Teachers.
Don’t you just love them?
I know I do.
There are those that inspire me and those that make me laugh. Some help me solve problems in my classroom and others that help me solve problems in my life.
I’d like to introduce you to some of my favorite teachers here.
Teachers in studios, classrooms and in the world at large. These are the folks you will see featured in my new series of interviews here at Teacher Goes Back to School.
I hope you enjoy these teachers as much as I do!
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Have you met Amy yet? She’s April’s Featured Teacher and kick ass high school teacher.
In case you missed it, here’s PART 1.
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When did you start practicing yoga?
My first yoga class was in 2004. It was a Bikram class and even though it was hot and scary, I loved it.
Why did you start?
True confessions: a girl I worked with told me she knew someone who lost 20 lbs in two months doing Bikram. Since I’d have given my left arm to do that, I thought a yoga class seemed pretty reasonable.
I went a few times and on my third session, I found myself laying in corpse pose crying (and not just from the heat!) [Ed. note: What is up with all the crying in yoga?] and realized that it wasn’t just a physical thing happening. I was hooked and used to get up at 5 AM every single day to go to hot yoga before work.
Where did you practice?
I initially started at Bikram Yoga Granite Bay because I was living in Rocklin. When I moved to Midtown in 2004, I moved to Yoga Loka, where I practiced for nearly two years. I tried out It’s All Yoga because I wanted a break from Bikram and then for a variety of reasons, I stopped coming to IAY and/or doing yoga at all.
I found you and Michelle via Twitter, and decided to come back. I’ve slowly gotten more into it and am trying desperately to make it a weekly, regular thing. I think that yoga is hard for me to commit to, because it’s not just a physical workout, all the emotional stuff comes out, too and that can be a little intense for a Wednesday afternoon, you know?
[Ed.note: Yoga can ruin your life as you know it. – as per Michelle].
How has your practice evolved over time?
I love Bikram, and still go occasionally, but I think that often times, the emphasis in that class is about pushing really hard and finding your max. I often feel insecure in those classes because I’m a curvy girl and I can’t do some of the poses.
I prefer to be a lot more gentle with myself. Yoga isn’t just a “workout” — it’s a time when I feel really connected to my body and all of those feelings I have around it, both positive and negative. Also, my practice has changed — positively — since attending Michelle’s classes because I really do feel safe there to bring all my “stuff” because she’s incredibly nurturing, and also a friend.
The older I get, the more okay I am with myself and my particular body and feelings, and that makes yoga more of a joy and less of a competition or place to push myself.
Do you have a home practice? What is it like? How often? Where? How’d you start and how do you keep at it?
My home practice has increased since I started going to CrossFit, simply because I need to stretch all the time. It’s usually a few poses at night, in my living room, with terrible reality TV on in the background. I know, not very yogi-like, but it’s better than nothing, no?
[Ed.Note: Always].
What’s your favorite pose? Why?
Tree and Warrior make me feel really strong and grounded. I love Pigeon because my hips and low back are always tight. I also look forward to a long Savasana after a good practice.
What’s your least favorite pose?
Downward facing dog is my least favorite. Actually, anything inverted at all. It makes the blood rush to my head and I hate that feeling. This probably means I need to do them more, right?
[Ed. note: Or you could kill the dog and NEVER do it again].
What other blogs do your read? Why?
I read well over 100 blogs, so listing them all would take forever. My absolute favorite blogs are Yes and Yes (because she’s smart, funny, and insightful), Mimi Smartypants (because she makes me laugh out loud) and Caffeinate Me (because the author is one of my best friends, and I think she’s an insanely talented writer). I tend to read blogs that I find inspiring but also real.
I think working in a profession where I’m forced to be creative is good for inspiration—teenagers see the world so differently than I do, and also, kids are brutally honest about how they’re feeling, which definitely inspires thoughts. Otherwise, I find inspiration in a good book, a song that makes me want to dance or cry, conversations with my closest friends, a long drive on a sunny day, in cooking or baking, during a long bath or shower and the things that I write off-line, in my paper journal.
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Please leave any questions or comment love below – we’d love to hear from you.
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INTERVIEW ARCHIVES:
March 2010 Anna Guest-Jelley, Founder Curvy Yoga
February 2011: Jed Brewer, Public School Teacher/Music Executive
December 2010: Madeleine Lohman, Yoga Teacher/Massage Therapist
November 2010: Alicia Herrera – 4th grade teacher/Textile Artist – Spirit House Designs.
October 2010: Ryan Fong – Teaching Assistant/PhD Candidate in English at UC Davis.
September 2010: Michelle Marlahan– Proprietress/Fairy Queen of It’s All Yoga in Sacramento, California.
Teacher Goes Back to School 
Will surely recommend this site to some friends! Very interesting site and articles. Really thankful for sharing. Regards,
This makes me feel better about the fact that I do yoga in front of lifetime movies. Solidarity. I love yoga is helping to change her mindset about accepting herself. I’m going to read the article about how yoga can ruin your life!
Lovely interview! I especially liked this: “The older I get, the more okay I am with myself and my particular body and feelings, and that makes yoga more of a joy and less of a competition or place to push myself.” I find the same happening with myself, and I really appreciate that.