4 Things I wish I knew before I joined an abusive yoga community.

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One of the most liberating times of my life has come, a yoga community that I used to be a part of has been exposed. Before I get to the exposé part, let me start from the beginning. My consistent yoga practice started when I was 20 at a donation-based yoga studio near NYU where a friend took me. At the time, I had broken off an engagement to an older Italian man who had abusive tendencies towards me. Looking back, I can connect the dots because they often say that until we fully heal from abusive situations, we will replace one for the other. 

Although I was in therapy too, there was something about that yoga studio that was magical and I wanted to be a part of it forever. I began to practice yoga almost everyday there and was so grateful. I loved it so much that when they opened their other location, I went and tried hot yoga for the first ever in my life. I felt renewed. A lot of my internal transformation came from this place and because of that, I felt a sense of debt and gratitude. 

In 2012, I decided to go back to school to become a school teacher and I expressed this to a yoga teacher of mine. He replied, ‘Why not teach yoga? People act like kids in the hot room.’ After thinking about it and calculating, I decided to do it, I put down my money to become a yoga teacher and felt like my life was about to change. Little did I know how much it would change. 

It’s been 7 years since I taught my first yoga class and it seems like forever ago that I graduated and became a yoga teacher but some of the pain still remains. I went through a manipulative training that used mind control tactics to depreciate my self-worth as a human-being so that once I started teaching, I would put up with anything and it worked. When I started teaching, I was broken and lost. As a result, I took a break from teaching because I felt like I was being a hypocrite. How could I preach wellness when I was the opposite. I was clearly unwell. 

Here are 4 things I wish I knew before I joined an abusive yoga community: 

1. Those who abuse you know what they are doing more than you might realize. 

I was a 24 year-old New Yorker when I signed up for this training. And, just like most New Yorkers, I hated being told what to do. I thought I knew it all and was not interested in humbling myself. I was going to be a yoga teacher at all costs and no one could stop me. From the day of orientation till graduation, everything felt off. The only thing that felt genuine were the connections that I made with my peers, some are still my closest friends after all these years. 

One incident that stood out to me was when I had to co-teach with a male teacher after I had revealed my issues with men in an inner circle during the training. The male teacher degraded me and told me I did a terrible job and was not fit to be a teacher. I am all for truth being spoken and am willing to work on what I need to but he didn’t tell me what I could work on; he just wrote me off. My intuition told me that he had been told to make me feel uncomfortable about teaching so that I would not be able to teach right away after graduation and that I would need to work for it. 

With this in mind, I asked other graduates if their co-teaching experience went well and most told me that similar situations had occurred to them. I understood clearly that this was to manipulate us into group thinking and silencing one another.

2. It’s not in your mind. 

During my almost ten years of practicing and teaching for that studio, I would notice some odd behavior. But I would brush it off and put it in the ‘I am crazy, it didn’t happen’ category. Even though I knew I wasn’t crazy. Something that was very prevalent in that community and in most yoga is/was sexual harassment. I was targeted by the same teacher who had suggested that I become a teacher. I thought he saw something in me and we could have a mentor/student relationship until he put his hand down my bra during a class and was disappointed that he saw me as a piece of meat. I also understood that he needed healing and that I should stay away from him as much as possible after I told him to stay away from me. 

I would notice this particular teacher treating women differently and intentionally targeting us during class but I thought it was in my mind. Once I accepted what was going on, I was aware of the truth and inner-workings of this yoga studio. It was heartbreaking but I had to accept it to heal from it. 

3. Take care of yourself. 

Proof of loyalty to them was being overworked and always ‘happy’ about what was going on at the studio; whether we actually were or not was irrelevant. After teaching for them on-and-off for 3 years, I decided to leave because I was so exhausted and I actually ended up moving to Los Angeles. 

My first month in Los Angeles, I had memories of being there and how happy I was to begin with and then how I was emotionally abused as a teacher and apprentice. The pain was so overwhelming but I had to sit with it. I felt myself recreating what had happened and victimizing myself. It was challenging but what got me through is the light side of being in that community: being able to teach, the friends, the lessons and the transformation that occurred. Dealing with that community taught me that if happiness requires self-sacrifice, it is not worth it because the two cannot co-exist in wellness. 

