Be genuinely inspired by Jennifer Kim

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There is something so genuinely kind and loving about Jennifer Kim. I have had the pleasure of knowing her for a few months and am grateful to be in the presence of this Yogi. She truly walks the talk. 

Here is why you should be inspired by her:


1. How long have you been teaching?

 I've been teaching for 10 months.
2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?
 I wanted to share the light that I've discovered within me with others and I think more importantly, I had a strong desire to serve my community. I've learned that I will always be a student regardless of being a teacher. There's so much information around us to learn and to integrate into our own daily practice. I've learned that I learn most from my students. 
3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow teacher?
I continue to learn a lot from colleagues, but the key things I've learned from my fellow teachers are to use specific and effective key words/ verbiage and, to not take anything personally.
4. How many times a week do you practice?
I practice about 4-5 times a week. 
5. Who inspires your practice?
Everyone does! I truly feel like everyone inspires me in some way or another with my personal practice. 
6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?
I need to feel it and learn it in my body before I allow myself to teach others. Being a compassionate teacher is very important to me because I know that we all carry some kind of burdens whether that may be physical or mental, and only when I experience it in my own body and in my own mind is when I can become a better teacher to others because I can relate.
7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?
Love + Trust.
8. Where are you currently teaching?
I currently teach at Hot8Yoga and privates. 
9. How has yoga helped your character develop?
Yoga has helped me practice more love and patience in myself and in others.
9. What has kept you practicing all these years?
To stay connected to my mind, body, and community. 
10. What would you tell yourself when you started teaching yoga?
Two things: 1. I can do all things through God. 2. I want to serve others. 
11. What are the best ways to start teaching at a yoga studio?
 The best way would probably be to take classes at the specific studio you wish to teach at or take the teacher training. 
12. Why is breath so important in your practice?
I love that you asked this question! Breath allows my body to stay engaged, to relax, and to bring circulation blood flow. When I breathe, I have more physical and mental endurance. I also feel more connected to my body. 
13. What is your FB name? IG name and twitter?
IG: jennifer.k.ys

Amandla: Unleash your inner-power

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Join Hali Tsotetsi and Garrett Steagall on a 5-day and 4-night retreat in Cape Town South Africa. From February 4th-February9th, 2019.


CLICK HERE: 

https://biologiquelife.com/amandla/

 

1. Why is practicing yoga so important you you?

Yoga brings me back to myself. It allows my feet to touch the ground and walk knowing that I am on a journey worth walking in. Yoga means union and solidifies the union with me and God, me and The Universe, me and The Earth, me and other people, me and animals and, me and myself.


2. What does yoga mean, to you?

Union. Embracing peace in its many forms. 


3. How do you guide your students through their yoga practice?

With discipline, love and compassion. Anatomy is important to me but I also acknowledge that everyone’s body is different.

4. Why are you most excited about going to South Africa?
I am South African and our history makes me so proud. We have survived. We have survived African domination, European domination and Neo- Colonialist domination. If you ever visit South Africa, the streets are alive with love and hope. People genuinely smile when they say hi and we don’t hold onto un-necessary issues. Our history has forced us to forgive.


5. What do you want to promote by going there?

Inner-power is important and always possible.


6. Who is going to benefit from this retreat?

Anyone who is seeking a journey back to their inner truth. Your personal truth is powerful.

7. How do your nutrition sessions help you teach about power?

As someone who has suffered from eating disorders and terminal anemia, I know the power of nutrition. Like the saying goes, ‘You are what you eat’ meaning that what you eat has an effect on what you think, how you think, your efficiency and overall wellbeing.

 

 

Meet The Truly Inspiring Cornelius Jones Jnr.

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There is something truly remarkable about Cornelius Jones! It is clear that he teaches from a place of purpose and intention. I am also impressed by his choice of music during class. Which is Afro-based and a reminder of the connection we all have to our rhythmic and intuitive roots.  

Here is more from Cornelius:

 

1. How long have you been teaching?
6 years

2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?
I discovered a heated vinyasa class back in NYC at a time during my life when I needed yoga the most. I needed to rest and recharge from a busy and at times anxiety driven life as a Broadway performer, stacked on top of completing a tough Masters program at NYU, and ending a tumultuous and toxic intimate relationship. That place of deep physical and emotional exhaustion had caught up to me, and I needed a true reset.  I was offered an opportunity to work in Las Vegas for a few months.  While packing up to move west, I toyed around with the idea of teaching. I moved to Vegas for 8 months to work in a show and there in Vegas I met a teacher who inspired me so much and that idea of teaching spoke louder than the previous time.  Literally during my first week in LA, in a yoga class, there was an announcement about a teacher training starting in 5 days and I signed up right away.  I knew it was the time to grow, to be with myself, and around other like-minded individuals.  Teaching & practicing yoga jointly and consistently has been the perfect medicine for me emotionally, creatively, and spiritually.  I am most at ease and happy with my life.
3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow teacher?
A moment is what it is, a moment. Try to have no attachments to the good the bad and the in-between.You make the choose to either live in that one moment forever or prepare to enjoy fresh moments approaching.
4. How many times a week do you practice?
Atleast three times a week.
5. What inspires your practice?
The many physical and emotional benefits that yoga can offer you.
6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?
It is necessary because I need that emotional balance and that reminder to breath and stay centered during every moment of my life.
7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?
Oneness, Co-Create, CoExist, Artistic Freedom, Strength, Creative Expression, Courage, You are perfect who and complete as you are, Health is Your Wealth, Resilience, YOU ARE ENOUGH!
8. Where are you currently teaching?
I currently teach group classes at Hot 8 Yoga, Independently contracted as a Creative Arts & Movement therapist for a small company that serves the drug & alcohol rehabilitation community,  and I lead teacher trainings and yoga retreats independently as well.

9. How has yoga helped your character develop? Yoga has allowed me to be a better listener, more effective with language skills& the art of communication and more accountable for my actions.

9. What has kept you practicing all these years?The balance between work, life and playtime. When something is off in my personal life, it's normally because I'm out of my yoga practice.
10. What would you tell your self when you started teaching yoga?
Well, when I started teaching, I was very focused on providing an experience for my students. And, today, I still  am focused on providing an exceptional experience. It was not so much of me having to pump myself up, but I was mostly focused on how can I make this the best experience for them.
11. I loved the Afro influence of music in your class. Any particular why you have chosen this type of music?
EXPERIENCE.  EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE.  Yes, my music choice is all about an experience. The Afro beats are fully grounding and it roots you into the practice. It also roots and grounds me into my teaching practice.
12. Why is breath so important in your practice?
Without breath you have nothing. If you're not breathing you're not living. You're not going to get the most effective experience. If you're not breathing, you're not listening to what your body is allowing you to experience.
13. What is your FB name? IG name and twitter?
I'm more active on IG: @corneliusjonesjr  You can also catch me on FB:  Cornelius Jones Jr.Twitter, I'm there but definitely not much:  corneliusjonesj.
This is my website: corneliusyogaburn.com for info about classes, private sessions, teacher trainings, and upcoming retreats. 

Evan Sun is ultra-inspiring!

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You can tell by Evan’s practice that he is inspiring. He took my class when we both lived in New York in 2014 and I was prompted to ask him an array of questions because he left a mark on me.  

Now, you can be inspired by him, as a person and a teacher: 

1. How long have you been teaching?I have been teaching for 5 years. 

 

2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?
I was motivated to teach after I started practicing yoga more consistently. I thought it was a great way to deepen my understanding of the practice and help me towards a new path in my journey. I learned so much from teaching yoga especially from my students. From each student, the yoga is represented in different ways as each body is, of course unique and different. I found ways to read bodies and learn how to give variations of asanas, helping my students understand and connect to their practice.

