Tiffany Cruikshank is the founder of Yoga Medicine. “Yoga Medicine is about understanding the body from a western viewpoint & fusing that with the richness of the traditional practice of yoga to get a potency that applies to the modern day person in order to support the overwhelmed, overburdened medical systems of the world,” she says.
Learn with Tiffany at Wanderlust Snowshoe this June! For tickets and more information, click here.
Wanderlust: What did your child self want to be when you grew up?
Tiffany Cruikshank: I’ve studied holistic medicine and yoga since I was 14 so ever since then I’ve studied and trained to do just that. Really every part of my life since then has been all about that. I spent the last two decades with my head in a book and my hands on a yoga mat. The first decade I spent in school doing my pre-med, Chinese medicine and sports medicine training. The past decade has been spent working with patients and students, integrating that and sharing it with my community.
WL: Do you have a favorite inspirational video?
WL: What is your favorite yoga pose?
TC: I love half moon because it teaches integrated core strength and balance and it’s a great transition pose as well.
WL: What about your least favorite?
TC: Bow pose, my tight back.
WL: What do you love about what you do?
TC: I love teaching people to understand the context behind the poses anatomically, so that they can learn to use and adapt them in a more powerful way with their students. I love demystifying the practice. There are so many traditions and styles that can be helpful but also many that are just plain silly. If you understand how the body works, you can learn to make sense of it all instead of blindly following what someone tells you should work for everyone.
WL: What challenges you about what you do?
TC: I love pushing myself to learn and grow and adapt. I love finding ways to adapt my practice to my needs to be my medicine in many forms. Right now I’m really enjoying the process of building a community and a resource for people to deepen their understanding of the intersection of yoga and medicine. It’s stretching me in a whole new way.
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Tiffany Cruikshank is the founder and visionary behind Yoga Medicine, a community of expert yoga teachers focused on fusing the best of anatomy and western medicine with the traditional practice of yoga. Over the past 20 years of teaching yoga, Tiffany’s classes have evolved to reflect her creativity and passion for using yoga as a form of medicine for the mind, body, and spirit. With her medical background in acupuncture and sports medicine, her classes are guided by a strong anatomic focus and her ability to teach a deeper understanding of complex subjects. Recognized more broadly as a health and wellness expert, Tiffany has worked with professional athletes and celebrities from around the world.