Claire Este McDonald

Claire came to yoga in 2001, just after having her second child and third back surgery. From the very first OM, she knew that she had found home in her body again. The journey was tumultuous. Slowly she started to heal her body from the many injuries incurred from being a competitive marathon runner, swimmer, and overall fitness enthusiast for the majority of her life. As she started to improve her body and spirit, she soon found teaching yoga not only a desire, but also a necessity. "I found it imperative to share yoga and this life process with everyone. As a teacher, to be able to be a part of supporting someone in connection, whether it be in finding presence in their body, love in their heart, or serenity in their being, is a beautiful thing that needs to be cultivated and shared with everyone".

Prior to teaching yoga, Claire was educated at Northeastern University in Boston. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing as well as Anatomy and Kinesiology (study of movement) and worked as an Emergency and Critical Care Nurse for 14 years in the Boston area. Although Claire was stimulated and thrived in her nursing career, a deeper calling for more preventative measures of health and vitality were calling her. "After I had my children I realized that I could no longer live my life the way that I was. I was caring for everyone else in ways that led me to feeling depleted all the time. It was through my own need to heal that I came to yoga and started my journey towards wholeness and wanting to share this process with others".

Teaching yoga was the perfect opportunity for Claire to integrate her passion for movement and healing into one forum. "When we get our ideas about ourselves out of the way, anything is possible. Listening and feeling our internal rhythms, heart beat and breathe, and moving with consciousness and integrity, we become an antenna to connect to a bigger, more beautiful life. Even if there is pain, it is still okay. Somewhere in the pain is a center that allows us to be at peace with what is. Our bodies are beacons for something that lies deeper within us. When we get injured it means that something somewhere is misaligned and screaming out for awareness. It is a calling for a deeper level of care and awareness. It is only when we slow down and listen can we start to heal".

Claire is a Certified Baptiste Power Vinyasa Flow Yoga Teacher. She has traveled abroad with the Baptiste Power Yoga Institute, assisting Boot Camps and Teacher Trainings, for the past 4 years. She currently teaches Anatomy and Kinesiology, Assisting, and Alignment workshops to yoga teachers and students. She is constantly humbled and reminded of the magnificence in life by her greatest teachers: her two children.

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