Meet Deborah
Hineni
(Here I Am)
I began my yoga journey 25 years ago, initially turning to yoga as a means to release stress. What I found was much more profound. I discovered the practice to be healing and balancing both physically and emotionally. My self-discovery led to completion of a 200 hour CYT training through Dhyana Yoga in 2008. Since then, I have continued to deepen my studies with teachers from the alignment based traditions.
My religious journey started long before my discovery of yoga. You might even say from birth. I grew up in a Conservative Jewish household, keeping kosher and attending Shabbat and holiday services. Through adulthood I kept up the traditions but started to crave something more, something deeper from the rituals. As I have continued to practice both Judaism and yoga, I have realized that they are not mutually exclusive. I sit in synagogue and hear the yogic teachings through the words of Torah. I move on my mat and feel the tenets of my religion in the postures. Through an asana practice I find I can access my Spirituality and a deeper connection to Gd in a way that aligned with and enhanced my Jewish observance. It is from this realization that Shabbhakti was born.
Off the mat, I am a parent, partner, physician and performer. I have a wonderful husband and 2 supportive kids who think I am a little nuts for doing this. I am a urologist at Thomas Jefferson University and bring my holistic and spiritual approach to the way I practice medicine. In my spare time, I am also studying acting, volunteering (and am chronically tired ☺). In those few extra minutes of the day I enjoy word games, cooking and snuggling with my dog.