4. Abusive situations highlight what we need to work on. 

Just like most of us, I grew up in a conditional love atmosphere. If I did what was expected of me, I would be loved. If I didn’t, I would be ignored and unloved- this is emotional abuse. I have been healing from this dynamic for the past few years and noticed a trend as I began my healing process, I kept recreating the cycle of abuse that I had encountered as a child. Scenarios of silence, secrets and weaponization to ‘keep me in my place’. 

I did so with jobs, relationships and friendships until I freed myself of my subconscious conditioning and accepting that I am worthy of health and kindness. In basic psychology, the idea of recreating scenarios that leave us vulnerable in order to heal them is a very real one because ultimately, we want to heal. I learned clearly that my healing was not going to take place if I kept lying to myself and being amongst/ in communities that silence me, manipulate me and use my weaknesses against me. Nothing good will come if I surround myself amongst people who want to break me because I am not meant to be broken; I am meant to be whole. 

If you are experiencing abuse or harassment, please seek professional help. 

Check our our online courses for elevation and motivation. 

‘ I want people to feel empowered.’

Alena Wertalik is a yoga teacher based in New York City.

1. What style of yoga do you teach? And, where are you located?

Vinyasa and Traditional Hot (26+2) styles. I teach at all Yoga to the People and Hot On Yoga locations, but currently I am teaching virtually everywhere!

2. What is your intention behind teaching?

I want people to feel empowered to take responsibility for and even create their own experiences. I think if we work to cultivate this in our yoga practices, it can become a way of being off of our yoga mats. 

3. Who are your mentors in yoga? 

First and foremost would be the founder of YttP, Greg Gumucio. I've worked for him for over 10 years now. I also learned a lot about teaching yoga and running a yoga business from Nikki Carter. And in recent years I've been working very closely with Rose Erin Vaughan, who I respect immensely. 

4. What have they taught you? 

Greg taught me everything I know about being a leader. He taught me the difference between being strong and being tough, what it means to show up and hold space, the power of forgiveness, and a lot about love. For the most part, he taught me these things in who he has been for me as a mentor, teacher and friend. 

Nikki took me under her wing when I really wanted to teach yoga. She let me follow her around NYC to all different teachers' classes of all different styles of yoga, and let me run her studio when I was like, 22 years old. She's definitely had an influence on how I teach.

Rose Erin and I have been running teacher trainings together for the last four years. She is brilliant and humble. Working and creating with her has woken up parts of me I didn't even realize were dormant. I am grateful that she has invited me along on her journey.

5. Please mention a book that you have read about yoga that has had a positive impact on you? 

There are so many I've read through the years, it's hard to remember what things I've learned from which ones! But there is one timeless, simple book called The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran that I will always keep close to my heart. 

6. What lesson are you currently learning in your Asana practice? 

My Asana practice is an opportunity to practice ways of being I'm trying to cultivate. Right now I'm in quarantine during the Covid pandemic. It's easier to get to my yoga mat, but harder to hold myself accountable to be in my practice. So I'd say right now, I'm working on integrity in my practice. 

7. How often do you practice? 

It depends. When TT is not happening, sometimes I practice every day. When TT is going on, it's much less. But I also notice that when I practice less, I practice more fully, and cherish every moment and sensation.

8. How do you implement the other 7 limbs of yoga into your life other than Asana? 

This is a big question! I do notice a difference when I regularly practice mantra and pranayama, but I still have not managed to make it part of my daily routine. When I'm being hurtful or untruthful, I am aware of it and when I see it I will take responsibility for it and do my best to make things right. I think if you study and practice the limbs from a place of understanding why they are there, they can make a difference in how you live your life. 

9. Why is being present so important to you? 

Our lives are ruled by time. We live so much in the past and in the future, forwards and backwards. We become linear. However, when we are truly present, we don't go forwards and backwards... we go deeper. We get quiet. We get to tap into a way of being that is important to be able to tap into. 

10. How can we keep up with you on social media? What is your IG handle and/ FB name?

@onebreath_onemovement

‘You begin to realize that you are hardwired as a spiritual being.’

