About
Ceci Orozco
Ceci’s Story
I was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and moved to Portland, Oregon in 2015. I was drawn to play and compete in different sports from an early age. That experience not only got me excited about activating my physical body but also instilled in me a passion for holistic wellness. It wasn’t long ago that the athlete within fell in love with yoga, and there’s a good reason: Experiencing mindful movement and connection with my whole self was something I was missing in the world of athletics. Yoga’s great spiritual wisdom as well as its healing and liberatory power have opened the door to be with the ever-expanding experience of Self and to connect with Source.
Shortly after I moved to the PNW, my personal and professional life took a big turn. I went from working at a financial firm in Mexico to taking a sabbatical from racquetball to finding my voice as a bilingual educator and rebuilding my connection to movement practices. And who would’ve thought that in 2016 I was going to open and manage a yoga studio? This entrepreneurial experience completely transformed my relationship with yoga and wellness. Because of it, I delved deeper into topics of power dynamics and cultural appropriation and was invited to practice the quieter aspects of yoga. Upon relocating to the PNW in 2018 I found my energy levels depleted and my mind filled with next-steps questions. That’s when I turned to the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda; my mind-body system needed to regain its vitality, not by doing more but by allowing rest and connection to nature to facilitate part of the healing process.
An embodied sense of self ~ I believe our body is a holistic system of knowing, feeling, and meaning making. As such our body holds deep wisdom that when tapped into it, we access a wealth of inner resources and our innate knowing–and that in and of itself is a revolutionary act of love, trust, and liberation.
Lastly, becoming a mother has been a transformative, empowering experience and ultimately, the container I needed to bring forth my inner gifts. Thanks for reading, I look forward to connecting with you!
Certifications: Yoga Instructor ~ 300hr Ayurvedic Clinical Foundations ~ Skill in action 75hr CE ~ Relational Herbalism ~ Postpartum Doula ~ 2nd-year Graduate student, Leadership for Sustainability Education at Portland State University.
Mi Historia
Hola soy Ceci Orozco (ella) y soy de Guadalajara, Jalisco, México. El cuidado del cuerpo y mente ha sido fundamental en mi crecimiento personal. Desde muy temprana edad he estado involucrada en la práctica de diferentes actividades deportivas, lo cual me ha impulsado a cultivar un estilo de vida activo y saludable. Cuando comencé a practicar yoga, la conexión con uno mismo, con mi cuerpo y mi respiración me cautivo. Salí de mi primera clase de yoga conectada, centrada y con mucha curiosidad por aprender más de la práctica. A mi llegada a Portland, Oregón en el 2015 me reconecté con el racquetball y con el yoga, y de ahí en adelante he estado nutriendo una de mis grandes pasiones: Compartir prácticas de mindfulness e impartir talleres y asesorías de bienestar holístico.
Para mi bienestar y salud integral son dos aspectos claves en el desarrollo del ser. Cuando estamos en sintonía con nuestro interior, somos capaces de escucharnos, poner en práctica nuestros valores, ser nosotros mismos y enfocarnos en nuestro proyecto de vida. A través de un enfoque holístico, es decir, un enfoque que contempla “el todo”—salud física, emocional, espiritualidad, conexión con la naturaleza, tus pensamientos e interacción con lo que te rodea—es posible profundizar en el autoconocimiento, restablecer balance en el sistema cuerpo-mente-espíritu y vivir en armonía.
Las sesiones personalizadas que ofrezco son una mezcla de las diferentes modalidades que he estudiado e incorporado a mi formación personal y profesional. Estas prácticas son: Yoga, movimiento somático, meditación, educación naturalista, rituales de conexión y reflexión, Ayurveda y estilo de vida holístico. Ahora que estoy viviendo la maternidad, no cabe duda que mis prácticas de moviemiento y conexión con mi cuerpo han sido mis grandes aliadas en el proceso de reencontrarme conmigo misma y con mi instinto maternal. Por eso decidí crear: Sabías raíces. Luz de luna – un espacio dedicado al cuidado integral de las mamás durante el posparto. (Para más información, te invito a que visites la sección work with me).
Mis certificaciones: ~ ERYT maestra de yoga ~ 300hr Ayurvedic Clinical Foundations ~ Skill in Action 75hr CE ~ Herbolaria Relacional, Ancestral
~Duola Posparto ~ Maestría en Liderazgo y Educación Sustentable, Portland State University (en proceso)
Aprovecho este espacio para agradecer a mis maestros: Lisa Mae, Zeyah Rogé, Allison Wesley, Richard Masla y Heather Burns.
