radiance yoga + wellness
5138 N. Clark St. 2nd Floor
Chicago, IL 60640

tel: 773-989-7562
email: patty@radianceyoga.com
 

Patty Sugrue/Dukh Niwaran Kaur

About my work

There is a place within each and every one of us that is still, quiet, and knows our deepest Truth. We feel this place in our relaxed, open, expansive times - maybe during spiritual practice, in a good connection with a friend or out in nature. When we feel it, we know it. It is our internal home. It is our unique sacred space.

This space is why I do my work.

In my work, I hope to give people the tools, the room, the relaxation, to go to this space within themselves and cultivate a relationship to it. Visiting that space often enough can transform us. It can take us back to who we have always known we are.

In a massage, in a yoga class, in a conversation, we can cultivate our awareness of this space. With intention, focus and guidance, we can have a rich experience of ourselves and strengthen, heal and grow.

About my background

I am certified from the Chicago School of Massage Therapy, the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodyworkers (NCBTMB), the Kundalini Research Institute and I have a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Marquette University. I have been teaching yoga and doing massage therapy since 1997. I am currently interning with the Kundalini Research Institute to prepare to train Kundalini Yoga Teachers.

I first pursued yoga to learn how to stretch. I went to many classes in many styles of yoga seeking that "fit", the intangible quality of a place that feels really right. When I stumbled into a Kundalini Yoga class I knew I had found it. I thought it was this great teacher or the chanting, but I realized it wasn't just those things, I began to feel connected to something greater. I was able to cultivate this place inside of myself that I thought was too hidden to reach. This place was me - authentically me. Through this awareness, I was able to cultivate a life that looked like me, that felt like me and that expressed my spirit most clearly.

While most of my teachers, mentors and guides have been his devoted students of over 30 years, I have had the opportunity to learn from Yogi Bhajan in person, before his death in 2004. Yogi Bhajan was the man who mastered Kundalini Yoga and brought this ancient form to the west. Attending his lectures during retreats in New Mexico have enriched my life and deepened my practice immeasurably.

My interest in massage was borne out of my yoga practice. I experienced the power of the body's wisdom and its capacity to teach us what we need to know. My yoga practice sustains and informs my massage work every day.

I also sustain and deepen my work by doing seva (volunteer work or selfless service). Currently I volunteer at the Kovler Center for Survivors of Torture giving massages to clients and teaching yoga to staff. I also teach yoga to the LGBT Youth Program at Horizons or Center on Halsted. I serve the yogic village we create at Solstice retreats as co-manager of the hospitality area.

I feel honored to reach people in this healing space. And I try to live up to the name Yogi Bhajan gave me, Dukh Niwaran Kaur, the one who removes pain from everyone.

Brian Pace

Brian Pace has been practicing yoga for over 15 years. He came to yoga because of a chronic neck problem and stayed because yoga gives him the excuse to be barefoot every day. Through the years he has studied a number of styles including Desikachar, Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Kundalini Yoga. He now focuses almost exclusively on Iyengar and Kundalini Yoga. He received his teacher's certification through Spirit Rising Yoga in Chicago.

Brian has an empathic style of teaching: gently, but firmly encouraging his students to challenge and expand themselves. His style is also informed by his study of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practices. In his classes he stresses the importance of being in the moment and opening to the higher self through body and energy awareness. The ultimate goal for each class is to achieve a deeply meditative connection with the Self.