Lindsay Nova is a yoga teacher who travels and teaches.

1. What style of yoga do you teach? And, where are you located?

 I teach a bit of everything but my specialties are aerial yoga, vinyasa, and yin yoga. I’m from Florida, lived & taught all over the US, and have been traveling for 4 years teaching internationally. I created the Rising Wings Aerial Yoga teacher training curriculum and Samanova School of Yoga which have been taught on 4 continents in 7 countries in the last 2 years alone during my travels. Most recently I began running my first Yin yoga teacher training online which has been a huge success! I am a 500-RYT and I’ve been teaching for 10+ years. I hold a BFA in dance along with certificates in Pilates, barre, and reiki outside of yoga.

I am currently in Mysore, India during the pandemic waiting for lockdown to be lifted. I was studying Ashtanga here for 3 months before I got “stuck”. I have not had a home in 4 years so actually it has felt nice to be grounded in 1 place for a while.

2. What is your intention behind teaching?

 There are so many reasons- to help people get into their bodies, to help experienced practitioners expand their practice & go beyond asana, to inspire others to live a life they love from a place of love, to show people they can do anything they put their mind to whether it’s a handstand or healing themselves in some way.

I strongly believe in body consciousness, not only in just physical movement & the wisdom of our muscles & tissues on a cellular level, but that when we understand how to use this body vehicle in combination with our breath & mindset training, you begin to realize that you are hardwired as a spiritual being. We all have different paths to “wake up” and I enjoy sharing what I have found through my lifetime study of dance, yoga, and aerial arts to help others be the best version of themselves.

3. Who are your mentors in yoga? 

 Myself! I have never committed to following one teacher. But just recently I found 2 teachers I was practicing with briefly here in Mysore, India before the pandemic started that I would gladly continue with & hope to one day. They are brothers, Vijay & Vinay Kumar. Vijay teaches Ashtanga and Vinay has his own style of yoga called Pranavashya. I take backbending and pranayama with Vinay.

4. What have they taught you? 

They have helped me overcoming limiting beliefs about my body and mind through the power of the breath as well as technique, but beyond just what you do with your body/mind/breath there is a spirit of Love that permeates everything in the universe. Asana is like a puzzle with your body that you begin to unlock through your daily practice. When you reach a difficult moment, get stuck, or feel afraid, this is when the power of the breath comes to the rescue- you get comfortable with those moments and eventually move forward. You can apply this to any part of life.

5. Please mention a book that you have read about yoga that has had a positive impact on you? 

 The Living Gita by Sri Swami Satchidananda

This is my 3rd time reading a rendition of the Bhagavad Gita and he presents the material in a contemporary, easy to understand way with many personal anecdotes that make it relatable and meaningful. The Gita never gets old!

6. What lesson are you currently learning in your Asana practice? 

To believe in myself. For most of my life, I told myself I could do not perform deep backbends. I didn’t believe my body was capable. Through aerial yoga, slowly my back began to open up and I came to Mysore, India to study with a backbending specialist. I now love backbending and have been able to achieve several poses I never thought possible.

7. How often do you practice? 

 Almost every day for 2-5 hours depending on the time of year, where I am, or who I am studying with (not just asana). I generally observe moon days (no practice on full or new moon). If I’m teaching too much or have a busy travel schedule, I may miss a physical practice for some time but I try to keep up with meditation, pranayama and other forms of self-care or activities I enjoy. It may sound extreme, but if you time your practice right in the early morning & evening, you have plenty of time & even more energy than coffee to get all your work done 😉

8. How do you implement the other 7 limbs of yoga into your life other than Asana? 

 Meditation and pranayama are very much an important part of my daily practice as well as abiding by the yamasand niyamas, according to what they mean universally and personally. I believe certain levels of samadhi can be achieved in daily living and practice, so that samadhi permeates every aspect of your life and being in this existence.

9. Why is being present so important to you? 

 There is nothing more important than the power of now, the eternal present moment is all we have! The past is history and the future is a mystery, so it is useless to remain attached to anything that brings us out of what we have now- the present. Attachment & expectation cause suffering, and there is no reason to feel that way if we don’t have to. Being present is a practice in nonattachment.

