Due to the heavy weight of her saxophone, she struggled with intense shoulder pain that was constantly hanging around her neck. In order to remedy this pain, she started taking hot yoga. Through these classes she discovered her love for flowing, active movement. Her journey started when she discovered aerial classes. After a year of practicing Aerial Yoga at a studio in Brooklyn, she was invited by Laura Taylor to experience a class at Om Factory.

She began to practice at Om Factory full time. As her knowledge of the aerial arts grew, so did her passion for sharing it with others. In May 2019 she enrolled in Om Factory School of Yoga’s 50-hour Aerial Yoga Teacher Training with Kevin Bigger, Janie Prince and Kristin Corayer, then continued with OFSY’s 16-hour Advanced Aerial Yoga Teacher Training with Amanda McDonald. She then completed her Aerial Yoga Mentorship with Amanda McDonald and Kristin Corayer at OFSY in November 2019.

Sawa realized that as much as she loved flying and being in the air, she was missing the very important feeling of being grounded. She started practicing vinyasa yoga and took OFSY’s 200-hour Vinyasa Yoga Teacher Training with Kevin Bigger and Dee Holliday in November 2019.

Sawa is the saxophonist for the band “Changing Modes” along with another OFSY instructor Grace Pulliam, performing regular concerts at venues throughout NYC. Her new endeavor is playing sax in the air which combines her two favorite things: saxophone and Silks. She also has a background in jazz dance and loves aerial dance so she has been performed in the quarterly OFSY Showcases since Fall 2018. She is excited to continue growing as a performer while continuing to share her experiences with others.