 

3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow teacher?
"Sometimes less is more". I realized that everyday, our bodies are different, and so is the practice. While practicing yoga, it should never feel like we are practicing yesterday's poses today and if it does, I feel like its purely the mind's perspective of the present experience. We, as yoga practitioners, create our own experiences in our practice.

 

4. How many times a week do you practice?
         I try to practice at least 4-5 times a week.

 

5. What inspires your practice?
         Building a connection between mind, body, breath, and spirit.

 

6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?
          I don't feel like its necessary to practice. Yoga for me is never an obligation and if it does, I would take a break, which i have before. There is a difference between doing yoga to live and living to do yoga.

 

7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?
          Take action regardless of the fruits of your labors.

 

8. Where are you currently teaching?
           I currently teach at Powerhouse gym in South Hackensack, NJ
9. How has yoga helped your character develop?
           Yoga has changed my perspective of reality. To notice things i would normally get upset about and realize its not worth it or to take deep breaths when im stress.

 

10. What has kept you practicing all these years?
The way yoga has made me feel mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
11. What would you tell yourself when you started teaching yoga?
           "Fake it till you make it" I was never good at public speaking so I told myself I am good. It helped me build the courage until it became real.
11. What are the best ways to start teaching at a yoga studio?
          Practice yoga at studios you would be interested in teaching. Get to know the studio owner and take a few classes.
12. Why is breath so important in your practice?
 Breath is what connects mind, body and spirit. Without breath there is no life.
13. What is your FB name? IG name and twitter? Evan Sun for FB and Evansunyoga for IG. No twitter.

Inspiration should be her middle name, meet Rose Erin Vaughn!

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 I am a huge fan of Erin Vaughn. She has humbling left a foot-mark on the yoga community. Particularly on The East Coast. 

 

She has has taught me so much, including the importance of knowing anatomy as a yoga teacher. She has a way of being articulate and sincere from a loving perspective. When she looks at you, you can feel her heart.

I am very grateful for her and would love to share her inspiration with our interview with her below:  

 

When did you decide to become a yoga teacher?

When I took my original training in 2001, I did not plan to teach. I have seen many people like this who just want to study, but then later realize that part of living, studying and practicing Yoga means TEACHING yoga also.  I started teaching yoga at a yoga studio and at a hospital cardio rehab center.  Then, once I came to New York in 2003, I wanted to continue teaching.  Well, in NYC there is huge competition.  So, I could not get a job teaching anywhere.  The studios and gyms wanted a fancy video (VHS!) of you teaching a group class and I did not have one. Plus I needed to study more.  I had other work doing massage therapy.  SO I studied with Sri Dharma Mittra for a lot more years before I started realky teaching again.


2. What has been the best part of your yoga journey? (Anything major that yoga has helped you through.)
Yoga helps me through everything.  I think it is not the outside circumstances that challenge us or reward us the most.  Its is the inner drama that can really bring us down or elevate us.  That is what Yoga helps with. No one can know what is going on inside your head and heart.... only You and the divine.


3. Who are your inspirations in the yoga community?

Sri Dharma Mittra, Yoshio Hama, Hector Marcel, Nevine Michaan, Amma

4. Please tell us about the teacher-trainings that you are offered?

We are offering a 200-hr teacher training and a 300-hr advanced certification.

I focus on embodied practice.  What you cannot feel and see inside, you cannot teach.

We use the meridian and chakra systems to help illuminate the inner world - physically, emotionally, spiritually.

It is quite a vast system that could be studied for years. But, we have created a system that allows new students to learn and apply the basic right away. We also offer Acupressure certifications for those who want to learn more about meridians and points and how to manipulate them manually.

5. Please tell us about the healing work that you offer?

I also do Acupuncture sessions in my office in Manhattan NYC.  I specialize in combining traditional acupuncture with trigger point dry needling.  Its great for athletes but also psycho-emotional of stress related issues. I treat a lot of Yogis!

6. What is your message to spread to others through teaching yoga?
As a teacher, the best qualities are patience, clarity of purpose, discipline, compassion.  That is also what I think students should develop.  The main thing is to remember the ultimate purpose behind all of the learning and practicing - to help others, to remove the obstacles that prevent us from seeing the real Self. This Self is not separate from others. 


7. Please tell us your Instagram name and Facebook name?

instagram : @erin_bodyware

Facebook : Rose Erin Vaughan

*FOR MORE INFORMATION ROSE ERIN’S TT, VISIT: https://www.scienceofselfytt.com/ 

Be inspired by Jessica Kulick!

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There is something so sweet and sincere about Jessica and the yoga class that she offers. 

To me, kindness can be very powerful. And, Jessica embodies this. 

Please, be inspired by Jessica Kulick.  

 

1. How long have you been teaching?

I started teaching in September 2012, so just about six years.

2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?

I hadn’t been doing yoga very long when I decided to enroll in teacher training—I’d only started practicing regularly in late April 2012 and by June, I was already in TT! I had tried yoga once or twice many years earlier, but didn’t connect to the styles I experienced. The smells were funny, the chanting was weird, and I couldn’t understand the names of the poses. It wasn’t until I found a challenging power vinyasa practice that I truly fell in love with it. I remember lying in Savasana after that first class and just...feeling. I could feel my body, I could feel my breath, I could feel the edges of my thoughts. I had never felt so deeply or completely before, and I knew right away that I wanted to share that with others.

Through teaching, I’ve learned how to use the full force of my presence to be immersed in the moment and how to create the opportunity for others to do the same.

I’ve learned that I do not need the protective emotional armor I used to wear all the time; now I whip it out only when the situation requires.

I’ve learned that mistakes are an opportunity to exercise improvisation.

 

3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow teacher?

When I started teacher training, I knew so little about yoga I couldn’t have told you the difference between Reverse Warrior and Up Dog. So nearly everything I know about this practice has come from another teacher.

The lesson that sticks out to me most though is that abundance begets abundance. Before then, I never understood that I had always been subconsciously participating in a story of scarcity. That was five years ago. Now, I still find myself repeating those old stories of “not enough” (enough money, enough opportunity, enough skill, enough whatever), because old habits die hard. The difference now is that I don’t believe them, and I’m aware enough to notice myself and adjust in the moment.

 

4. How many times a week do you practice?

This fluctuates wildly for me depending on my personal life. At the beginning, I practiced at least six times a week for usually an hour—or more—per day. I became overly flexible, to the point where now I’ve scaled back my practice to once or twice a week, for about 60-75 minutes per session, and work mostly on strength training instead.

 

5. Who inspires your practice?

My students. My fiancé. My friends who are fellow teachers (there are a lot of these!). My pets. I’ve learned a lot just from watching my cat and dog stretch and rest.

 

6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?

I find my asana practice to be both creative and meditative. My own practice is what inspires my teaching and sequencing for the week—as I move, I’ll note what feels particularly juicy or revealing. Did I find fearlessness in a backbend where I haven’t found it life? Did that arm balance feel like the sense of power I’m seeking? Does forward folding feel like relief?

By practicing, I tap into what I’m hungry for, a healthy way to satisfy needs, and the inspiration needed to bring those learnings to others.

 

7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?

I don’t have just one message. Week after week, I use my classes to explore themes like liberation, resistance, presence, and ease. There seems to be a very heavy emphasis on things like “your message” and “your life’s purpose” in the wellness industry right now. I would argue that, for most of us, our purpose and our message will be in a constant state of flux as we change and grow as humans. At least, mine does.

8. Where are you currently teaching?

I teach at Jewel City Yoga in Brooklyn. I also take on the occasional one-on-one client. 