Yoga & Embodiment Work:
Movimiento Es Liberación y Saber del Ser
I first tried yoga in college but it wasn’t until I moved to Portland in 2015 that I found myself immersed in the practice and teachings of yoga. Why Yoga? I came to yoga because at that time I wanted to improve my performance as an elite racquetball player and learn about mindfulness. While I became a better athlete, I noticed that what kept me engaged was moving my body in ways I hadn’t done before or embodying so gracefully. That led me to (re)connect with Self, awaken the spiritual heart, and plant a seed of passion for teaching. But I also noticed something else: Representation of the collective of students and teachers of color (and other identities) was missing in many of the yoga and wellness centers I was practicing at. This annoyed me because as a Mexican, Latina, and non-native English speaker, I wondered about my place in yoga communities.
As a yoga-movement educator, I aim to create welcoming and inclusive spaces and make room for honest conversations around power and privilege. To me, yoga is much more than building physical strength or being able to sit still on a meditation cushion. Rather, yoga is a practice of interconnectedness; of tending to our whole selves and becoming aware of the world around us, for this cultivates an embodied sense of self and informs right action.
“To do our work, to come into deep knowing of who we are — that’s the stuff that bringing down systems of oppression is made of.” – Rev angel Kyodo W.
A huge part of what I practice and share in my classes is rooted in the teachings and philosophy of yoga, but I also draw inspiration from my Mexican roots, somatic healing, Ayurvedic principles, and nature. More recently I’m excited to be working at the intersection of yoga and social justice, sustainability education, and sacred motherhood.
I look forward to connecting and sharing these intentional practices with you!
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I’m available for:
~ workshops and retreats facilitation
~ curriculum design
~ yoga and somatic practices in Spanish
Want to practice with me?
Why Ayurveda?
I want you to reclaim your connection to yourself and live in harmony with the cycles and rhythms of the earth.
Composed of the Sanskrit root words Ayur, which means life, and Veda, which indicates knowledge, Ayurveda is a 5,000 year-old holistic system of health that originated in India. It is known as a science of life and self-healing and aims to preserve and maintain one’s optimal health. Ayurvedic knowledge places a great emphasis on getting to the root causes of health issues as well as restoring balance to your body systems. The way Ayurveda assesses imbalances is by taking into consideration the person as a whole; it honors each person’s unique constitution and experience, and capacity for healing.
Incorporating Ayurveda practices into your lifestyle can offer you clear direction and accountable steps for living connected and more balanced lives. And when I say that, I don’t necessarily mean that your days are going to be stress-free, not at all, the challenges and messiness of the world we live in are going to come up, but with the practical tools Ayurveda provides, you will learn to access your inner resources as well as what lifestyle adjustments to make in order to face personal, daily and seasonal transitions.
AYURVEDA
Ayurveda is a vast science, but here’s one interesting thing: we do Ayurveda all the time—if it’s cold, we put a sweater on, if it’s hot, we dress with less layers and stay hydrated. All of these little things we do throughout the day and seasons, is in relation to understating how the elements of nature – ether, air, fire, water and earth – are manifesting in the human body and in the outer environment. Now imagine if you could add to that, holistic self-care practices, daily and seasonal routines, yoga and meditation, nutrition, plant medicine, and so much more. Through Ayurveda we learn how to live healthier and more harmonious lives. Its sacred and earth-based teachings empower us to take elemental action, meaning, we are able to identify when we need what from each of the great elements of nature.
A life of balance, as Ayurveda teaches, is a life attuned to the inner body, and to the greatest cycles of nature.Through listening to the emotions, symptoms, and messages sent by our own bodies, we awaken our capacity to work with the inherent wisdom of the human body; as we begin to know ourselves in a deeper way we observe how the changes in the seasons, in the weather, in our habits, food, and relationships impact (positively or negatively) our being.
Optimal health is feeling mind-body system functioning as a whole. One can’t be separate from the other, since what affects the mind has an effect in the body, and vice versa.
Interested in exploring more of Ayurveda?
contact me to schedule an Ayurveda Lifestyle consultation. Check out my blog for Ayurvedic recipes, holistic lifestyle tips, and good-soul nourishing medicine.