MISSION
My vision for Souk is to bring together artists, designers, DJs, and practitioners of yoga, creating connections to last a lifetime. Traditionally, a place where people put aside their differences to exchange goods and information. In Sanskrit, Sukh सुख् is referred to as a place centered in joy and ease of being. The Souk is all about exchange - exchange of talent, knowledge, energy, and products.
ABOUT
My life began with an unusual upbringing in war-torn Beirut, where at any given moment we had to drop everything to hide underground for shelter. Learning to live in the moment was our code and unknown to me at the time, a training. Eventually, I would find full expression of this code in the practices and teachings of Yoga.
Growing up this way taught me to make the most of each day, finding beauty and joy in the here and now. During this unstable period, playing competitive tennis was the only grounding and empowering outlet I had. It enabled me to direct my energy into a practice, which taught me about the power of discipline and how it leads to a special kind of freedom. My training on the court also seems to have paved the way for my devotion to the practice of Yoga in the years to come.
During these years I also found myself taking refuge in music, which has played a defining role in my life as a means of self-expression ever since. Music has the powerful capacity of dropping us into the present and with that, it became a reliable source I could trust. From the dance floors in Paris (where I did my undergrad studies) to Twilo in New York City (where I attended The Stern School of Business at NYU for my MBA), I discovered music to be the one universal language with the power to connect people from different backgrounds through a shared experience. Coming from my childhood, this revelation was transformative.
Now, music plays an essential role in illuminating my classes. Vibe is key, and I love to curate a playlist that echoes the narrative of the sequence and teaching being transmitted. What truly activates this symphony though is the energy of the class, with students mat-to-mat sweating “holy water” alongside each other, all of us co-creating another step forward in our evolution.
I believe that the practice of yoga asana is a platform and true mirror for individual growth and acceptance by bringing together people from all walks of life with a shared interest and passion. Co-existing in this space, or Souk as I call it, generates an overwhelming feeling of similarity and sameness that we so often try to deny ourselves as we aspire to differentiate ourselves in order to stand out. My vision and intention is to promote this movement through the teachings of Yoga by holding the space for each student to experience their highest potential and with that, the richness of the present moment.