Forrest Yoga is a path that calls the spirit home. It's an evolving system, with a living founder and 14 senior teachers, called the Guardians, whom ...AnaForrestisn’toneforheadyexplanations.ForrestYogaisafeelingpractice:Someanswersarefoundonlybydoing;talksimplycan’taccomplishwhatbreathandexperiencecan.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatAnaeschewsthinking;herstyleofyogaisaprofoundlythoughtfulsystem.Thatsaid,Ana’sspiritpledgeistomendtheHoopofthePeople—attributedtoBlackElk­,aholymanoftheOglalaSioux—tohelphealpeople’sshatteredbutundeniableconnection.Thisvitalmissionwon’tmanifestthroughprettyideas,debates,orphilosophies.Actionbringsourvisionsanddreamstolife.Gettingourbreathgoing,bloodmoving,sweatflowing,andspiritslitareembodiedstepsforaccessingwoundedregionsthatdwelldeepwithinourmortalcoil.Breathgoesplaceswordsneverwill.Seealso YogaHelpedMeConnectwithMyselfandMyCultureWhenaskedaboutherteachers,Anaciteslightningandthunder.She’snotbeingevasive.She’sbeinghonest:Tolearnabouttheworld,ithelpstolookbeyondourhumanillusions,deceptions,andentrapments.Thatsaid,ForrestYoga’sasanastemsfromthelineagesthatshapedWesternyoga—Sivananda,Iyengar,Ashtanga—allofwhichAnastudieddeeplyaroundtheworldwiththeiroriginatorsorprimarydisciples.Sheappliedthesesystemstoherownlifechallenges—alcoholism,anorexia,bulimia,sexualabuse,andepilepsy—andfoundthemlacking.InheryearslivingoffthegridontheColvilleIndianReservationinWashingtonState,Anatrainedintraditionsthathonestlyconfrontedtherootofherhorrificchallenges:disconnectionfromherspirit.Seealso YogaTransformedMeAfterTraumaandSexualAssaultInturn,ForrestYogaemergedin1989asablendofefficientasanaandFirstPeoples’wisespiritmedicine.Itaddressesmodernphysicalailmentssuchasbackpainandcarpaltunnelsyndrome.Throughhelpfulcoaching,ForrestYogastrivestouniteuswithourspirits,whichmayhavebeenslowlystarvedbylifeorshockedoutofourbodiesthroughtrauma.ForrestYogaisapaththatcallsthespirithome.It’sanevolvingsystem,withalivingfounderand14seniorteachers,calledtheGuardians,whomAnahaschosentocarryonF