Kathleen Thompson

Professional Level Kripalu Yoga Teacher

RYT-500

Hi, Welcome to Main Street Yoga.  I'm Kathleen Thompson, the owner, and so far, the only teacher at Main Street Yoga.  The above picture was not taken in one of my yoga classes, but during a recent trip to India in November of 2007.  I am playing elephant polo, of all things!

I am convinced the only reason I did not fall off that elephant and break my neck is because I have been cultivating balance, flexibility and strength through years and years of practicing yoga.

I started yoga in college, back in the 7os (I'm 55 years old), and continued with it through phases where I became obsessed with running mini-marathons, doing aerobics with Jane Fonda, and lifting weights at the gym. 

Through it all, I still did my yoga because if I didn't, my body would get all creaky and stiff and I didn't like that.  In addition, my life would start spinning out of control.  But if I did practice, well!  Whole different story.  I became  happy, stable, serene. 

I love yoga.  Love it.

And when it became abundantly clear that there was no other path for me to follow, I followed it.

I became certified to teach yoga at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, MA in November of 2003.  I was deleriously happy during and after my training.  My teachers, Yoganand (Michael Carroll) and Rashmi(Sue Jenkins) were incredible and everyday I give thanks for them.  I became an RYT-200 that year.  (RYT stands for Registered Yoga Teacher).  I am registered with Yoga Alliance.

I opened Main Street Yoga with fear and trepidation in March of 2004.  Little by little people found me.  They walked up the steps, peeked in the door, and I waved them in and we started breathing and moving and stretching and playing. 

Then I took more trainings.  Then more trainings.  And about 50 thousand hours and a million dollars later (exaggeration) I became an RYT-500.  And people keep coming up the steps.  And I keep learning how to teach them to love yoga the way I love yoga.  And amazingly, they do!  (Or maybe it's not so amazing.)  Swami Kripalu once said, "I have not come here to teach you.  I have come here to love you.  The love itself will teach you."

I love my students.  I sometimes worry that I might not be able to guide them into their bodies, into their breath, into who they really are.

So I keep on taking trainings so I can better serve them.  I have taken trainings in Chair Yoga with Lakshmi Volker (2005).

I have trained in Ayurveda and Thai Yoga Massage with Paul Cramer and R.D. Shandler.(2005).  I give Thai Yoga Massages by appointment.  I can also consult with you about your Ayurvedic dosha and advise you how to balance yourself if you are out of balance.

Way before I started studying yoga formally, I attended yearly and sometimes more than yearly, retreats at Springwater Center with Toni Packer.  Springwater is a magical place of calm and peace in upstate NY where you can go and be absolutely quiet for long stretches of time.  Toni Packer is an enlightened being.  I have been meditating the way she taught me, every day since the early 80s. 

At one point I thought I wanted to teach English.  I even got certified to do it, and tried it for awhile.  But it turned out that what I really wanted to do was write, which is something I have been doing ever since my schoolgirl days.   These days, in addition to extensive personal journaling,  I write a monthly column in a groovy little monthly magazine called Mountain Home.  My column is called Yogamama Says.  You can check out the most recent issue of Mt. Home here.  Or you can find some recent achives of Yogamama Says on the sidebar of this website.

Since I have opened Main Street Yoga I have led special classes and workshops for  teachers, singers, writers, teens, athletes, seniors and even horn players! 

Some of the workshops  have included:
Zen Pen: Mindful Writing
Yoga and Weight Loss: The East/West Connection
Ayurveda and You
Imagery and Yoga (with Jenny Garrison)
Meditation; It’s Not What You Think

I love to work with people one-on-one, too!  I see private clients at the studio on weekends.  If you want to work one-on-one with me, give me a call.

I can also work with corporate clients: businesses, school districts, corporations and the like.  Call me to set up an appointment to discuss your needs. 

The motto of Kripalu Yoga (which is the yoga I teach and love the most) is Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch and Allow.  In that order.  It's a formula that works.  It really does.  I invite you to come to Main Street Yoga and practice with me.  I think you will really like it.