 

9. How has yoga helped your character develop?

Ha, how hasn’t it?! Yoga has been one of the most powerful tools for my personal development and growth as an adult. So much of my unconscious mind became conscious to me, and I became the change agent of my own life. Because I became aware of my own inner monologue—and, more importantly, my capacity to alter and refine it—I became the creator of my own life. While life hasn’t stopped happening to me, it feels a lot more like I’m also happening to life.

 

10. What has kept you practicing all these years?

It helps that many of my friendships have yoga as a shared foundation and common language, so we often practiced together or swapped new tricks and techniques that kept things fresh and interesting for many years.

These days, my practice is mostly at home, though I do still make time to take class. I keep practicing because I’m driven to seek knowledge and to become a master of myself.

 

11. What would you tell yourself when you started teaching yoga?

“Slow down.” As a native New Yorker, I’m just hardwired for speed.

 

12. What are the best ways to start teaching at a yoga studio?

The best advice I got—and followed—was to be around. Be at the studio. Make friends with the other teachers. Chat with the students. Help out where you can. The more integrated you are into the community, the easier it will be to stand at the front of the room with a sense of intention and authority.

I would also add that it helps to reach out. Very rarely—if ever—in my life has an opportunity just landed in my lap like a gift from the heavens. Put your feet to the pavement. Take class at every yoga studio in your town, and once you’ve done that, explore the studio communities in surrounding towns. Reach out to studio owners and managers, and put your résumé in their inboxes. Actively participate in the conversation they’re having on their social media channels. Make your presence known.

 

13. What is the most important part of your practice?

Staying in love with it. I’m at a stage right now where I notice that one of my greatest skills—my love of learning—also has a dark side, in that I get bored very quickly. There are parts of my practice that I’ve mastered, so it’s important to me right now to stay in the student mindset, to continuously seek out new sources of inspiration and challenge, and to be humble enough to remember that I’ve still got decades of learning ahead.

 

14. What is your FB name? IG name and twitter?

I’m /jessica.kulick on Facebook and @jess_kulick on Instagram.

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Excerpt from When? By Hali Tsotetsi

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 Day 2

When will I stop drinking?

Today is day 2 of my thirty- day yoga challenge. I didn’t drink yesterday for the first time in a few years. Maybe I should stop drinking? No! I love my wine and cocktails way too much but something is calling me to stop poisoning my body. I don’t feel good when I drink and today I could enjoy my morning without having a hangover and feeling embarrassed about the way that I behaved the night before, something that has become second nature to me. For the first time since I was a teenager, my cup of tea tasted creamy and delicious, my oatmeal tasted like more than food, it spoilt my mouth with its rich texture. I’ve never been able to appreciate food like this. I am not anxiously waiting for the chance to have a drink at work, the drink that I would spend the day thinking about having. Drinking became my friend. When the people in my life judged me, drinking understood and empathized with me”


Excerpt From

When?

Hali Tsotetsi

A letter to someone who just started teaching yoga.

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Image by Getty images  

 

Dear Yogi,

Yes, you are still a Yogi. I completely understand if you feel alone and as though you are not worthy of being a teacher. But, you spent so much time on making an effort. So, why not just go for it?

When I started teaching, I had a deep need to please other people. I felt like my worth came from caring what others thought and felt about me. Teaching quickly cured me of that disease. I learnt that I could focus on the one or two people who don’t like my class as opposed to the thirty others who have shown up to my class and, are present.

I made a choice to be present for myself and those who trust me to guide them through their practice. Which, now I carry through to the rest of my life: relationships, career and lifestyle- I have clear boundaries and don’t dwell on the negative.

It’s time for you to figure out what your lesson is that you have to learn on your process to becoming a great teacher and better person.

A great teacher is one who is always learning, growing and healing. You are more relatable and people will reveal their true selves to you more if you are open and humble as opposed to uptight and a know-it-all.

Because anything that you ask of others, you must ask of yourself too. Hypocrisy has no place in the yoga community. Students will not trust you if you don’t practice what you preach. And, trust is the first step to becoming a good teacher.

Your teaching journey is a journey, not a destination. It might not be exactly how you thought it would be. But, you have a responsibility to teach and being allowed to be a part of someone’s journey is a gift that is worth cherishing.

 

Sincerely,  

Hali

5 pieces of advice that have helped Liz Daly progress as a student and yoga teacher.

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My yoga journey truly began about seven years ago when a friend of mine bought a Groupon to an Ashtanga studio that she couldn’t use. She wasn’t able to get her money back, so instead, she gifted the 8 class pack to me. I had dabbled in yoga before, taken gym classes in college, went to one hot class with my mom (which at the time, I couldn’t stand!)- but I always felt that yoga was too slow and too boring. However, this time, something clicked.

I participated in my first teacher-training in 2016, began teaching immediately after and realized that I had found my passion. I completed my second training in March 2018, in Yoga & Ayurveda. I keep stepping on my mat, day after day, because of the continual opportunities to grow and learn about myself through practice. As both a teacher and a student, I discover something new every time I come to yoga.

Here are a few of the things that I constantly have to remind myself of in order to continue on that path of growth:

1. Yoga is not a competition.

I love competition- from organized sports to board games and everything in between.

When I first came to yoga, my ego told me that I “should” be able to do all the advanced postures that I saw other yogis in the room doing. That led to extreme frustration and feelings of unworthiness- I have a tendency to be quite hard on myself. I need to remind my students (and myself) that yoga is about the journey, not the destination. Practice santosha (contentment) and trust that wherever you are on your journey, you are in the right place.

 

2. “You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes everyday - unless you're too busy; then you should sit for an hour.”- Zen saying.

I’ve struggled with anxiety for as long as I can remember. One of the reasons I found yoga when I did was because I needed the calming effects so badly. Sometimes it’s so hard to get on the mat (or meditation cushion). I get it! We’re busy. We just want to watch that show. We have to get somewhere. But taking that simple, easy step- to take a few minutes out of each day to be still and observe the breath- makes all the difference.

 

3. Speak to yourself as you would speak to others.

On the mat, off the mat, everywhere. My friend said this to me last week and it

resonated so strongly. In the yoga community especially, we treat others with genuine kindness and respect but often forget to give ourselves the same consideration. Would you ever tell your friend she looked like sh*t in the morning? Or that she’s not worthy of a great career? When we repeat these negative statements over and over, we start to believe them. So , flip the script! Tell yourself what an intelligent mind and beautiful soul you have every day.

 

4. If you try to make everyone like you, no one will love you.

One of my mentors said this during my teacher training. She was referring to running a business, but this extends to all areas of life. I struggled a lot as a teacher, especially when I first began, with wanting to conform, wanting to fit my teaching into some broad idea of what I thought my students and studio managers wanted. Now, I strive to be true to myself. To teach from my heart and share what I know best. It’s still a struggle at times, but when we’re authentic and honest in what we do, we build genuine, lasting connections.

 

5. “It’s easier to put on a pair of shoes than to wrap the earth in leather.”- Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche.

I love this quote. And looking at these five pieces of advice, I realize they all have the same root: self-compassion. Yoga has taught me to love myself, and through that I’m able to love others more freely. It’s so simple, but it works. Start with yourself, and your love will ripple out through the world.

Stephanie Wong’s yoga journey. 5 pieces of advice that have helped her progress as a student and teacher.

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My Yoga Journey by Stephanie Wong

One of my dearest friends introduced me to yoga. I was going through the worst heartbreak of my life, and she took me to yoga at 6am in the morning. I had no idea what to expect, and my ego was STRONG. As an athlete, I thought it would be so easy and I was very overconfident. I thought all the poses I was doing were great, but looking back on it now (the teacher in me) cringes at all of the misalignments I must have been doing.

I became addicted to it and started going every day. Yoga helped me grieve, let go, learn who I am, defeat a panic disorder and opened me up to accept love and compassion again. After practicing for 2 years, teacher training fell into place. Two more years later, and I am currently in training for my 3rd format of yoga- Sculpt, after Power and Hot Power Fusion.

