Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sirena Dudgeon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sirena, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Is there a heartwarming story from your career that you look back on?
I spend a lot of time with my students and clients, one on one, getting to know their needs, their desires, their challenges, and especially their heart. In my field of astrology and yoga, I often get to know someone on a very personal level, either through exploring their natal chart, writing their personalized horoscope, or speaking to them weekly before or after yoga class. My students and clients keep coming back, for the authenticity, for the connection, and especially for the understanding.
As I started my yoga journey in 2016, obtaining my 200 HR YTT certification, I received what felt like a download of information. It was an incredible feeling to sit in training and realize that Yoga and Astrology are sister sciences. I had a deep desire to share this intricate tapestry of holistic well-being. I felt compelled to teach the convergence of ancient practices to unveil new dimensions of self-discovery and empowerment in my student’s lives. I knew I held the key to working with the cycles of life by marrying yoga and astrology in my yoga classes and workshops; two profound and time-honored disciplines, nurture the student’s mind, body, and spirit.
In the beginning, I taught in a bike shop and for community free yoga in a studio. I dabbled in “sharing the stars” by talking about the moon. I gained confidence in my ability to observe, to describe, and to lead a yoga class, it felt absolutely natural to me and I loved it with every ounce in my heart and soul. I began to teach more and more in studios, sharing more now about the Sun, Season Changes, Eclipses, and big planetary events, combining it with yogic breathwork, meditations, and asana to create a harmonious journey towards self-awareness, balance, and alignment with the cosmic rhythms.
I have so many memorable events, but my most heartfelt meet up was right before the pandemic started in February 2020. A new male student of mine was attending every Tuesday morning. After class one day, a few students and I were chatting at the end of class. This male student came up to me, gave me a giant hug and started crying. He asked me “how do you always know what I am feeling when I come into class? How do you know exactly what I need for my body and soul?”
I was so moved by his worlds, his vulnerability, that I knew exactly in that moment that I was living my exact purpose in my life. I was serving others through the practices of yoga and astrology and it was having an impact on them. I felt seen and I felt proud to share my teachings to help others. It was such a beautiful moment and the other students all shared how the knowing each week what was happening in the stars helps them navigate the challenges and also the joys of their life cycles!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
As a child, I was obsessed with the stars, I would lay in bed a night and watch the constellations change and shift above me as the seasonal wheel turned. At the library one day, I was checking out astrology books and a man noticed my books and asked if I like the subject. I told him I did and wanted to know more, at that point, he asked “Do you ever stare at a certain area of the sky when you are watching the stars?” I told him I did and described the tiny cluster of stars that were very prominent where I lived. He said “When we are drawn to a certain constellation or area of the sky, it is said that is where your soul comes from. You were looking at the Pleiades. You’ll know what I am talking about when you are older.”
I never knew what he was talking about until it clicked for me after yoga teacher training. This download of information on astrology and yoga and how there were completely interconnected. I dove deeper into the knowledge of each sign and also the natal chart, which lead me to study my Taurus Moon. Taurus is exalted in the moon, meaning it feels at home, magical, and divine here. I found out that Taurus is located in the Pleiades and it all came together, that is where my soul feels most at home and why I constantly watch this area of the sky. The moon in our chart is deeply connected to our soul. After this massive download of using yoga as a natural way to help manage, process, integrate, and understand the bigger powers at play in our Universe, I know my purpose in my life, yoga & astrology. I am passionate about teaching others how to utilize the framework of astrology to understand themselves and others better, as well as using yoga as a tool.
Life Cycles Yoga was created after I wrapped up my 300 hr. YTT and since then I am now an E-RYT 500 Yoga Teacher, YACEP Certified, and Yoga Teacher Trainer training others to follow their passion for teaching yoga as well. I share the wealth of knowledge of astrology in a way that others can learn easily and apply to their lives in a very practical way. This is my passion and gives me life, touching other’s lives and seeing how the movement of the stars connects to their life cycles. We are all ever-evolving and transforming, yoga, & astrology provide a foundational framework by which to apply and work with it purposefully.
I love being creative and making my work completely accessible to all. What I do is unique in the respect that I combine yoga & astrology, so my classes are created based on the most current transits of events happening in the sky. Why? Because those are the potent energies influencing us personally and as a collective. Take the moon for instance, a full moon we are more extroverted and expressing ourselves. We may feel more emotion, so I use breathwork to calm and nurture and may have the yoga class be more active to work through the energy. The theme and message are always pertinent to the zodiac sign that is most influential at the time. Students always say to me “How did you know it felt like this? how did you know I was feeling that? I feel so much better now!” Well, it’s because I carry the knowledge of the Universe in my pocket.
