Snow Lion Teachers

As teachers, we always try to find a balance between seeing the deeper meaning in what we are doing while at the same time keeping a fresh, "beginner's mind" that allows us to be in the moment with the children. We meet weekly to support each other's growth, to encourage self-reflection, to integrate what we know with what we experience, and to get feedback in order to expand our awareness of personal edges and how our teaching can improve. At the same time, we are not striving to be perfect and in fact appreciate our imperfections in that they keep us humble and open. We think it is wonderful for children to see the adults in their life working with their rough edges, continuously growing and changing

2011-12 Teacher Introductions

Kristin Lhatso, Founder, Executive Director and Teacher
Growing up in California, dance and theatre arts played a major role in my early life. My first introduction to teaching came in my late teens when I taught dance to children ages 3-16. After attending college in California and CU Boulder, I finally found myself at home at the Naropa Institute, where I graduated in 1994. I started Snow Lion in 1995 and this school has been an incredible blessing to me. I have been delighted, stretched, enriched, opened, and humbled by my work at Snow Lion. For the life experiences and lessons that I have learned from this school, I am grateful…every single day in the classroom I feel waves of appreciation that I get to do the work I do. Every child I have taught has been a teacher for me. I really mean that. In my spare time I love to be with my children (who have taken it upon themselves to grow me into a continuously more refined and deep version of myself), garden, and dance. I have been working with more improvisational/contact dance forms over the last years,  which is helping me bring many of the things I have known conceptually out of my head and  down into my body. My current practice in all areas of my life is allowing whatever is naturally unfolding to emerge and deepen and to take advantage of what is instead of trying to always force things this way and that. I am trying to go with the energetic grain more and use natural timing to allow my work to be as deep as possible…this is all in contrast to my younger years when I would use sheer force and gusto to accomplish things. I am too old for that now! But in a good way! I am inspired by growth...smitten, really. I love how much more genuine I feel when I can relinquish (tiny bit by very tiny bit) the facade of control I used to think I actually had in my back pocket.