10. How can we keep up with you on social media? What is your IG handle and/ FB name?

Instagram: @lindsaynova

Facebook: facebook.com/lindsaynovaarts

www.lindsaynova.com

‘I believe the practice is a work in, not a workout.’

Kristen Bierwith is a yoga teacher based in San Francisco.

1. What style of yoga do you teach?
And, where are you located?

 I teach power vinyasa for Yoga to the People in the Bay Area of California where I'm Director of West Coast Operations for the company. I oversee our 3 Bay Area studios, co-own one of them, manage 80+ teachers, and run our Teacher Training program. And teach, of course :)

2. What is your intention behind teaching? When I first started practicing, I knew I wanted to practice yoga because I loved the way that I felt afterwards and I was very into spirituality and mindfulness. But every time I walked into a studio I felt incredibly out of place and self-conscious. It seemed, to me, that everyone looked the same, was wearing similar outfits, were way stronger and more flexible than I was - like they all belonged on the cover of Yoga Journal. It was intimidating and I felt unsuccessful time and again. It wasn't until I walked into a class one day taught by a woman who would later become my teacher that I felt safe in a yoga studio.

She encouraged me to to listen to my own body, to take care of myself, and generally came at the class like it was a moving meditation. I try to bring the same to my own classes. I encourage students to close their eyes, to get more interested in what shapes feel like rather than striving for perfection and focusing on what they look like, to listen to their bodies. It's not a one size fits all practice. I believe the practice is a work in, not a workout. It's a moving meditation.

A chance to get closer to the stillness that's within you - that's within all of us. One of my favorite quotes is: "We don't use the body to get into the poses, we use the poses to get into the body." and that's the mentality I bring to my classes. Each pose is merely a vehicle in which you can have an experience. It's a chance to be in the present moment with yourself, to meet yourself where you're at, and cultivate self-kindness and self-compassion.

3. Who are your mentors in yoga? 

The woman I referenced above is named Julie and she and her partner, Daniel, had a huge impact on how I teach today. They ran my 200 hour teacher training and were a big part of why I signed up for TT. Even now, years later, I find myself sequencing classes in a similar way, focusing on similar postures, and speaking about the poses from a similar mindset.

4. What have they taught you? 

I think I already answered this :) But apart from everything that I've already said, I think the biggest thing that they've taught me recently is that there's always more to this journey - always new places to go.

5. Please mention a book that you have read about yoga that has had a positive impact on you? Your Body, Your Yoga by Bernie Clark had a profound impact on me and is where the above quote is from.

6. What lesson are you currently learning in your Asana practice? Oh wow, great question! There's a lot (physically) that I'm working on - hip flexors, hamstrings, shoulders, and upper back mobility. But I think right now with everything going on in the world and the current Shelter-In-Place, I'd say the biggest thing I'm learning is where I hold tension in my body.

I always thought I held tension mostly in my jaw, neck, and shoulders but I've found that as the world is reeling and waves of anxiety occasionally hit me (like they do most people right now), it's my hamstrings, glutes, and hips that are clenching. My hips are suddenly feeling a whole lot tighter and more constrained in poses like pigeon than they normally do. So I guess my answer is that I'm learning to take a step back and quietly watch my body more as a witness rather than an active participant. 

7. How often do you practice? Nearly every day. I like to mix up my practice a lot. I do a mix of power vinyasa, yin, traditional hot, drills, and static stretches. I try to do at least something every day, even if it's just a few minutes of stretching.

8. How do you implement the other 7 limbs of yoga into your life other than Asana? I also practice meditation and pranayama. I read a lot, I try to keep my home (which is my sanctuary) clutter-free, I try to spend a lot of time doing things that make my soul sing, and I try to generally be a good person.

9. Why is being present so important to you? I think we're here, in this life, on this planet for a short time. We're here to learn so that our souls can continue to evolve. I want to take full advantage of that. I went through a lot of trauma when I was younger and my life for the past 17 years has been centered around growing, learning, and healing all aspects of myself (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc). I think in order to fully do that you need to be present.

