About Maura

Maura Brickman-YM 500/E-RYT200/RYT300

Hi Everyone!  Thank you for visiting my website!  My name is Maura and I am a yoga instructor living in the mountains of Colorado.  I teach in person yoga and self-myofascial release (MFR) classes locally near Vail and Beaver Creek ski resorts. I also teach 2 live online classes each week that are recorded and accessible via my online yoga studio for monthly members. Additionally, I am available for in person or online private yoga sessions if you are interested in a more personalized experience. 

My yoga background 

I have been teaching yoga for over 20 years and have experienced a wide range of yoga practices and philosophies. As a yoga teacher and practitioner, I choose to focus on the science behind the physical practices of yoga and breath, and how that connection can naturally influence our nervous system and mental health in positive ways. I do not believe that yoga is a cure all or that there is only one way to practice or participate, but rather that yoga can be a self care tool that you use in combination with other systems of support in your life. My goal is to create a feeling of health and balance by adapting yoga sequences and techniques to meet those needs for myself and the students I teach. I offer a variety of classes in my online yoga studio ranging from challenging vinyasa, to slow flow, and recovery practices such as Yin yoga, meditation, restorative yoga, and self myofascial release (MFR).

My training journey

I was first introduced to the Yogic Sun Salutations as a warm up when I was a springboard diver in high school.  That's when my curiosity of yoga began. As a former diver and gymnast, the physical movements of yoga feel similar in many ways. When I tried a yoga class as a teen, I mostly laughed a lot with other friends who joined me. Then, a few years later, once in college during my freshman and sophomore years, I began to feel significant stress and anxiety.  At that point, I ended up speaking to a counselor who recommended yoga and breathing techniques to calm my mind and body. I then began taking more yoga classes on a regular basis. I enjoyed the challenge of the poses, and how it made me feel overall. I was also an avid skier/snowboarder growing up, and after experiencing pain in my back after years of repetitive wipe outs, I sought relief via chiropractic care. That is when I made the connection and realized that when my back felt better after an adjustment, if I wanted it to remain in proper alignment, I would need to strengthen the muscles around the bones as an attempt to keep things in place and prevent future pain. Once realizing that a main benefit of the yoga postures could be to help maintain better physical alignment, I was even more interested. I liked that I could do something enjoyable that supported my mental health while also relieving physical pain and providing a possible preventative measure for injuries. I'm not saying that I don't ever need an occasional adjustment or hands on therapy from a specialist, but I do feel that yoga plays an important role in self care. For physical health, mental health, work, lifestyle, sports, and activities, the tools of yoga are a valuable source of support. I especially like how we can adapt what we do in a yoga practice to meet the needs that we have at any given moment in life depending on where we are at in our own personal journey. 

Kundalini Yoga (part of my background, but the training was run by a harmful cult, and I have chosen to no longer teach, practice, or promote these techniques.)