I would not be the person I am today without yoga, not physically, not mentally, and not spiritually. I am not only healthier, but I am sober, clean, and feel lighter, happier, and more grateful in my everyday life. The five most valuable things I’ve learned from yoga are:

 

1. You are exactly where you need to be

No matter where you are in your physical or mental practice, everything that has

happened in your lifetime has happened for a reason to lead you to this exact moment in time where you are meant to be and feel and look exactly as you are now. Trust that the universe has not made mistakes. Let go of your desires to look different, to be able to do certain poses, and to be farther along in your practice than you are. Once you accept where you are in the present and forget about others’ deadlines and expectations of you, you will find so much more freedom in your body and mind.

2. Always have a beginner’s mind.

We are always learning. To think that we are not is a manifestation of our ego. When we

stay curious and open to receiving information, we learn and grow so much faster than when we are closed off and think that we are the masters of our crafts. By staying open, you challenge your bodies and minds to new depths, and more often than not exceed your own expectations. There is so much we can learn from each other, whether you’ve been practicing for 8 years, weeks, or days. In my experience, being a beginner is the most fun part of learning a new craft. Who wouldn’t want to go back to that mindset, that everlasting awe and wonder?

3. Let it go.

Do not be afraid to let go. Yoga is an amazing pathway to healing. You may notice that in the beginning of your practice, your body is tight and tenses up in certain poses. That is because our bodies, especially our hips, hold trauma, memories, and feelings deep in our bones. When we use yoga poses (asanas) to create more openness and flexibility in our lives, our bodies literally retaliate by tensing up and holding that pain inside. Use your breath to relax, and notice if any emotions or memories come up when you do. Acknowledge them as if you were sitting on a park bench watching them walk by, and then let them go.

4. Hold Space

Hold space for others, especially strangers that do not align with your views. You cannot assume what another person is feeling or experiencing in their lives. If someone leaves before savasana, or deliberately does not listen to your cues, do not take it personally. They may not know or have felt the benefits of a savasana yet, and are unaware of its powers. Hold space for them to figure their journey out at their own pace. Support them and guide them, but never force them to do something they don’t want to- it may draw them into a completely opposite path. Also hold space for those who are learning, grieving, trying yoga for the first time, and more. We as teachers are here to show the direction of the yoga journey, but it is up to the student to decide their path.

5. Be present and listen

Being present is one of the hardest things for me to do. My mind drifts off easily, and when I’m flowing in yoga it’s easy for me to drown out what a teacher is saying. By being extremely mindful of my listening, I can bring myself back into the present moment and fully absorb what is happening all around me. This is much easier than it sounds, and I am still practicing. Happiness is found in the present moment, and relationships thrive through listening. Rather than being stuck in the past or thinking about the future, give your all to what you’re doing in the present. It’s too late for the past, and the future will happen no matter what you do in the present, so why not give it your 100%?

Bobby Javier’s yoga journey, advice that helped him become a better yoga student and teacher.

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I started my “yoga journey” unknowingly and unprepared in April 2009.  My first class ever was at Bikram Yoga Silverlake. It was sweaty! Challenging! And “Weird!” (Half the time I barely understood what the teacher was saying).  Curiosity got the best of me and I kept coming back.


I stopped for about 10 months and, on the interim, experienced a loss in the family and a broken heart. 

Feeling like I lost both legs below the knee, I made my way back to Bikram Yoga Silverlake and sheepishly bought a single class.  That very quickly became 5 class cards, then 10 and finally a monthly unlimited.  I could barely afford it but it was the only place I felt safe and whole and wanted after a relationship that was nothing short of tumultuous and abusive.

When I was almost done with my first and only monthly unlimited package, I received a call from the studio manager and voila - I signed up to be a cleaner for free yoga!

This is where I hit my stride!  I took class-after class-after-class and enjoyed my time at the studio so much that many people joked that I probably lived there.  That was almost true! I cleaned on Wednesday nights after the class which ends at 1130pm, finish at 3am and I’d be back again at 11am to take a class and stay all day. 

I made new friends with the students and teachers alike.  I took class with open ears and eyes and most of all with an open heart.  I allowed myself to sweat out the toxins - both real and sometimes probably imagined - and get carried on a journey which swept me towards wanting to become a teacher myself. 

I received so much love from all the teachers there - Catherine, Hannah, Nancy, Valerie, Whitney, Kacie, Tom, Emily, etc that after 2 years of practice, I felt it was time to share the love that I had received. 

I became a certified Bikram teacher in the fall of 2012.  A couple of years after that, I followed up my training with a 200 hr vinyasa training with Noah Maze.  Just last year, I also began my journey into the 300 hr training. 

From all these teachers - including Bikram himself, there were tiny nuggets that I took with me which I never really thought that I would eventually share with others as I stepped into the teacher’s seat.  I didn’t even imagine I would become a teacher. 


But this is the path I chose.  It is where I found myself walking taller, speaking louder and sharing myself so passionately with nearly no expectation of any form of return. 

1. Teach from the Heart - You Will find Love.  Bikram told me that at the very first day of teacher training.  He told me when I recited Half-Moon pose in front of him and 435 other trainees that I teach from the heart and I should continue to do so.  Today, almost 6 years after I began teaching, this still holds true.  I still find love every time I teach and I tell my students to open their hearts too. 

2. You are exactly where you’re meant to be.  I heard this from one of my favorite teachers.  The first time I heard it, I believed it. It wasn’t just the pose at the moment.  It was the class and everything else that came along with it.  Years later, when I began teaching, this exact line came out of my mouth as I made the class do a quarter turn to face the left side of the room.  No extra movements.  Just a turn.  After the class, a woman from the class approached me and said that she had been going through some stuff and when I said that “she was exactly where she was meant to be” she cried in class and found the affirmation she was seeking.  It was like a lightbulb turned on in her head. 

3. Just Breathe.  When all else fails - find your breath.  Reconnect with it.  Breathe!  I took this advice to heart.  And I have never stopped sharing it with my students.Outside the four walls of the yoga room, when it’s almost not obvious and almost always taken for granted, I reminded myself this:  just breathe. 


4. Be patient with your body.  Be kind to yourself.  Having started doing yoga late in life,  I recognized early on the many limitations my body had to contend with.  But it’s not to say there was no improvement.  There were tons of it.  I always speak of this example:  When I first practiced, I couldn’t grab my foot.  9 years later, I’m now able to grab my foot and kick forward!  I am still working on the next step - maybe another 9 years? Perhaps.  But I’ll have patience and kindness.  Another one of those nuggets that I carry with me - inside and outside the yoga room. 


5. Don’t hold your breathe.  For anything.  For anyone.  This last one, is all me.  I made a joke about it.  It came out with not much thought.  And then it made a lot of sense.  Self care.  Self love.  Moving forward.  Forgiveness.  Patience.  Kindness.  None attachment.  Peace. 

5 pieces of advice that have helped me as a yoga student and teacher.

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My yoga journey has had it’s ‘Ups-and-Downs’. Everyday that I practice, there is always something to learn, to take in and ways to grow.

It all started fifteen years ago when I was fourteen-years-old and took on yoga as an extra-curriculum activity that I took for granted. I had deep respect for my teacher but I found it boring and felt as though I could be doing something more active. So, I left- not understanding the power of stillness and asana.

I returned to yoga almost five years after that with an eating disorder, broken heart, lost sense of self and dance-induced injuries. I was in a lot of pain and felt like there was no exit. Yoga eased this pain and helped me re-train and un-learn what I had come to know about life.

Five years ago, I made a decision to share what I had learnt about yoga with others. Upon making the decision to become a yoga teacher, I learnt and am still learning to be humble and to take in so many great pieces of advice from my surroundings.