10. How can we keep up with you on social media? What is your IG handle and/ FB name? You can follow me on Instagram @this.yogi.life and @truthseeker1111_,  you can take my virtual classes at yogatothepeople.com/online-classes, and you can find a few past classes at yogatothepeople.com/channel (video) and yogatothepeople.com/podcasts (audio only)

I think that all people should realize that all the power and the light is within us.

Roberta Burico is a yoga teacher based in Italy.

1. What is your name and where are you based?
My name is Roberta Burico. I'm living in Italy, Rome.

2. What style of yoga do you teach? And, what are your intentions behind teaching?
I teach Hatha Yoga, in some cases with Vinyasa's elements, and Vinyasa Yoga.

In every style I like giving attention to the breath. I started teaching to share and to convey my passion. I think that Yoga can bring to a state of greater well-being, physical and mental. Since I practice Yoga my point of view has changed, it helps me to find myself and the light inside me. I think that all people should realize that all the power and the light is within us.

3. Who are your mentors?
My mentors are all around the world. I study here in Rome but I love to travel around the world and to bring my practice with me.

4. What have your mentors taught you?

I studied Yoga and medicine during my TT in Rome. I learned the importance to breathe, to free the mind and to heed inside and that Yoga is an individual practice to share without  a competition.

5. Please mention a book that you have read about yoga that has had a positive impact on you? 

L' insegnante di Yoga autor Mark Stephens. 

6. What lesson are you currently learning in your Asana practice? 

I am working on arm balancing asanas and generally in power and balance asana. I work also to feel what my body wants, day by day.

7. How often do you practice?

Every time that I can also for a little personal practice or to meditate.

8. How do you implement the other 7 limbs of yoga into your life other than Asana? 

Everyday I try to bring all Yoga limbs in my routine. I practice Pranayama and I strongly believe in Karma, so positive energy brings positive things.

We are surrounded by all energies that we transmit.

9. Why is being present so important to you? 

Only present moment really exist, we don't take our attention to past and future, and to live fully the present moment leads to a fulfilling life.

10. How can we keep up with you on social media? What is your IG handle and/ FB name?

IG account and Facebook is @Robertaburico.

‘Being present is important to me because there is a treasure in the NOW.’

Chantelle Broomes is a yoga teacher located in New York City.

1. What style of yoga do you teach? And, where are you located?

I teach Power Vinyasa and Meridian Yoga. I am located in the city.

2. What is your intention behind teaching?

My intention behind teaching yoga is to serve others. It is in my nature and I feel blessed to be able to share my knowledge and help people get more in tune with their inner self.

3. Who are your mentors in yoga?

My mentor in yoga would be my teacher and beautiful friend Erin Rose.

4. What have they taught you?

She has taught me how pranayama, tantra, chanting, asana , acupressure, and ear acupuncture.

5. Please mention a book that you have read about yoga that has had a positive impact on you?

Tantra Spirituality Sex by Bhagwan Rajneesh.

6. What lesson are you currently learning in your Asana practice?

I am currently learning how important the utilization of the breath is during asana. I recently learned how to breathe correctly and it has deepened my practice immensely.

7. How often do you practice?

I practice at least once everyday.

8. How do you implement the other 7 limbs of yoga into your life other than Asana?

I implement the other 7 limbs of yoga by just simply bringing more awareness into my daily mundane tasks. For example , I would only think of pranayama during yoga. Then I wondered what if I tried breath control outside of the studio? Perhaps the next time I was in a scenario where I was really angry or anxious and to my surprise it worked. I wasn't perfect, but I felt myself much more calm than I would have been in the past without that kind of keen awareness.

9. Why is being present so important to you?

Being present is important to me because there is a treasure in the NOW. Often we tend to get caught up feeling so depressed about the past or anxious about the future that we miss out on the blessings in front of us in the very given moment. Being aware and in tune to what's happening in the present moment only invites more awareness. This will bring us just a little closer to rediscovering our true selves.

10. How can we keep up with you on social media? What is your IG handle and FB name?

My instagram is : mysticaleuphorian

My facebook is : Chantelle Broomes

‘You can have the most amazing standing bow and eat all the kale, but if you're not kind to others, you're missing something.’

