SAHAJA SPIRIT Story

Sahaja Spirit crystalized on retreat in Big Sur, California. One day, the teacher sent us into the wild to find a sacred object. I ventured to the beach to find a treasure. On the way back, feeling discouraged that I had not yet found a shell or feather, a strand of seaweed spoke to my heart, “See the way nature moves?" The seaweed blessed my whole meandering life path as moving the way nature moves - adventuring out and returning home. This wisdom is the essence of Sahaja Spirit - trust the currents that shape you and your journey, they will bring you to the shore on which you will find your Self.

CARSON EFIRD BIO

Pronouns: she/they

I am a devoted student and teacher of yoga living on the unceded land of the Eno, Lumbee and Shakori people, now known as Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I offer creative, spiritual and nature-based asana, pranayama and meditation practices, workshops, trainings and retreats inspired by Prana Vinyasa and the philosophy of sahaja, the spontaneous flow of consciousness. I am also a DONA-trained birth worker offering holistic support to birthing people throughout their prenatal journeys; and, as a Shamanic Reiki Master Practitioner, all of my offerings are infused with energy healing.

I have been sharing the practice of yoga since 2005 when I completed my 200-hour teacher training with ISHTA Yoga in New York City while earning my BA in dance from Bennington College in Vermont. In 2006, I opened my first yoga studio, YogAsana South, later to become EVOLVE Yoga and then EVOLVE Movement, in Raleigh, North Carolina where I first met Shiva Rea. I received my 300-hour Prana Vinyasa certification in 2009, and served as an assistant, mentor and affiliate teacher trainer for Samudra: Global School of Living Yoga until 2019. In 2010, I moved to Los Angeles to pursue my MFA in Dance from UCLA's Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance where I was also a Teaching Associate in Yoga until 2013. From 2014-2016, I returned to Raleigh to direct the yoga program at EVOLVE Movement, and in 2017 I opened SAHAJA S P A C E in Durham, North Carolina.