These 5 pieces of advice have made me a better yoga student and teacher:

1. ‘Practice and all is coming’ - Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois.

When I was younger, I would struggle with crippling anxiety. I would be left unable to speak or do anything because of my anxiety. Hearing this piece of advice didn’t cure me of anxiety; however, it helped me plan and manage my time correctly. It also reminded me to trust. There is only so much that I can do and the rest is up to The Universe. Whether it’s with relationships, money, jobs or travel, if I give my all, do the best that I can and stay consistent, results come without the need to attach to them.


2. ‘Be authentic’- Iyanla Vanzant.

Truthfully, the yoga world can sometimes feel competitive. It’s challenging to brand yourself, to remember sequences, remember where you are supposed to teach and remember to stick to the purpose of why you became a yoga teacher in the first place. That’s why authenticity is so important. When you are authentic, you give others permission to do the same. When you are the best version of you, you shine. You shine because no one else has the essence that you have decided to embrace.

3. ‘Let go of the need to make other people’s experience for them’- Emalia Dawson


This woman has had the biggest impact on my progression as a yogi because she embodies authenticity and staying true to a purpose. She gave me this piece of advice after taking my class and it shifted my perspective of teaching completely. Before hearing this, I felt like I needed to do the work for my students; however, after hearing this, I realized that it is a joint effort between the students and teacher. The pressure is not on me to be perfect and never make a mistake. I can teach, make mistakes and grow while still being a good teacher.


4. ‘Some people may not like your class and that’s okay’- Chaelon Costello.

Similarly to how I received the other piece of advice is how I received this one and when Chae told me this piece of advice, I cried. I felt a deep release. I had always had the ‘disease to please’, as Oprah calls it. Having gone to an All-Girl’s High School, I never felt enough and had a deep desire to make people like me. Trying to make people like me was painful and exhausting. She probably has no idea but, her telling me this released me. Since that day, I have had people leave my class and it doesn’t eat me up. People who don’t like me or what I have to offer do not deserve my mental mindspace; those who appreciate and respect me do.

5. ‘If you asked The Universe for something, it came and you don’t want it anymore, send it back!’ -Jared McCann.

Jared uttered these words after our morning practice during his teacher-training in New York , two years ago. They resonated so deeply within me because I had just accepted a job as acting General Manager at a restaurant that I had thought I wanted but turns out that I didn’t after all. I felt guilty to turn it down so I took it. I took it and regretted it; however, I didn’t want to show The Universe that I was ungrateful. Jared’s words that morning liberated me. I understood that just because I had previously wanted something, doesn’t mean that I had to want it when it came. Sometimes sending it back doesn’t mean ungraciousness; it means knowing what you want and making yourself happy.

A letter to myself when I first started teaching yoga.

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image by Getty images 

Dear Hali,


You are about to embark on one of the most difficult yet beautiful journeys that you can ever imagine, being a yoga teacher. Your new role carries a lot of responsibility. And, although you may not understand what I am talking about now, one day it will be crystal clear.


One day, you will see clearly that it will be up to you to uphold what has been taught to you by your Gurus and Mentors. And, that your Gurus and Mentors are people too. They may have taught you The Sutras and Eight limbs of Yoga but they are human. Being human requires us to be weak sometimes so don’t be surprised if they do not practice what they preach.


Begin to see yourself as a brand. A brand protects itself from harm and holds itself up to a certain standard in order to maintain integrity and neutrality. This will help you stay out of your Ego and teach from a more humble perspective.


I know you have a lot of passion, thirst and hunger to teach but contain your drive. Don’t waste your vibrancy and energy on people and things that are irrelevant to the present moment. Lead by practicing the way that you want your students to. Come from a place of humility, always!


True humility is staying teachable, regardless of how much you already know’, so take other teachers’ classes, learn from them and always say thank you regardless of what you liked/disliked about the way that they taught.


Free yourself of un-necessary judgement. Some judgement is necessary; however, don’t spend your life telling people what they are doing wrong. When you come into this role, you will see what a lot of students are doing wrong. Correct them, yes! But, remind yourself that they are doing their best. Trust your students to find it in their bodies by using their intuition.


There will be many people who have something negative to say about your class but you are not teaching for them. You are teaching to spread the word of yoga, the yoga that can enlighten, can help move negative energy out of the body and can give one’s body an array of health benefits that we never knew was possible.

 

Yours truly, 

Please, be inspired by Tawana Randall!

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It is such an honour to have this Yogi as our last Inspirational Yogi. When I started following him on Instagram, I knew he had to be featured. To me, he embodies being a Yogi through his cheer, form and influence as a human being. Tawana is a native to my home of South Africa.

 

Please, be inspired by Tawana Randall

 

 

1. When did you start teaching?

I completed my teacher-training in November 2016 but I’ve been teaching since July 2016. I was lucky to have been a part of a gym that allowed me to teach when I reached a level where I could teach Hatha classes. It was after going through 3 trial classes with experienced teachers.

 

2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?

 I was very sceptical about starting yoga. My bestfriend’s fiancé convinced me to attend a class. Yoga resonated with me from the very first class that I attended. My motivation for teaching was challenging my mind to open up to possibilities I never before imagined. The challenge of a truly never-ending journey.My greatest lesson in teaching has been that every person I teach is, in their own ,right my teacher. I learn something in the process of teaching each and every person I guide on the mat.

 

3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow teacher?

I’ve learnt to be myself in the way that I teach. I tried to emulate other teachers when I started finding my feet on the mat as a teacher. That didn’t seem genuine and even the students could see it. Luckily some of them were comfortable enough to approach me and tell me to relax and be myself.

 

4. How many times a week do you practice?

I practice yoga everyday and that’s in the broad sense of the word. In terms of asana practice, now I can say I do so everyday simply because of my #handstand365 challenge to myself. Besides that, I self-practice at least 3 times a week and I try to attend at least 3 classes a week. As a teacher, one has to keep up their practice and attend some classes.

 

5. Who inspires your practice?

I draw inspiration from many people. The first being Demz, my best friend’s fiancé, my asana practice may be more on the advanced side but her strength is far beyond what I can even imagine. That’s from all she has conquered through yoga mentally and physically.

My asana practice in my personal capacity was first inspired by Briohny Smyth, her video by Equinox was the very first yoga video I watched that I recognized as yoga. Her grace and flow took my breath away, at that time I couldn’t even hold a headstand. Now I am mostly inspired by the likes of Patrick Beach, Dylan Werner, Kenzie @yogoskenz on Instagram, Erin Kelly @erinkellyart, Andrew Sealey. In the world of social media, inspiration is literally at the touch of a finger so my list could go further than the few mentioned.

6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?

Yoga helps me balance so much in my life. Coming from a legal background where winning at all costs is the goal, it seeps into your character as a person. I am constantly trying to balance that out. I wish to inspire people to be better and for that to happen, I need to start with myself.

7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?

For people to get out of their heads. Often the most limiting factor in what one can do on or off the mat is the power of the mind. First conquering that by getting out the mind, allowing the body to be instinctive and then later unifying mind body and spirit. I feel like this gives one confidence and trust in themselves beyond what the mind limits.

 

8. Where are you currently teaching? 

I decided to leave law behind me and throw myself into yoga and a career full-time. I teach at a few studios in Johannesburg these being, Zen Hot Yoga World, Yoga Experience, Wellness In Motion, Earth Yoga and Indie Hot Yoga. I also have private clients that I teach in between my crazy schedule.

 

9. How has yoga helped your character develop?

I used to hold on to a lot of negative emotions. With yoga I have learnt to let go. The only one that suffers is myself when I allow those emotions to remain. For as long as I hold on to them, they maintain a stronghold on me.

