occasional Yoga classes, Julia decided she was not happy with how she was feeling and it was time for a big change. After dropping the unused gym membership for daily visits to Yoga studios, changing her diet and making her happiness a high priority, things started to transform. Her love of Yoga and improved health, renewed her zest for life. Since then, she has never left the mat, as she realized Yoga is essential in her life for maintaining mental and physical well-being.
After having the secret desire to teach for well over a year she finally admitted her dream to a fellow Yogini that both worked on Wall Street and was a Yoga teacher. Before talking about it out loud she could not let go of the fear that having a serious day job meant she could not go further down the Yogic path. The thought always present in the back of her mind was that through teaching Yoga she could help others with the same issues she had struggled with. The inspiration, warm response and support she received from her friend and teacher, were the important first steps on Julia's teaching path. Part of learning more about Yoga was a lesson in learning how to balance the various aspects of her life.
In her studies, Julia has been primarily focusing on Vinyasa, ISHTA, Hatha and Anusara Yoga but loves to experiment with taking classes in varying styles. Her classes are a blend of all of the teachings she has enjoyed and benefited from over the years. Julia truly loves sharing the gift of Yoga with her students and helping them on their personal journeys. Her teaching goal is to inspire her students to challenge themselves and she strives to make Yoga accessible to student of all levels.
Julia's practice and teaching help her to work towards attaining a balance between the mind and body, which is a difficult journey every stressed out New Yorker can relate to. Finding the breath, both on and off the mat, has helped her to move through both difficult poses and situations in every day life with greater ease. She is a firm believer in integrating Yoga throughout all aspects of life. As you will hear her say in class, she never did a handstand as a child and really never even imagined that she would. The support and encouragement of her fellow yogis and her teachers helped her to take risks and challenge herself, which led to empowerment and life-changing success. After she finally was able to do a handstand, she realized that was not the nearly the end - it was just the beginning.
Julia K. Haramis, RYT