Jyoti Shines A Light: Anna Papadakis
Our family continues to grow, and we are so pleased to have such diversity and talent to offer Jyoti students. It’s been a while since we have shined a light on one of our incredible instructors.
The next person we’d like to introduce you to is Anna Papadakis, who has been teaching at Jyoti since May of 2019. Therefore, her welcome is long overdue! Anna is an advanced yoga instructor (E-RYT 500), with a particular concentration in Jivamukti Yoga and energy healing, acquired over 2000 hours of teaching experience. She is also a certified Reiki healer and Cacao Ceremony leader. Anna currently teaches our Monday and Thursday evening classes; most recently will be leading a monthly meditation series on Sundays. Join her as she dives into the different types of meditation techniques for different lifestyles. Reserve your spot in one of her Sunday sessions here!
Anna shares her in-depth knowledge and advanced practice in every class, making the lessons applicable to students from beginner to experienced. She possesses a deep passion for helping others and for sharing her wisdom.
Let’s learn a bit more about Anna….
What made you fall in love with taking care of your body?
Self-love itself is what I fell in love with when I decided to start taking care of my body. It is true that once you start loving yourself, your body becomes your temple, and I have learned that fact first-hand. Falling in love with my body became a natural process after I started yoga in 2008. Slowly but surely, once these ancient practices ar play, you connect with your heart and body in a way where you in automatically start to love yourself more and more. I am eternally grateful for walking this path, and in which I continue to do.
What does self-care mean to you?
Self-care, to me, genuinely means to care about all aspects of your entire human existence. Honoring your flaws and unconditionally loving and accepting yourself for who you are, are two essential elements of self-care. Self-care is also caring for the planet in which we live. Taking care of Mother Earth is a part of self-care because nature itself is where we originated from on a cellar level.
What inspires you most?
I am inspired to help others from the joy and happiness I get in doing so.
My intention is for all beings everywhere to be happy and free. Curious students inspire me and incite an eagerness within me to share my yogic teaching with them.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I have ever received was the confirmation of my inner voice, my intuition, the way the universe speaks through me through feelings. I feel blessed for this awakening and awareness. I put in a lot of work while deepening my yoga practice. I spent two months at an ashram in India with no phone. During this time, I trained with Savic monks at the Hari Krishna eco-village in Maharashtra, Mumbai. I learned to turn on an inner healing mechanism as well as how I to turn on my inner light through meditation. That experience taught me to the own director of my own life, in a way where the best advice is through a silenced mind. All the answers are within.
How do you ignite your inner light?
Meditating daily and remaining connected to my personal yoga practice and sharing the practice with others.