Rachel Parker

Welcome our new teacher – Rachel Parker!

“Bury your mind deep in your heart, and watch the body move by itself.” ~ Sri Dharma Mittra

Rachel Parker learned how to water ski behind her family’s yellow speedboat, Chiquita, on a tiny lake in a Michigan village. In New York City, she lived at the 92nd Street Y while attending theater school. It was at a Hell’s Kitchen gym that she first discovered the Astanga and Jivamukti styles of vinyasa yoga. Having studied Russian ballet as a teen, the breath-initiated movements made sense to her, and the present moment only awareness was nervous system-settling. Rachel took her 200 hr teacher training with Dana Trixie Flynn and Jasmine Tarkeshi at Laughing Lotus Yoga Center in 2004, and then spent a year with Leslie Kaminoff at The Breathing Project to attain an additional 100 hr certification. In 2010, she received her 500 hr certification for studies with Sri Dharma Mittra. In Los Angeles, Rachel completed numerous hours of study with Senior Iyengar teacher Anna Delury.

For Rachel, a yoga mat is a magic carpet. It’s where she gets to explore all the shapes she can make with her body and grow equanimity around the things she can and cannot do. On it, she’s able to create a more physically spacious neutral, which begets a more spacious neutral between her thoughts, words, and actions. Ease of movement on her mat translates to ease of movement through her days. With breath as a primary focus, and underpinned by music, Rachel’s classes aim to inspire fellow practitioners to grow their grace not only within the myriad postures, but also entering and exiting them. As a teacher and human being, Rachel enjoys meeting people where they are. She believes attention is our greatest quality, to give and to receive. Quality attention reinforces our intrinsic value, reminding us that we all belong to one another.

A miscellany of additional deets: Rachel collaborated with a number of French writer/directors translating, polishing, and adapting French screenplays into English including Dark Places, Crooked House, and The Deep House. Her solo show The WOLFE & The BIRD was well-received by some LA critics. Rachel’s had two bunion surgeries, a pair of dogs named Brutus and Caesar, a pair of cats named Caliban and Iago, and a Money Tree named Cassandra Wilson that, alas, did not bounce back from the arduous drive from Los Angeles.

Mid-September 2023 marks one year of residence here in Chicago. Rachel is grateful beyond measure to have found a yogic home here at Moksha, and to continue her studies under Daren Friesen and the tremendously earnest and humble community of teachers.

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” ~ Joseph Campbell

Charity: Humble Design