Ksenia Voropaeva is a yoga teacher based in New York City. She is also the Founder of Anaday- available in our retail section

1. What style of yoga do you teach? 

I teach a mix of lineages that have been taught to me, and that resonate in my personal practice. I believe in teaching what I know. So I combine Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Bikram, Dharma, Kundalini, Mantra, plus incorporate new things that I'm learning and working on myself. I'm forever a student and that keeps me curious and growing. Being a teacher means being a student first.

2. What is your intention behind teaching?

To pass on the teachings and help people feel better.

3. Who are your mentors in yoga? 

So many amazing teachers through the years in NYC! Jared McCann has pushed (and still pushes) my practice to the next level. Erin Rose gives a depth that's like no other. I now notice my kidneys when I practice. Gauri has shifted my life in so many ways through mantra work. My partner, Mario,teaches my everyday how to take the yoga home (om shanti). And I’m always learning so, so much from my yoga community—the amazing humans who I feel like I've known through lifetimes at this point. There's is something so special about deep asana and mediation work with people. You get to know them on another level. It’s like osmosis. These are my mentors.

4. What have they taught you? 

Be present, do the practice every. single. day. (doesn't have to be asana, doesn't have to be on a mat, but it needs to be something), be kind, be of service, love.

5. Please mention a book that you have read about yoga that has had a positive impact on you? 

The Science of Breath.

6. What lesson are you currently learning in your Asana practice? 

Big shifts happen in subtle ways.

7. How often do you practice? 

Everyday.

8. How do you implement the other 7 limbs of yoga into your life other than Asana? 

Through everyday actions. The more I practice and connect with my inner-self, the more I recognize how everything is an extension of my experience—home, health, relationships, career, finances, dreams. Everything is connected. So for me, it's a matter of recognizing my patterns and shifting them. The Yamas and Niyamas are foundation #1. You can have the most amazing standing bow and eat all the kale, but if you're not kind to others, you're missing something. And that something is reflection of our own fears (aka absence of love). Once we start to really confront ourselves and our patterns (of harming, dishonesty, excess, attachment, non-contentment, fill in your Yama/Niyama blank____), we begin to remove the blocks to energy/love/divinity, and the rest of the limbs fall into place. It’s a constant remembering that my home, family, career, everything else in life, has to come from this place of awareness.

9. Why is being present so important to you? 

They say time is an illusion and the present is all there is. That's tough to wrap my head around. What I do know, is that it's only when I'm fully present that I feel a deep sense of connection. When I'm not worried about the future or analyzing the past, and am just doing my asana, my meditation, or creating, my energy flows. Rather than trying or forcing, I become a channel. Stay receptive, as Dharma says. That's only possible in the present. 

10. How can we keep up with you on social media? What is your IG handle and/ FB name?

Find me @heyananday!

Sara Schwartz shares her yogic journey with us

The yoga community is fortunate to have a person as loving, kind and compassionate as Sara in it. Over the few years that I have known her, she has maintained her kindness and yoga practice.

This yogi is an inspiration. She shares with you some inspirational words. 
 

1. How long have you been teaching?

7 years 

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

I started teaching at Yoga to the People in San Francisco. Teaching felt very hard to me, I was painfully shy and had a small voice. Someone, maybe it was Katite, said: In Yoga, if something is hard for you, go towards it. That is the yogic way. So I decided to pursue teaching because I knew it was the most impossible thing for me at the time. I'll tell you within 6 months it became easier. Within 3 years I didn't get nervous anymore. And now, 7 years later, I know teaching yoga is my dharma, my life's purpose. Teaching Yoga I've learned that you never know what someone is going through, so try approach every student as a dear friend. Even the ones on their cellphone and with mean mugs. I've learned tricks and modifications from watching the students. I've learned that if you just stick with something you will get better at it.

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

I learned some discipline from Yancy "Scotty" Schwartz. I never liked following the rules. Sometimes in yoga if you follow the rules you will receive the benefits. I watched this work for Yancy and so I tried it out. I found there is a comfort, an anchor, in finding some discipline and sticking to it. Right now for me it's my practice of the Gayatri Mantra.

