Magnolia took her first Mysore ashtanga yoga class in 1994 under the guidance of Noah Williams and Kimberly Flynn. In 2001 Magnolia moved to San Francisco to study Ayurveda (the sister science to Hatha Yoga). It was then that she was introduced to the classical teachings, practices and ancient traditions of the Bihar School of Yoga in Mungher India including Non-Dual Tantra and Hatha Yoga.
She first traveled to India in 2004 and met her teacher Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, master of Ashtanga Yoga. Her travels also brought her to her current Ayurvedic doctor, Dr. Anil Kumar. It has been through his teachings and yearly pancha karma treatments that remain a part of yearly studies.
Magnolia spent most of 2007 at the Bihar School of Yoga Ashrams in both Mungher and Rikhia, India. Here she deepened her studies of other traditional systems of yoga such as Raja, Karma, Jnana, Mantra, and Bhakti Yoga. Her studies in the ashram and time spent with Swami Niranjanananda and Swami Satyananda Saraswati further solidified her commitment and dedication to the yogic path.
Currently, she travels yearly to study with Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy at The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore, India. Tantra and Ayurveda continue to be the foundation of her life; an on-going practice of experience and perception into the self and ultimately into the world.
Magnolia is an authorized teacher and has received blessings from Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and Sharath Rangaswamy to teach the Ashtanga method.
