Philosophy
Known as a “teachers’ teacher,” Annie believes that Yoga practice is a remarkable method for learning to steady the attention on what is actually happening in the moment. From this place, compassion and radical acceptance naturally evolve. Old mindsets of the illusion of separation, of me and them, and self and other, dissolve into the knowledge of wholeness.
“Although our culture tends to shrink yoga to mean only the physical, asana element I believe that yoga truly is a shamanic path, capable of leading us through transformation on all levels. Yoga reminds us what is real, and thus who we are — the light radiating from within.”
About Annie Carpenter – MS, 500EYRT
Annie Carpenter, the creator of SmartFLOW Yoga, is an international Yoga teacher based in Northern California. Known as a “teacher’s teacher” she has created a well-respected system of Yoga practice and Teaching methodology. Annie’s playful personality and focused intelligence brings depth, clarity and exuberance to her classes. A committed student of Yoga for over 40 years now, Annie continues to bring her passion and curiosity, love of anatomy, evolutionary movement, meditation and classical philosophy into her teachings. A childhood of sports and dance lead her to New York, where she danced and taught for the Martha Graham Company, in the 80s, cementing her love of movement and yoga as true sanctuaries for the soul. By the 90s, she began teaching Yoga full time. She is grateful to all of her teachers over the years, including Swami Satchidananda, Maty Ezraty, Chuck Miller, Lisa Walford, Pattabhi Jois, Trudy Goodman and many others.
Annie is the author of SmartFLOW Yoga, a complete set of practice DVDs produced by Udaya, and Yoga for Total Back Care, a DVD produced by Yoga Journal, and several SmartFLOW manuals. She contributes regularly to Yoga Journal. An influential Teacher Trainer since 2003, Annie leads 200/500 trainings and workshops globally, and at Glo.com.
Annie’s SmartFLOW Yoga is a modern approach with an anatomically sound foundation and inspired, creative sequencing. Annie’s method is rooted in deep respect and years of practice in the lineages of Integral, Iyengar and Astanga Yoga. Annie is committed to inquiry and mindfulness, which inevitably leads to spiritual development and light-heartedness. SmartFLOW Yoga guides you to know your true Self. With the knowledge of the true Self comes compassion, peace and appreciation for all life.
History
Annie started her life in Virginia, where in her teens she found both of her passions, dance and yoga. She followed her heart to New York, initially studying, and eventually performing, and teaching for the Martha Graham Studio. Annie loved the rigorous discipline and athleticism of Martha’s technique. However it was Martha’s vision of the moving body as an expression of the soul within that echoed many of the beliefs Annie had developed in her study of yoga. She traveled extensively at this time, mainly to Europe and Asia, performing and teaching.
Annie loved the energy and intensity that enveloped the New York Dance Scene, but also sought the quiet and introspection that her yoga provided. For this reason, Annie found herself at Integral Yoga’s ashram as often as possible and found her first true Yoga teacher, Swami Satchadananda.. The emphasis on community, stillness and uncovering inner peace was the perfect antidote for the competitive world of dance. In her thirties, Annie taught modern dance at Butler University, while studying Movement and Gestalt Therapies, earning an M.S. in Marriage and Family Therapy. She created movement rituals for small groups, especially for those healing from disease, specifically HIV and different types of trauma. Annie found this type of work particularly rewarding bringing together yogic principles of self-study and compassion with her love of movement. She continued to choreograph, exploring multi-site pieces and working with a mix of professionals and pedestrian dancers. During these years, Annie studied Iyengar yoga and began to shift her daily practice and teaching away from dance and towards yoga-asana.
In 1995, Annie took a sabbatical to study at Yoga Works with Maty Ezraty and Chuck Miller, the founders of YogaWorks. She continued her studies and attended the teacher training with Lisa Walford and Maty. Maty invited her to teach at Yoga Works soon thereafter and she never looked back! Annie has been fortunate to study with Dona Holleman, Gabriella Guibilano, among others and with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois several times in the United States and 2 amazing months in India in 1997. She continues to study, especially with some of today’s best Meditation teachers, including InsightLA’s Trudy Goodman. Annie’s teaching has evolved into an intelligent, yet organic SmartFLOW reflecting her love of movement and rigorous discipline. Having studied anatomy, kinesiology, and developmental movement as a dancer, her classes are informed by the body’s structure and evolution. With a great passion for creativity and metaphor, Annie loves to play with sequencing in order to take her students into a deeper understanding of a pose and, ultimately, of themselves. She believes that focusing on alignment is not just safe, but provides “points of dharana” — gateways to inner stillness and meditation. Over the years her teaching evolved into an inspired method, SmartFLOW Yoga.
After almost 15 years of teaching at YogaWorks, and 7 years leading the Teacher Trainings there, Annie moved to Exhale Center for Sacred Movement in Venice, CA in 2010 to work in a more creative milieu and evolve the SmartFLOW method. She continues to lead her SmartFLOW classes, workshops and her 200 and 500 hour Teacher Trainings, now in the Bay area, teaching at Nest-Yoga in Oakland, HAUM Mission in San Francisco, and other studios and venues in the US and abroad. She continues to travel to festivals, conferences and studios throughout the world sharing her passion and knowledge of yoga. Annie is the author of RelaxDEEPLY, a CD and Yoga for Back Care, a DVD produced by Yoga Journal, a complete set of DVDS at Udaya, and 3 online courses at YogaGlo. She is a frequent contributor at Yoga Journal. Respected widely in the yoga community, Annie has a distinctive way of being direct and intense, as well as compassionate, playful and loving.