Teacher Spotlight: Charisse Crisci
How long have you been teaching Yoga and how long have you been with Prana?
I joined Prana in 2004, a year after giving birth to my son. Prior to that my main exercise focus was lifting weights 2 hours a day, 6 days a week. After my son was born my motivation for that kind of intense training dissolved. I tried going back to the gym environment but felt myself completely unmotivated. At the most incredible time of my life, being a new Mom, I was simultaneously feeling like there was something "missing" yet I wasn't able to name it at that time. It left me feeling frustrated. I was also experiencing severe depression. That led me to search inside and out for what was missing. I eventually found Prana and started taking classes with a Forest Yoga teacher and while that style was able to meet my fitness level needs, again I noticed my motivation was oftentimes lacking, though I kept attending class once a week.
A year later in 2005 that Forest teacher moved and I began taking Vinyasa classes which really resonated with me. I had been a dancer since the age of 3 and the flow of movements felt good. What I noticed even more was a different "feeling". The teacher's approach brought me deeper into a part of myself that I was seeking to befriend, that "something" I couldn't name at the time. My yoga practice began to blossom in me & it opened me up to a deeper aspect of myself. The physical practice became an embodied practice leaving me feeling connected, whole and a sense of peace inside that I hadn't felt before. My whole inner-world began to change. Soon after I began attending classes several times per week and scheduled everything around my yoga classes. My commitment to them became uncompromising. During those early years I began to study with teachers from around the country who were also attuned to these deeper aspects of yoga and led me to explore various forms of self-healing.
In 2007 I got certified in Thai Yoga Bodywork which seamlessly integrated with Yoga. I literally avoided taking any yoga teacher training because I did not want my personal yoga to become a "job" or career. It was not until a few years later that I could no longer resist becoming a teacher. In 2010 I stayed at an Ashram in PA with a teacher who lived Yoga..... (Daily Satsang, Chanting & Ayurveda & Asana). It is with her that I received my certification to teach.
The first public class I ever taught was at Prana in Aug 2010 during their annual Open House/Anniversary weekend and the room was filled beyond capacity and I was terrified. I remember my friend and fellow yoga teacher Jennifer showing up for me in the back of the room just to give me moral support. From that time I've never looked back. Teaching yoga continues to inspire me beyond, beyond.
What I love most about teaching yoga?
There's so much I love. Teaching yoga keeps my creative juices flowing, it challenges me to be in moment and to stay present. It helps me to speak where I might otherwise be silent. It keeps me alive by keeping me vulnerable which has cultivated strength and courage within myself. I especially love teaching at retreats and longer series classes to get to know people at a deeper level. I love teaching because it opens me up to being a vessel for Source energy to speak through me and I feel this is my dharma to have this space for others to meet themselves with compassion, in a world that gives messages of not being good enough and that we must strive for more and more and more. On the mat people can meet themselves more authentically, with greater self awareness which gives them opportunity and greater potential to step more fully in their truth, power and mastery "off the mat." Essentially, this leads to the betterment of themselves, their lives, their relationships and the world at large.
What has yoga done for you as a person?
Yoga saved my life. Literally!
Two personal things about me: I am a secret rebel and daredevil. I like to push the envelope a bit in order to go beyond ordinary limitations. I can remember in 7th grade 3 friends and I took one of our Mom's cars and drove around the block a few times. Hahaha. A neighbor saw us and told on us. Funny, not funny. This kind of daring energy has led me to do things on my own, like getting my scuba diving certification, skydiving and karate chopping wood etc.
Another personal story is when I met the Dalai Lama. It was spontaneous and unexpected. I was in India with my Yoga Therapy teacher and at the end of the pilgrimage there were 5 or 6 of us who were getting dropped off at the airport many, many hours prior to our flight. A woman in the group offered for us to hang out at her hotel and have dinner together to pass the time. It was during that time a bellboy at the hotel asked if we wanted to meet the Dalai Lama, that he'd be arriving in about 45 minutes. He told us he was staying at the hotel for the night. We of course said YES. When the time came he let us know to line up at the door and that he would greet us when he walked in. The amazing thing was there was no crowd, just us and some security people. The Dalai Lama came up to each of us individually in the most sincere, kind and gentle way, he took our hands and greeted us eye to eye. He then asked me if our group would like to have someone take a photo with him. I will always remember this experience.