 

10. What has kept you practicing all these years?

My fascination with learning more each day keeps me practicing. Yoga is a journey with no destination and that is the beauty of it all.

 

11. What would you tell yourself when you started teaching yoga?

I would always tell myself to calm down. As a new teacher, I would worry about whether or not the students would resonate with my teaching. I had to tell myself that there is energy transference taking place so the negative energy will impact my teaching negatively despite having a good sequence.


12. What are the best ways to start teaching at a yoga studio?

You will need to show that you have been teaching somewhere so start at a gym and gain some teaching experience. In fact, the gym is the best because you can get a mixed bag of levels in one class and you have to learn to deal with that and with larger numbers. The best way to start teaching at a studio as a new teacher is to attend classes at the studio, offer to be a fill-in teacher for when the regulars can’t take class. Attend workshops, be seen and let people feel your awesome energy that you can share.

 

13. Why is breath so important in your practice?

Breath is the connection to all. Without breath, I cannot reach a point where I am able to meditate in asana which is something that I ultimately want. That may seem like a cliché answer but it is the something I would want. At the moment I’ve learnt how the breath relaxes the nervous system, allowing the body to soften, allowing my mind to quieten. This is just a very short version that I can give, I could explain breath all day.

 

 14. What is your FB name? IG name and twitter?

Tawana Randall (fb)

@tawanarandall (ig)

I have twitter but I don’t use it much, it’s too time consuming

Devan Medrano inspires

There is nothing more inspirational than someone who is genuine and sincere. Someone who looks you in the eye, humbley speaks truth and is constantly aware of her surroundings. Clearly, Devan is inspiring to me. 

 

Now, let her inspire you

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 1. How long have you been teaching?

I have been teaching yoga for 2 years now, it doesn’t sound long. But, before I began teaching yoga, I had been teaching dance for over 10 years. Whew, that’s a long time!


2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?

My motivation began because of pain and discomfort from prior dance injuries. Like most of my students now, we have pain but we don’t know where it’s coming from or what’s truly causing it and how to care for ourselves. So that’s why I wanted to learn yoga and understand how my body works. I have learned so much from my own personal practice, and soooo much more from teaching my students. Such as, how much we need this practice of yoga, and how to conform these basic postures to fit every “body”, when people learn how to manipulate poses to fit their particular body and structure they feel so empowered in their own skin, knowledge really is power and feeling better day to day is just an extra bonus. Yay for yoga haha!


3. What is something you have learnt from a fellow teacher?

I haven’t just learned from one teacher, I take something from all of them. I have learned how effective a touch can be and how important the right adjustment can be, how breathing with my students as I lead practice really sets the pace and tone for a beautiful class and to only teach what you know because once it’s in your body and you have the mental and physical strength of what you’re teaching only then can it be passed on to someone else.


4. How many times a week do you practice?

Everyday, it’s important to always stay moving for inspiration. I teach about 30hrs a week, and I can’t keep my classes fresh unless I keep my own personal practice stable and strong. But, my practices aren’t always inside my house or on my mat with a typical structure, sometimes it’s hiking or climbing a tree that helps me grasp the next weeks focus for my students, private lessons and classes.


5. Who inspires your practice?

I have so many yogi inspirations (thanks to Instagram and social media). Ugh, I get so distracted sometimes watching the same videos over and over again. I am O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D with Katy Bowman and her brains for all of her bio-mechanic awesomeness, Jules Mitchell for her anatomy nerdiness, Schuyler Grant and her beautiful sequencing, and of course some of my favorite practitioners are @the_southern_yogini @yogiaubrey @yogajulz @erinkellyart and @casa_colibri


6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?

It is necessary for me to practice so that I stay relevant to my students, I only teach what I know within my body and the less I practice the further out of tune I become. Also, my students have become such strong practitioners that I need to be practicing on a daily basis just to keep up with them and continue to gain more strength and knowledge within the practice that is yoga.


7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?

The message that I like to spread through my teaching has always been that of creating a healing and sacred environment. If I can get my students to trust me and create a safe environment for them to let go, to breathe, to explore, that opens them up to a world of learning. So many of my students have walked through the yoga door feeling confused about their bodies, in pain or out-of-tune with themselves. If I can get them on their mat and learning to breathe, that’s a HUGE step forward that allows them to relax, to become aware and can immediately get them to listen to their bodies and what it is their bodies need. So that is my message, to foster a safe space for people to heal.


8. Other than Asana, what are you working on as a Yogi, in terms of the yogic limbs?

I am constantly in check, especially living in a large city like L.A. I have to stay focused and highly aware in my daily life. But, being a yoga teacher I am constantly around people and giving so much of my energy to others that by the end of my day I often have nothing left to give myself. So, one major limb, the yamas: Brahmacharya (continence) is truly testing my natural state of always wanting to over indulge, and to pull away from extremism. I need to understand that taking a rest day is not being lazy or staying up to late and not getting any sleep is causing much more harm to my body than I could ever understand. Balance is a difficult goal to attain but, it’s one I must strive to follow on and off my mat daily. After all, a life spent in balance makes us wiser, stronger and healthier.


9. How has yoga helped your character develop?

Yoga has helped my character to develop in numerous ways. But what has caused the change in my character is a physical change with my breath. Learning to breathe has changed my outlook on the world by slowing me down, I have become so much more of an intuitive and quiet individual. I have learned to listen to the people and things that surround me which shows focus and I have also learned to be more empathetic toward my students, friends and family. I would have never thought that such a simple act as breathing could truly change me as a human.


10. What’s been the most challenging thing to learn throughout your yoga journey?

One of the most challenging things I have had to learn throughout my yoga journey has been honesty. The few times I have been injured while practicing, have become some of the worst and best times. To create boundaries for myself is tough, I can always go harder, further and faster, but that’s not what my body needs when I’m injured. I need to pull back, be honest with where I am in the moment. Listen in to what my body needs which could be a simple practice of 30min and only two poses. We all need a moment of relaxation, especially when we are injured, so take the time to modify, to be kind and gentle to the body which is so beautiful when you can show yourself kindness. I want to be the best I can be to my body, and truthfully, that is what makes me so relatable to my students. That, and having the ability to break down poses, especially for those who have been injured and NEED modifications.


11. Where are you currently teaching?

Currently I teach for Hot 8 Yoga in K-town, Equinox (Beverly Hills, Miracle Mile & West LA), Sweatheory, Rise Hot Yoga, Bella Fitness and YMCA (Downtown LA).


12. What is your Instagram, Twitter and Facebook name?

My Instagram is @thewildmess and my Facebook is Devan Medrano

Kaitlin Lawrence is inspiration personified.

I could tell you many good things about Kaitlin Lawrence and one of things is how inspiring she is. Through her smile, energy and love of yoga, she is treasured in our community.

Here are other reasons why she is inspiring: 


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 1.How long have you been teaching?

I started teaching in 2012.


2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?

I was offered an opportunity to teach immediately following my first Yoga Teacher Training. I was terrified, but I kept reminding myself of this quote by Anaïs Nin, “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”


3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow teacher?

Everything! Here are a few Yoga wisdom nuggets that came to mind today:


•Yoga should never be a silent kind of suffering.

•Whatever you practice, you get better at.

• “Work is love made visible”- Kahlil Gibran

•What if you are already good?


4. How many times a week do you practice?

I practice every day, but it varies based on my needs. There are days when I need 2 hot yoga classes in a row and other days when a 15 minute meditation will do the trick.


5. Who inspires your practice?

Anyone who consciously and actively practices self acceptance. Anyone who honors where they have been, where they want to go, and what they need in any given moment. People who let their light Shiiiinnne!!


6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?

I love myself when I practice.  The more love I cultivate for myself, the more love I am able to give to others.


7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?

