Anna Cristina Manalastas

At the age of 25, Anna Manalastas found a big gaping hole in her life despite her promising career in the biggest film production company in the country. Knowing that she won't find what she was looking for in the corporate world, she made a bold decision to resign and let her heart lead the way to a more fulfilling life - whatever that may be. Little did she know that on the day that she handed in her resignation letter, she would find the most unexpected answer to her quarter-life crisis.

It was a simple need to keep her body fit for her pole dancing classes that made her try out yoga during her transition out of her previous career. The first class she attended was a Led Ashtanga class that she surprisingly fell in love with because of the challenges she encountered and the teacher who eased her into the sequence. That ignited the first spark that would lead her to pursue a career as a yoga teacher.

Inspired by the yoga teachers who helped her and rejuvenated by the subtle effects of yoga on her life, Anna felt like a huge load was lifted as she was being drawn deeper and deeper into the principles and values that embody yoga. Yoga became a peaceful moving meditation for her and she knew right away that this is where she belonged.

Four months into teaching yoga, Anna grows more and more in love with this holistic practice. Not only is it a career, but it is also a sympathetic and compassionate lifestyle to other beings. Anna believes more and more that her life has become more fulfilling because it is also an offering and a service to other beings in the planet.

Anna humbly thanks Anna Carbonell, Clayton Horton, Will Lau, and Petri Raisanen for helping her deepen her understanding of yoga and looks forward to meeting other teachers to connect with and learn from in the future.