Hola! Mucho gusto.

I’m Michelle Margaret Fajkus, the creator of Yoga Freedom. 

Yoga has saved my life 10,000 times. My longtime practice has empowered me to thrive as a human being, teacher, writer, friend, partner and mother. 

I’m a yogi, mother, partner, writer, poet, editor, translator and teacher, among other things. I’ve been practicing yoga since 1993, teaching since 2002 and leading retreats since 2010. Since 2012, I’ve lived with my family on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala.

“All life is yoga.”
~Sri Aurobindo

Thanks to yoga, I am alive and thriving.

I was born on a full moon on Friday, May 30, 1980 in Texas, USA. Astrologically speaking, I’m a Gemini sun with Libra rising and Sagittarius moon, 6 Kej (in the sacred Mayan calendar), and a Metal Monkey (in Chinese/Tibetan astrology). 

Growing up in the Austin, Texas area, I stumbled upon yoga in 7th grade and was immediately hooked. I completed a 200-hour hatha yoga certification program at Yoga Yoga in Austin in May 2002. I simultaneously graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s degree in advertising, which led to a wee bit of cognitive dissonance and a quarter-life crisis of sorts.

In 2003, I moved to California and dabbled in zen meditation in the Bay area. I landed a temp job at pre-IPO Google and got myself fired weeks later. I launched my yoga teaching career, which led to teaching a dozen weekly classes at gyms and yoga studios across the Bay area.

In 2004, I returned to Texas in a daze (to make a long story short) and in mid-2005 had a nervous breakdown. I was committed to the Austin State Hospital for 10 days, a stone’s throw from my favorite yoga studio (Dharma Yoga, then on 34th and Guadalupe). During the first five days, I was tranquilized twice for breaking rules. I soon realized I needed to be on my best behavior and was released five days later.

I regained sanity, became a bilingual third-grade teacher and bought a cottage in south Austin. In 2009, I moved to Guatemala City where I worked for three years. I began to co-lead weekend yoga retreats in 2010 and led my first weeklong retreat in 2017. 

Since 2012, I’ve lived on Lake Atitlan in the Guatemalan highlands. I enjoy everyday views of three magnificent volcanoes and the magical lake. I’ve been blessed to lead or co-lead many small group yoga and mindfulness retreats here at the lake over the past several years.

Since 2015, I’ve worked at Villa Sumaya retreat center in various capacities. In 2023, I joined the team at Bambu Guest House.

The yoga I teach integrates hatha, dharma, kundalini, slow flow and yin; pranayama (breathing practices); mindfulness; writing practice and the sacred Mayan calendar.

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