I aim to empower everyone to be their own best teacher.

Also (stolen from a fellow yoga teacher), The yoga postures have so little to do with what they look like and everything to do with how they make your FEEL. If you eventually get your feet behind your head (like a pretzel) and you are still an a**hole, what is the point? You are just an a**hole with a party trick. 


8. Where are you currently teaching?

I currently teach private and group Yoga and Meditation classes in NYC. I travel a lot for work so I find ways teach wherever I am.



9. How has yoga helped your character develop?

The yoga has enabled me to start a conversation with myself and distinguish between what my body, mind and soul may need at any given moment. I am now a much better listener and caregiver to myself and others.


10. What has kept you practicing all these years?

Sometimes I get the answers to my questions. Sometimes I get so much more, but reminding myself is a daily practice.

 

11.  What would you tell your self when you started teaching yoga?

Instant forgiveness: If I say  “left” instead of “right”, instant forgiveness. Take a deep breath, say what needs to be said, move forward - no big deal. Even now, as a human, when I make a choice that doesn't serve me: Instant forgiveness, deep breaths, move on, new choices - no big deal.


12. What are the best ways to start teaching at a yoga studio?

Show up, ask questions and find ways to be a part of that community. If you want something enough, you can find a way to make it happen!


13. Why is breath so important in your practice?

Becoming aware of my breath has changed my life. The more I practice conscious breathing during challenging postures in the yoga room, the better I am at consciously breathing through challenging situations in my life.


I used to eat food to cope with stress or sadness and now I can take a few deep breaths instead. It can be a game-changer if practiced daily. We can survive weeks without food, days without water, but only seconds (or minutes if you practice) without breath. Breath is our life force!


14. What is your FB name? IG name and twitter?


instagram/twitter: @lawrencekaitlin

Website: www.kaitlinlawrence.com

Kate Davies is truly inspiring!

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If you have never taken Kate’s class, you are missing out. Kate is the owner of Yo BK in Williamsburg, that offers hot yoga. When I first met her, she was carrying balloons to wish one of her karma program member’s a happy birthday. I proceeded to take her class and her passion, devotion and love for yoga was very evident. She is a genuine and caring person, which translates to her teaching. 

Please, be inspired...

 

1. How long have you been teaching?
I have been teaching yoga for six years and Pilates for two.


2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learned from teaching?
I began practicing Bikram Yoga during my first semester of college and am still best friends with the girl who brought me to my first class. I ran track in high school and the shift to doing yoga nearly everyday was a smooth one. Yoga helped me manage my time better, concentrate and feel fantastic despite the normal college tomfoolery. I continued my practice while studying abroad in Rome and living in Asia for three years after college. It was never a question of whether I would become a teacher - only when the right time was. I have learned so much from teaching: how to communicate clearly, how to act as a leader and how to be compassionate and patient with myself and others. Teaching and practicing yoga has introduced me to the most extraordinary people.


3. What is something that you have learned from a fellow teacher?
My mentor Lisa taught me to be a life-long learner. We have never arrived and that's a beautiful thing.


4. How many times a week do you practice?

Five to six times a week. I like to mix it up with Bikram's Beginner's and Advanced Series, Power Yoga and Hot Pilates. I cheat on my studio once a week and practice elsewhere.


5. Who inspires your practice?
My students and teachers. I am my best self for them when I walk the walk.


6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?
I get grumpy when I don't!


7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?
That we are responsible for our own happiness. Practicing at a studio with great teachers gives us accountability, discipline, support and hopefully fun.


8. Where are you currently teaching?
I own YO BK in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I teach Bikram Yoga, Power Yoga and Inferno Hot Pilates.


9. How has yoga helped your character develop?
I am fiery and love my to-do lists. Yoga has taught me to slow the F down. It helped me embrace a softer side to balance my strength. Owning a studio has helped me cultivate long-term relationships with teachers and students and has shown me how to speak to others' strengths and values.


10. What has kept you practicing all these years?
Yoga makes me feel better than anything. It is an amazing lens for whatever else is going on in my life.


11. What would you tell your self when you started teaching yoga?
Use your (gd) inner thighs! Also, don't have a meltdown if you miss a day of yoga. 


12. What are the best ways to start teaching at a yoga studio?
Practice there. I get emails everyday from teachers wanting to teach at my studio and I tell them all the same thing: come practice and see how you fit with the community. If they keep coming back, I know they're serious! I'm very protective over my students and community and need to make sure they have quality teachers who are motivating, kind and varied.


13. Why is breath so important in your practice?
It connects the mind and the body. It is our gauge for knowing if we have gone too far or are experiencing tension.


14. What is your FB name? IG name and twitter?
Kate Davies @kixdavies studio is: @yo.bk

 

 

Inspiration in the form of McKenzie Dreher

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 If you’re looking for inspiration from a graceful presence, look no further! McKenzie Dreher is a prime example of this. While she is not currently teaching at a studio, we are able to get a glimpse of her inspiration from her words below:

 

 

1. How long have you been teaching?

 I think I was certified to teach in June of 2015 or 2016! Whoa, I didn’t realize how long it had been!

 

2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?

The original motivator I guess was that I was in a car accident my junior year of college. I was pursuing a dance career, and I was doing yoga on the side. Eventually, that reversed with the happening of the accident. As my body healed, I was relearning how the body moves with a component of forceful patience because of the injury. It was a deeper and different understanding than I had gained from dance, and I wanted to share how valuable it can be to understand why the body moves as it does. Sometimes just the knowledge of this can release you deeper into a posture. 

 

3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow teacher?

I owe a pretty great deal to who I’ve learned from. I received a very strong foundation from Joseph Encinia, Gianna Purcell, and Jared McCan. Everyday they teach me about kindness, endurance, and patience in their own ways. But as a collective,  I owe my real life grace to them.

 

4. How many times a week do you practice?

Every day! Every day because there’s so much that can be practiced throughout the course of a day. It’s crazy! It never ends (giggles) . I don’t aways practice in a group or studio setting. I wake up and meditate and stretch everyday before leaving my room. This brings me into my body so that when I practice in a group, I can have the courage and spontaneity and familiarity to take the physical practice further.

 

5. Who inspires your practice?

Oh man! That could be endless with Instagram so available to me. In complete honesty though, I think I’ve worked up a pretty solid habit of drawing inspiration from everything. I’m very inspired by jazz musicians, because they teach me how to improvise in solitude as well as a group setting. I’m physically inspired by the three teachers referenced above constantly. When I am sad, I am inspired. When I am joyful, I am inspired, on the train, waiting in line.These things all give me momentum. 

 

6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?

This is a tricky question for me, because I used to feel like I couldn’t interact with anyone unless I had gone to yoga beforehand. It felt almost like an addiction at one point. And I had to change how I was approaching it, what I am trying to cultivate (grace, honesty) has to come from me. And, cannot come from a practice, or a teacher, a boyfriend or a spectator. And that is why now, it feels so necessary for me to practice. Because I have all of these things thrown at me in the course of a yoga class. Well, maybe not a boyfriend (haha!). That setting is a platform to be vulnerable so that I can be wholesome from myself and not from an outside recommendation. I really do believe you need to cultivate complete vulnerablity to see how much your heart and spirit support you in all of these different conditions and emotions.

7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?

Jared told me once to feel joy in a posture. He said, ‘If you cannot make the switch from determination, perseverance or irritation or distraction to joy. Like, what are we really practicing here if you cannot have your mind to open up to the idea of feeling joyful? As naturally as possible, out there. This is super fueling to me, and I like to carry it with me.

