Kristina Coco-Hackenjos is one of the wonderful teachers at Imagine Yoga Studio. Here is a bit more about her:
“I started practicing yoga as a form of therapy. Different doctors had been telling me to try yoga for many years (before I actually tried it) to combat the increasing severity of my anxiety/panic disorder and PTSD. I remember trying yoga at a huge gym/fitness facility and was so lost and confused. Fast forward a couple of years, I was working a corporate job and was quite unhappy. My mom gave me a gift certificate for this little studio in Tualatin and I started going there on my way home from work. It was absolutely amazing how much relief I experienced after just one class. I was completely in the moment and opening up my body and shutting down my monkey mind. This was huge for me. It is difficult to explain how it feels to live your life day-to-day in a constant state of worry and fear, however irrational. For the duration of those first few yoga classes, I felt free and at peace. The more I practiced, the more I was able to expand that freedom into my life off of the mat. This is still something that I work on. That’s one of the great things about yoga; you’re never done.
I decided to teach yoga for a couple of reasons. One was that I was feeling a deep void in the career/work aspect of my life. I wasn’t doing anything that I felt a deep connection to or found great meaning in. I wanted to do something with my life that meant something. Something that had an impact. This led me to realize the obvious second reason: I was not the only one who struggled with panic attacks…I could bring yoga and focus on helping other people find that peace and freedom that had such a profound impact on me and still does. So now as a teacher I have developed relationships and trust with people and so often hear of their struggles. But I also get to hear about their “big sigh of relief” as they settle into a more peaceful, centered state after practicing yoga. That is the best thing in the world; hearing about how much someone feels better or that they were able to shut their mind off. That is what I want to do forever. I want to create that kind of space for people to have these different experiences that allows them to sift through the crap and find a bit of themselves, a bit of peace, a bit of gratitude, a bit of inspiration. If I can spend my whole life using yoga to help make other people’s lives better, then I will have manifested meaning . . . and that’s a pretty darn good life.
Besides yoga, my life centers around my family. I have been married for almost 15 years and we have a 13-year-old son. I love animals. We have 2 1/2 giant dogs (one is a 10 week old pup but he’ll be big before we know it) Jack the Newfie, Rudy the Shepherd/Mastiff, and Dean the baby Boxer/Retriever. We like to have big and small adventures. We spend the summers playing on the river, SUPing, boating, wakeboarding, kayaking. We spend the rainy months reading, cooking, and surrounding ourselves with our very large extended family. We are also huge superhero geeks . . . attend ComiCon, watch all the shows and love the movies. Our house is often divided between DC and Marvel. Our arguments are so much more fun than politics.” Kristina Coco-Hackenjos
So in a nutshell: I love yoga, I love my family, and I love my life. If you’ve ever been to any of my classes, you know that we always start out with a moment of gratitude. Things aren’t always rainbows and butterflies, but if you’ve got gratitude then you’ve got the ticket to happiness. What you put out there will return to you. So give love and be grateful and it’ll all be good.
Kristina Teaches:
Calm on Sunday’s at 5pm
Calm Flow on Tuesday’s at 12pm
Flow on Monday’s at noon, Thursday’s at 9:30am and Saturday’s at 10:30am