Once I finished college, and was dating my now spouse, I discovered Kundalini Yoga (KY).  This practice was very interesting to me, as I felt a very powerful effect after experiencing it for the first time, due to the intensity of the practice and unique breathing techniques.  It was different than anything else I had come across, with the breath work and mantras. The claims of it being an ancient technology designed to help numerous mental and physical ailments each one with it's own specific "Kriya" sparked my curiosity. I was enchanted by this "secret/sacred" practice and enjoyed the "high" that it gave me, which is what inspired me to dive deeper into its traditions. I participated in a White Tantric Yoga class in NM in 2003 where I again felt a profound and interesting experience. Then in 2005 I went to New Mexico for a 21 day 200hr YTT in this tradition. This is something I would like to write more about separately someday, but for now I just wanted to share with you that this was part of my yogic journey and has made an impact on how I see things today. I no longer practice nor teach KY due to the fact that the "guru" founder was a criminal and did things that are not in alignment with my morals or ethics. I do not agree that you can "separate the teacher from the teachings" when the teacher made most of it up in order to create a cult and gain power over vulnerable people who were eager to learn and had good intentions. The time I spent in NM was an emotional and profound learning experience for me. I met nice people who also had no idea what was going on behind the scenes. I felt the benefits of the yoga movements and postures that I learned, and practiced when I was there. I will say that at times I felt more activated likely due to the heavy breathing and intense meditation practices, and in hindsight, I can see now that some of those practices weren't actually as beneficial for me as I had thought. I also found it strange when the training ended and a bunch of people decided to stay and change their legal names. I left feeling a bit sad and confused, but chalked it up to my "healing journey" at the time. Luckily, I had a relationship and dogs outside of this community, so once I got back to my life, I just continued on my own the techniques that I thought helped me the most. I did teach KY for a few years afterwards, but eventually stopped once I became pregnant with my first child. At that point, KY didn't support my physical body pre- or post-natal needs. The rigorous movements caused pain and irritation so I decided to only practice on my own some of the more gentle meditations. At this point, I was mostly doing vinyasa/hatha yoga and teaching that to the public. Once the truth about YB and the organization came out in 2020, and I realized the gravity of those accusations, was when I decided to fully stop practicing KY and condemn the behaviors of this group. As the years pass, I continue to learn more and more about the dangers of cults, "systems of abuse", and the tactics they use as way to recognize it when I see it, to protect myself, and to heal from this past experience of deception that was advertised as and meant to be considered a space of "wellness", healing, and safety. 

Hatha/Vinyasa Yoga

After that first YTT experience, and as a new teacher, I continued to take classes in Hatha and Vinyasa yoga with some of my favorite instructors at the studios where I worked. That is when I became motivated to take another 200hr YTT in 2009, this time in Hatha/Vinyasa Yoga Interdisciplinary. So, at the end of the ski season that year, I traveled from Colorado to Massachusetts (my state of origin) to study for a month with Jennifer Yarro at Frog Lotus Yoga in the Berkshires. This training consisted of a small group of all women. It was a positive experience, this time at an active yoga studio where we were not only immersed in our yogic studies but also had the opportunity to apply and observe what we were learning in real time by being able to attend and participate in the public classes once we completed our studies for the day.  I feel this training gave me a solid foundation of the basics of all types yoga, its traditions, philosophies, meditation, anatomy, asana (poses), sequencing, and how to teach and assist students verbally, using props, and hands on.

In 2010 is when I took my first class with Tiffany Cruickshank at a yoga festival in Colorado. I immediately appreciated her detailed cueing and anatomy-based approach, particularly for shoulder stability and chaturanga, areas that had always felt challenging in my own body. Over the following years, while raising three children and continuing to teach, I explored many different styles and instructors, both in person and online. I found myself consistently drawn to Tiffany's scientific, anatomy based methodology and the practical results I experienced in my own practice. When her advanced trainings became available online in 2020, I began working toward completing the additional 300 hours required to earn my 500-hour certification with Yoga Medicine®. The training modules included in depth study of anatomy, joint function and dysfunction, and therapeutic yoga applications for specific regions of the body such as the shoulders, hips, and spine, as well as specialized course work in myofascial release, athletes, and women's health. As part of the certification process, I completed case studies and presented them to the teaching team. This training prepared me to work one-on-one with clients in a more therapeutic capacity, including conducting intake assessments, identifying goals, and developing individualized plans using evidence informed yoga applications and self-myofascial release techniques.

Online Yoga Studio

In 2021, I launched my online yoga studio, where my classes reflect the cumulative knowledge I've gained through years of study, teaching, and hands-on experience across multiple training programs. For a full list of my certifications and continuing education please visit my Certifications page.

What keeps me practicing yoga

I am so grateful to have had access to in person and online yoga classes and trainings over the years, as it has been in many moments in my life, a saving grace for my sanity, especially while in the throws of extreme stress. I have this one "constant", my yoga practice, where I can take a break from everything else and take time to myself to reset and recharge. Practicing yoga reconnects me to my physical body, reminds me to recognize my strength, calms my nervous system, and relieves many of the aches and pains that come with the demands of my life, mentally and physically. It is something that I can do for myself that makes me feel good, and I choose to teach and share these techniques with others in the hopes that they leave my classes feeling good too.