4. How many times a week do you practice?

The first three years I practiced everyday. Then I noticed my body did well with one day off a week. Now I do a daily mantra practice and for asana just listen to my body. If I feel worn down I take a day off. 

5. Who inspires your practice?

I am super inspired by Erin Kelly. She is strong and flexible and moves very slowly. I'm also inspired by Sri Dharma Mittra, Sadguru, Amma and Shiva (King of the Yogis!). 

6. Why is it necessary to you to practice?

Money comes and goes. Beauty comes and goes. Sadly friends and family come and go. The only thing that is truly with us for life is our consciousness, our mind and spirit. The practice connects me with my spirit, helps me understand the workings of my mind. I believe it is one of life's deepest purposes to practice and come to understand what it means to be human.

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

My original career dream was to be a U.N. Peacekeeper. The quote in the YTTP quotebook about the monk who wanted to change the world, but realized he had to change himself first really inspired me to pursue yoga instead. I always like to share with the classes that by creating a peaceful environment within yourself you are making a big step towards community and world peace.

8. Where are you currently teaching? 

Red Diamond Yoga, Hollywood Power Yoga, YogaWorks, Equinox and Create Yoga Space. All in Los Angeles!

9. How does being married to a yoga help you develop your practice? 

One of the most wonderful things about our marriage is that we can practice together. Sometimes we meditate at the same time and the focus is so much sharper. We share fundamental values and beliefs. I can come to him with my yoga questions and he always has a great answer. 

10. Has yoga helped you through something that you struggled with? If so, what and how?

Oh my gosh I've had anxiety since I was a small child. I used to get these panic attacks where I couldn't eat or sleep. Just sit there with a racing heart and hurting stomach suffering. And I'll be honest, by my 20's I didn't see how I could live in this miserable skin much longer. I wanted to be free of my body. I knew yoga helped but I hadn't committed to the practice- it took a long time. I think going to India was a turning point for me. I remember reciting a mantra on mala beads next to the Ganges River and for the first time in my life peace flooded over me and I thought: here's my life preserver! The next year I was doing Bikram yoga and getting these crazy panic attacks in the room. Not being able to leave I learned how to use my breath and mental focus to overcome the panic rush. Now I feel pretty much comfortable in my own skin, I enjoy life and think the planet is beautiful, and sometimes if a panic attack comes by I can say: oh its just a panic attack. Theres a distance between me and it. I make a cup of tea and breath it away. 

Courtney Fitzgerald shares some yogi words with us

If you have ever been in her class, you understand her humour and sense of compassion. She is a yogi whom I admire and would like to share with you some inspirational words from Courtney Fitzgerald:

1. How long have you been teaching? 3 years

2. What motivated you to teach and what did you learn from teaching? I was feeling grateful for all the joy and courage I had found from practicing under a couple of incredible teachers. I wanted to enable others to feel this way. Though I definitely played it cool and said I was doing a teacher training to learn more about the practice. 

3. How many times a week do you practice? I do some type of exercise 6 days a week. I used to do yoga every day and found that that was unhealthy for me. I probably do a standard yoga practice 3-4 times a week. 

4. Who inspires your practice? It's not usually a who. Sometimes it's a meaningful quote. Or when teachers suggest picking a word to use as an intention for the practice, "freedom" is often the first word to pop into my head. Although one time recently it was "puppy" (it worked out fine). My pal/fellow teacher Brian has probably had the most influence over my physical practice because he doesn't let me off the hook with old habits and I appreciate that.

5. Why is it necessary to practice? Practicing yoga lets me feel like I can move through things. And change them. And feel frustrated and clumsy but also calm. And once in awhile I feel like an elegant swan. I feel like I know with more certainty how I feel and what is driving me in my life after I practice. And I also know that it will change over time. 

6. What message do you like to spread through teaching? It's important to feel stable so that you can adventure. You're never stuck and you can always change your mind. 

7. Where are you currently teaching? Y7, The Yoga Room, Yoga Vida, hOM, Exubrancy, various private clients and businesses around the city.