Yoga Biography of Mishell Vale Elliston

I have studied and practiced both traditional Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga, as well as medicine ball since 1998 as a student of Eric Faquir, a classically trained yogi in traditional yoga systems and martial arts from San Francisco. Eric has shared his knowledge of the Swami Shivenanda’s school in Rishikesh, the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger Bihar, the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune, and the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore. For years we practiced together these particular traditions of yoga, and now I continue to expand my understanding of these lineages.

I’ve received my 500hr+ Certification through Advanced Yoga Sciences in San Francisco. My emphasis is to keep intact the traditional instruction that I’ve learned, to teach original concepts rather than the Western hybrids of yoga, sometimes referred to as Power Yoga, etc.

Practicing yoga has not been physically easy for me. When I was child I had an injury resulting in the paralyzation of the entire left side of my body. From this injury, a long and humbling journey began. I retrained my mind and body to do the simple things that I had already mastered as a child, like walking. It took years to become mobile, and to regain the use of my left arm and hand. But I made the most gains in terms of finer motor control through yoga.

Today I participate in triathlon, a race which involves swimming, biking, and running various distances. As an adult I’ve found that yoga has been a key element in developing balance, coordination, and strength, both physically and mentally. Because of this experience I’ve been asked to work with people with many different physical challenges. I enjoy this very much. My style of teaching yoga is very hands on. I believe in correcting posture, finding that even subtle corrections lead to greater gains.