“Yoga, and more specifically Forrest Yoga, has been the cornerstone of my healing from depression. For me, the yoga mat has been a vital place to connect with truth, acceptance and learning. I love teaching. It is a sacred joy and privilege to support my students on their healing road. My classes build strength and empowerment and are modified for every shape, size, injury and ability level. All I ask is for students to stay in breath and be committed to connecting to their inner journey. My room is usually heated to 85 degrees. In Forrest Yoga we use heat as an ally, appreciating the cleansing power of a good sweat! I can’t wait to meet you on the mat!” Colleen

Colleen embodies the true essence of Forrest Yoga; strength, dedication and awareness. She has an amazing ability to hone in on her students’ unique needs and bring them deeper into the practice. She expects her students to be present and involved in their own yoga journey, but balances that intensity with a deep sense of caring and a lightness of being. Her room is warm, 85 degrees and she plays no music.

Colleen was introduced to yoga during a Hinduism class she took in college in 1993 while living in Chicago. She started exploring Kripalu yoga shortly after, but it wasn’t until she met Ana Forrest in the summer of 2000 that she decided teaching yoga was her heart path. She left a career in journalism and completed the Forrest Yoga Teacher Training Course with Ana in 2000. Six months later, after finishing the nearly 600 hours of requirements, she was certified. In 2006, Colleen completed a 10-day advanced teacher training intensive with Ana Forrest and continues to assist her at her national workshops. This year, she was honored to co-author Forrest Yoga’s new mentorship program with fellow senior teachers. She is currently acting as Forrest Yoga’s Mentor Liaison to help hone this awesome new Hoop of the Teachers.

Colleen created Blue Buddha Yoga while in Chicago to reflect her interest in bringing yoga to those who deal with depression and other emotional issues. She experienced dysthymia through childhood and a major depressive episode in her early 20’s. Through yoga, she has met her spirit and made peace with her experience of depression. She has taught yoga for emotional health and depression classes in Chicago and Dallas. Through these classes, it is her hope that she will inspire others to look through the darkness of their suffering to find their lightness. She also enjoys teaching pre-natal and post-natal yoga. Through independent research and personal experience (she has a son, Jacob and a daughter, Samantha) she helped craft pre and postnatal teaching guidelines that she presented to Chicago’s Moksha™ Yoga certification, as well as completing supplemental study in post-natal yoga through Samatva Yoga.

You can read more about Blue Buddha Yoga on her website.