 8. How has yoga helped your character develop?

It’s given me the means to see how reactive we are as humans during communication, with ourselves and others. And that that’s okay! It’s very easy to close off, personally speaking, sometimes it is awkward or uncomfortable. But yoga shows me everyday that despite how uncomfortable or awkward I feel, it always lands back to joy, love or appreciation at some point, and more often than I even notice sometimes.  Constant changes. And yoga shows me that that is normal. That is what I want to cultivate; not to escape from.

 

9. What has kept you practicing all these years?

Everything I just stated above haha! But really, it love more when I practice. I’m more open. I give, I’m less afraid... I could go on. There’s really negative if I’m practicing in complete honesty.

10. What would you tell yourself when you started teaching yoga?

Stop trying to feel good all the time. It won’t get you anywhere. 

 

11. What are the best ways to start teaching at a yoga studio?

Going in-person.

 

12. Why is breath so important in your practice?

Breath control and mantra practice help get into the grittiness of my head that I’m not naturally inclined to understanding. It clears out my subconcious in a way

 

13. What is your FB name? IG name and twitter?

McKenzie Dreher on Facebook

@mckenziedreher IG

Riji Suh subtly motivates inspiration

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Image by Monty Stilson

 

There’s a subtlety to Riji’s power and conduction of class. I remember leaving her class and knowing that my butt was kicked but very calm at the same time.  

Through her posture, her voice, her sincerity and her capability, she is most certainly inspiring.  

 

1. How long have you been teaching?

I have been teaching yoga since November 2006.  11 years. 

 

2. What motivated you to start teaching? And, what have you learnt from teaching?

Inspiring teachers who generously shared with me their wisdom and passion, on and off the mat, are who motivated me to go to training.  I learn from every class and client I teach.The more I teach, the more I humbly learn, that may be the biggest lesson of all. 

 

3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow yoga teacher?

 Emmy Cleaves is a master teacher/ yogini who stands alone in a yoga universe where she is queen, so the words “fellow teacher” fall far too short.  However, she has taught many of us, myself thankfully included, the essential principles for an evolving expansive practice.  Precision.  Intensity.  Frequency.  

 

4. How many times a week do you practice?

 I practice in classes a few times a week, when I lead or practice as a student.  I practice solo on my mat daily, even if it is for 15 minutes.   

 

5. Who inspires your practice?

My students.  My teachers before me.  My best friend, who is one of the best teachers and students I know.  All the little kids I see running free, so alive, so happy, without a clue that that becomes more rare as we spend more days on this planet.  My yoga is a constant journey to remember that sweet place, made easier and lighter with each practice- less doing and more being. 

 

6. Where are you currently teaching?

I teach in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, at YOBK and Lighthouse Yoga School.  In the city, I teach for Bode NYC.  I teach in Long Beach (Bikram Yoga Long Beach NY)a couple of times a week.  The rest of the time, I work with clients all over NYC, and I teach seminars and workshops internationally and nationally. 

 

7. How has yoga helped you develop your character?

 My approach to and experience within asana is a mirror for my life away from the mat.  How I choose to “live” in my asana is the same. Everyday I am developing more or stripping away “development”- depends on what I feel is truly needed or desired to be happy.

 

8. What has kept you practicing all these years?

 Answer in 5:).  As well as a voice that whispers, sometimes gently, sometimes fiercely, “Practice.” 

 

9. How can we find you on social media?

My FB is Riji Suh, my Instagram is @rijifiji.

Ola Jas spreads her inspiration...

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Photo by Julien Sarkissian

Interview by Hali Tsotetsi

Ola’s energy is bursting with love and authenticity. She is sincere and truly cares about her students.  To her classes, she applies a contemporary, flow and progressive method of training. Through her travels, which you can see on her social media, she inspires us through with experience and passion. 

 

1. How long have you been teaching?

I started sharing the practice of yoga when I discovered the Iyengar style, 10 years ago. I was training then in a circus space and my fellows would need a therapeutic guidance to complement the intense workout. Since then, it has been a constant research, both learning and teaching.

 

 

2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?

Yoga targets my ideals of a harmonious living, regarding humanity and nature, it embraces it all and beyond. It is a way of living and a self-imposed discipline guiding conscious choice-making.


Sharing it with the people makes me feel at the service of something greater than myself.

I then become and endless channel of this energy that nurture my own Existence and teaches me to adapt to any situation, find a resilient attitude and innovative solutions to cope life and keep on smiling.

 

 

3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow teacher?

I learn constantly from many inspirations around me. I spend quite some time in this part of my life with Mathieu Boldron, my current boyfriend and a teacher I admire. I observe his way of doing, and love the simplicity with which he speaks of complex topics. He is a great influence to structure my flow, simplify my own thoughts and clarify my poetic expression.

 

 

4. How many times a week do you practice?

I practice everyday, even though I have no routines in my life. As a nomadic yoga teacher, it is hard to settle anywhere but my body became my temple that I can kneel within anywhere, anytime.

 

5. Who inspires your practice?

 

I am grateful to each of my teachers and, to mention Mathieu Boldron again, who founded the Yinyasa methodology, a clever sequencing for awakening the sensitivity. Also,  Simon Oliver Borg who developed the Synergy yoga, to develop a physiotherapeutic approach to the aptitude of Surrender.

 

6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?

 

Having a practice in Life helps to ground and fly at the same time. Yoga is my anchor to avoid dispersion and my greatest possibility to canalise my genuine expression. It helps me to observe where I am and understand mechanisms that are beyond rational thinking: I can feel better and develop thereby my intuition.

Yoga is a pillar to sustain my vital energy and to cultivate my freedom, factors which improve my “bubble of reality”. I believe that building a consistent practice opens the door for the full potential to express.

 

 

7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?

 

“Everything begins with an inner Smile”.

That is my teaching intention. I like to explore the qualities of the body and play with the textures. I work through the movement, for the body to be the vessel of the soul.
The research is about this state of “energy optimisation”, where everything lies in its place, a feeling of Plentitude. And I welcome what comes on the path, because there are many paths to reach the Essence, the Breath.

 

 

8. Where are you currently teaching?

 

I teach in Paris for the next weeks, then take my annual pilgrimage to Asia (Goa and Bali in Feb/ March). Back to Europe in Spring time, I will notably hold amazing retreats on the magical island of Ibiza, Spain in May, July and September.

Besides that, I am involved in different festivals:
* Women Spirit Festival, Paris, France in March.
* Nowhere festival, the local burning man in Monegros, Spain in July.
* Barcelona Yoga Conference, also in Spain in July.
* Arava Yoga Festival in an oasis of the Israeli desert in November.

 

My calendar is often updated on www.olajasyoga.com 

 

 

9. How has yoga helped your character develop?

 

Yoga helps me to be me, furthermore, this little dot connected to a greater constellation, with my own strengths and vulnerabilities. By taking the distance of the observer, I can easier gain clear-sightedness, assume my decisions and walk a clean path. 

 

9. What has kept you practicing all these years?

 

Yoga is a never ending journey that goes with us until the end (of the physical layer at least, but who knows beyond that).

At every stage of my life, I discover complementary ways of motion that influence my perceptions and my overall being. All those experimentations give me always more substance to nurture my yoga on the mat and expand my practice field.

 

 

10. What would you tell your self when you started teaching yoga?

 

Nothing in particular, it was one step more on the Self discovery, among other things and it is pretty incredible to see where it brought me. So only from the walked distance, i can say “Waaaaoow, Gracias”.

 

 

11. What are the best ways to start teaching at a yoga studio?

Take classes, meet the community and be yourself.

 

12. Why is breath so important in your practice?

 

Breathing is the common denominator to any practice, it is a door between the conscious world and the subconsciousness, the link between Life and Death.

 

 

13. What is your FB name? IG name and twitter?

 

FB: Ola Jas Yoga  www.facebook.com/olajasyoga/

Insta: www.instagram.com/olajasyoga/

www.olajasyoga.com