It was almost noon on a rainy Monday. I looked at the clock, surprised by how quickly time had gotten away from me. I grabbed my yoga mat, pulled on my shoes and headed out the door, thankful I only live a short walk away from the studio. When I got downstairs, I saw that it was actually raining steadily, not just misting like I had expected from San Diego. For a split second, I stood there with my hand on the door, debating whether I should go to Amy’s vinyasa class or go back up to my apartment and make some hot tea. Then I pushed open the door and walked resolutely through the rain.

When I first started doing yoga, I would come home so sore, I couldn’t imagine going to class the next day or even the day after that. But sometime that evening, I would ask myself whether going to yoga had been the right decision and almost always, despite my aching muscles, I decided that it was. There have been a few times when going to yoga was the wrong decision. I remember being dehydrated in an early morning hot class. Or the time I had the beginnings of a cold and every second I spent in down dog only exacerbated the pressure in my head. But when I look back on the seven years yoga and I have known each other, our fights have been few and far between.

Once in the studio, belongings placed in cubbies, blankets and blocks gathered, Amy Caldwell started the class in child’s pose. She asked us to focus on the transitions, to be mindful during each posture and during the movement from one posture to another. Once we had warmed up and flowed through a series of standing postures, Amy guided us into hanumanasa, or the splits. While most of the class wasn’t capable of accomplishing the full expression of the pose, myself included, I felt the energy along the length of my legs, the weight of my upper body bearing down into the blocks under my hands and an incredible intensity in my hamstring.

Just then, the sound of the rain hitting the roof became louder and there was a collective breath that spread throughout the room. We had been separate, each caught up in our private struggles when the rain drew everyone’s attention out of themselves to coalesce into one moment of levity, I think someone even laughed. It was as if we had all arrived, truly arrived in the room, practicing whatever version of hanumasana our bodies were capable of performing that day. Right at that moment, I knew that I was exactly where I was supposed to be, exactly when I was supposed to be there and the confidence of that knowledge spread warmly through my being.

Those moments in life are rare, at least for me. As Amy gently woke us from savasana, she asked again that we be mindful of this transition, not from one pose to another but from yoga to everyday life. It’s one thing to have a moment of clarity, to experience complete confidence and purpose. It’s another to carry those feelings with you through the ebb and flow of life. When I focus on the transitions in my practice and in my life, I understand why my answer has always been that yoga was the right decision. Each time I emerge from savasana, I sense that something is different in my body and in my mind, something has been laid to rest and something new has been allowed to blossom.

If you’ve never been to Amy’s class, you should definitely check it out. I can’t promise rain and epiphanies, but you’ll feel the strong sense of community, Amy’s passion for teaching and for her students and I’m confident you’ll leave knowing it was the right decision to go.

namaste,
Laura

Yoga One’s next teacher training starts January 27th. To find out more about the eight week, two hundred hour course, I sat down with Hillary Trevett, a 2010 alumna of the training. For more information on dates, times and pricing go here or email info@yogaonesandiego.com.

It’s impossible to put Hillary down in words, so from the start, this is a failed mission. She’s the kind of person you notice the instant they walk into a room, even if your back is turned, the energy of her presence is so bright. A young woman who radiates confidence, vitality and happiness. Her sense of self is so strong, it’s hard to believe there was a time when Hillary wasn’t a yoga teacher or a time when she wasn’t sure of her direction in life.

We met at City Pizzeria right next door to the studio. Unsurprisingly, Hillary knows the owner and does a little dance while asking about the last time he got out on the water to surf. She orders a slice of ranch chicken pizza. “Yes, I like ranch and I’m not a vegetarian,” she confides to me.

Hillary grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the fifth of six children. Her family didn’t have much and she decided that if she made a lot of money, everything would work out for the best. At SDSU, she studied Business Finance, made the dean’s list, signed up for clubs and accepted invitations to honor societies. In May of 2009, she graduated summa cum laude, poised to launch into the business world and make her mark. But this isn’t where her story starts.

It really begins in 2005, when Hillary took her first yoga class. At the end of class, the instructor led them through a guided savasana, bringing attention to each part of the body and relaxing it in turn. “My first savasana changed my entire life,” she said. It was the first time Hillary felt totally present in the room. When she woke up, she thought, “what was that?” knowing something had changed. In that moment, she felt the first small tug on her heart that would lead her down a different path.

How did you get to Yoga One?

“This is where the magic happens,” she responds with a big smile. The summer after graduation, Hillary traveled to Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. While there, she felt a growing resistance towards the trajectory of her life. It felt like a role she was ready to take on, but her heart pulled away. “I just want to be happy,” was her realization as she stood on a beach halfway around the world with the sun shining in her eyes.

When she got back to the States, she pulled out a file of magazine clippings and photos she had saved for years as inspiration for the things she would do ‘one day.’ The kind of ‘one day’ everyone has in their minds that never gets pinned down to a date on the calendar. She found a clipping from four years before, a music review for Yoga One’s CD. In a series of events that now feel predestined, Hillary listened to the CD, found the studio and signed up for an inversion workshop. It was there that she heard about yoga teacher training and sat down with Michael and Amy Caldwell to learn more.

