In 2003, while in Savasana after a yoga practice, I burst into tears for about an hour. That was the moment I realized my path was to teach Yoga.
During that period I was working in Finance and was practicing Yoga daily as my Spirit was looking for something different. After finishing my Master’s degree in Small Business Finance, I started teaching Finance. I recognized that teaching was something I loved doing. So I took the decision to travel to the USA and research various Yoga systems. I was looking for a system that not only was in harmony with my body but I could also teach.
My first Forrest Yoga class was in 2007 with Lori O’Doherty in Back Bay Studio, in Boston. She taught an amazing twisting class with hip openings. At that time I was suffering from shoulder, knee, and lower back pains as I had not been paying attention and mistreated my body. I followed all the variations, for my specific injuries, Lori had instructed. I felt no pain and my injuries seemed absent. I was pleasantly shocked. After that, I attended many Forrest Yoga sessions and I started feeling that my injuries were disappearing and I was healing. I was eager to meet the creatix of this system in person and offer my appreciation and gratitude, as her system had changed the way I was practicing Yoga. This is when I decided which is the best system to get trained and become a teacher in. So in the summer of 2008, I participated in the Yoga Foundation Teacher Training in Boston. I was lucky that I had a chance to meet Ana
in person, while I was also delighted to train alongside my classmate Cat Allen.
On the final day of the Ceremony, Ana said to me: “Bessy go to Greece and spread Forrest Yoga, you are ready”! And this is what I did. Upon my return, I introduced Forrest Yoga to the greek audience.
Yet in 2011, I had a car accident where I broke my collarbone and the left side of my ribs. Although I was in pain, I saw this as a gift as it eventually transformed me as a teacher. The pain was also a motivation to go deeper into my own practice and discover new ways of teaching while choosing a pain-free practice. Two years later, in 2013 while participating in the Forrest Yoga Advanced Teacher Training, in London, both Ana and Jambo Truong placed their magical hands into my collarbone and my pain was totally gone! I thank both of them, in my practice every day!
I have now been teaching Forrest Yoga for 13 years and have reached close to 15,000 teaching hours – through workshops, group, and private classes in 22 studios and health clubs in Athens. For almost 2 years I had been traveling to the USA to teach Forrest Yoga classes and workshops in New York City at the Om Factory Yoga studio. For almost 10 years I have been running my own studio, All in Yoga, in Athens. From April 2020 I have been teaching online and private groups. And since 2009, I have been hosting Ana’s & Jose’s Workshops in Greece and I look forward to organizing more Workshops and Trainings in Greece in the following years.
Throughout all these years I have seen my students transform their lives, connect with their Spirits, evolve, go deeper, overcome injuries, become Forrest Yoga teachers – all these are the gifts that Forrest Yoga has given and keeps giving me unconditionally.
As a Forrest Yoga Teacher, I teach with compassion from my heart. I dive into my students’ souls while I assist them and have my empathy radar open and ready to heal them! I am so honored to share the Forrest Yoga medicine with my students every day as I help them to love themselves and also share this love to others.
Thank you, Ana and Jose, for making me an Ambassador of Forrest Yoga.
—
Forrest Yogini,
Vassiliki-Bessy Trigka