I make yoga and astrology accessible for ALL and when I know your chart, I write the horoscope, especially for you. The feedback I get from my students is important to me, I either use it to adjust or affirm. Most students say my yoga & astrology classes are compassionate, easily understandable, practical, spiritual, and useful. I adore this and am proud they feel this way. I want to share this magic because it helps us understand ourselves and others. What matters most to me is to lead from my heart with integrity, to be of service in this world, and to daily connect with Spirit through ritual. Sharing the knowledge of the history of yoga, the true ancient teachings of yoga and its divine connection with the Universe inspires me every day. Yoga is truly a way to search deeper inside and tap into the energy source, to shift and change your life.
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Oh!! I love this question, especially as a yoga teacher. If you are a yoga teacher, you will understand why. As teachers, we tend to lose site of our own practice as we get busier and busier teaching classes and taking trainings. If you are associated with Yoga Alliance, we are required to complete continued education, such as trainings, classes, workshops, reading book, etc. A lot of our time is taken up by this and also creating and teaching classes – our personal yoga practice takes a back seat. I became so involved taking trainings for certifications in restorative yoga, hatha yoga, yin yoga, and yoga nidra that I lost site of my practice.
Before becoming a yoga teacher, I used to attend classes 3-5 days per week. I would take all sorts of yoga classes such hot, power, nidra, yin, restorative and attend a meditation class every Sunday morning. However as life got fuller and I, as a teacher, business owner, manager, and busy Mama, barely could fit one class in a week. I noticed in those years of NOT attending to my own yoga practice, my life felt stressful and challenging, I wasn’t taking care of me. I was giving, giving, giving, and never receiving.
I realized I was not living my yoga. A term we often use in class, that yoga is a lifestyle, a lived practice on and off the mat.
I felt like a sham teacher, here I am instructing my students on how to meditate, how to do breathwork, how to do asana, how to live their yoga, when in truth, I no longer had my own practice. I had to change. Yoga teachers are MOST SUCCESSFUL when they are taking time to actually do the practice themselves, not just teach others. I want to be able to describe my experience, share my vulnerabilities, celebrate my wins, and gain support through my own challenges by living my yoga and sharing that with my students!
During the pandemic, I created a lovely ritual to get back into the swing of things, Of course, my classes decreased and most moved online. I dedicated 1-2 days a week for me to take a class, not teach it. I cultivated a reflection practice for mornings, lighting incense, tarot card pull, and journal writing. Every evening, I listen to a 30 minute Yoga Nidra to unwind from the day and fall asleep in meditation. I no longer teach as many classes during the week, knowing that my own practice is very important for balancing my life cycles, but also showing up with a full cup for my family, friends, and students.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Resilience. When I think of this word, the shift from in-person yoga classes to online yoga classes during March 2020 Covid beginning comes to mind. I knew my students (and my Self) would need yoga to help navigate the confusion and fear that comes with living in a pandemic and I was not going to leave them stranded! I immediately researched and signed up for Zoom, created a big email list (which has now become my very popular newsletter!), and set up a studio in my basement. I think teaching yoga and workshops helped my mental health during the pandemic. I was consistent and dependable, sharing one class a week, which blossomed to 4 classes per week online.
Looking back, I don’t think I would have EVER taught online yoga if it wasn’t for the pandemic. I was scared to be on camera, I didn’t have ring lights or a microphone, and had no idea how to set up a home studio. The drive to deliver consistency and community to students pushed me to face my fears and work through the challenges. Step by step my online yoga offerings because more professional, but never lost the intimacy and relationship that I so valued in my in-person classes. It gave me an appreciation for both offerings and now that we have moved fully back into studios, it has shaped my teachings even further. I know provide training as a trainer for those seeking to become yoga teachers, I include a course in “how to teach yoga online” – including all the essentials tools of lighting, set-up, microphones, descriptions, and how to face the big fears that come up doing something new!
Finding resiliency in my yoga teaching has provided me the courage and strength to face challenges on and off the yoga mat, especially when faced with navigating this ever changing world.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lifecyclesyoga.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifecyclesyoga/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lifecyclesyoga/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk0SBSJd2IiBbaaLQ6jrO8Q
Image Credits
I took all the photos myself