What changed for you over the course of Yoga Teacher Training?

“Midway through the course, I realized I can let of go of where I was going. That it’s okay to shift your course in life. Just by doing what makes me happy, I can really help other people. I began to trust that I could pay my bills and build a life for myself by teaching yoga.”

“Which I still struggle with sometimes,” she admits with a laugh. “In college, the world made me think that [business finance] was what I was supposed to be doing. After I signed up for yoga teacher training, I really grabbed my life by the balls and brought it into alignment.”

Now that she teaches yoga, she sees people with office jobs and loves helping them feel better in their bodies. She appreciates the people who choose to work in the business world even more now that she’s found her passion. “If I were working a corporate job, I think I would ask myself everyday, ‘okay, when does my real life get to start?’”

Hillary bounces on her chair, so excited to talk about the city she loves and the yoga she loves even more. “Open your heart,” she exclaims, spreading her arms out wide. “Breathe, smile, OPEN!” The last word comes out somewhere between a cry of joy and a commandment.

What would you say to people on the fence, who aren’t sure if Yoga Teacher Training is right for them?

“If you have some interest in yoga, you should do YTT because it’s the most powerful personal transformation – it affects your body, mind and spirit. Even if you never want to teach yoga, it will deepen your practice and your whole experience of life.”

“Follow the tugs on your heart,” she advises. If you’re even remotely interested in yoga teacher training, follow that spark, find out more, be open to kindling a new passion in life.

With social events and family gatherings right around the corner, it’s easy to stop doing some of the things you usually do, including established habits. It’s even easier to stop doing the new activities you’d like to transform into habits. Your yoga practice, whether fully integrated into daily life or a new-found activity you’d like to continue, is in danger of suffering this December. For some, the knowledge of having been dedicated to their practice for a long time can feel like permission to do less and focus on other matters. For others, yoga can feel like a personal luxury, one that can easily be picked up after everyone else’s problems and needs have been resolved.

We all struggle with the decision of what to do with the present moment. Most of us can only do one thing at a time; therefore a choice must be made between many tasks or activities of differing priority levels. Normally, there exists a careful balance between the things that need to be done and the things we would like to do. But during times of stress, we’re all guilty of compromising on the things we would like to do, the self-care activities that keep us happy and balanced, that we mortgage our own well-being. The parent who puts off treating themselves for some magical day in the future when they won’t have to drive half the soccer league to practice. The student who sacrifices good nutrition for convenience during finals week. The working professional who hasn’t taken a day off in years. We’ve all seen these people and we’ve all been these people.

I would like to put forth the outlandish proposal that healthy, well-cared-for people are happier people. More productive people. Even sexier people. In the midst of all the swirling activities and demands that December brings, make two lists for yourself. One you already have, whether it’s in your mind or written down on a scrap of paper. The other is a list of all the things you usually do for yourself or all the things you’d like to do for yourself. Add yoga to the top of both lists.

Beyond the realm of exercise, yoga calms the nerves, deepens the breath and establishes a mind-body connection to counteract all the spinning the mind does on its own. We all know that yoga makes us feel good, but yoga is also something we need, especially when life gets chaotic. When you carve out time to care for your own well-being, both physical and mental, then you’ll find that you command such superpowers as increased energy, more focused attention, emotional empathy to spare, and that rarest of all gems, peace of mind.

Go forth. Do yoga. Spread Joy.

Here’s a new segment we hope you’ll really enjoy! Ever wondered how yoga teachers feel about their own yoga practice? Want some advice for beginners from an experienced practitioner? We’ll be showcasing a different instructor every month, so be sure to check in and get to know your Yoga One instructors off the mat.

Instructor Spotlight: Interview with Sarah Clark

1. What is your favorite style of yoga?

I lean towards a vinyasa-style practice with lots of dharma (yoga’s philosophical and psychological teachings) sprinkled in, with bonus points for incorporating pranayama (breathing practices) and meditation. My preference for this style is influenced by OM Yoga Center in NYC, where I studied a lot, so that type of practice just feels like home to me. But really, I love any ‘style’ presented by a high-quality teacher. I’m a sucker for an amazing teacher, of anything.

2. What first attracted you to yoga when you began your practice?

I’ve always been a person who enjoys embodied movement; moving in a way where you feel from the inside out. I’m also a total philosophy geek, a person who’s endlessly captivated by the ‘big’ questions like “what is the point of this existence anyway?” and “how am I to make the most of it?” When I realized that yoga incorporated all of this, that was it. I was smitten.

3. What is your favorite yoga pose right now?

Ug, this is such a hard question! The truth is that my favorite and least favorite change all the time and the same pose often begins on one list only to shortly move to the other. I have a chronic right shoulder/neck injury that is in a flare up phase right now, so finding a deep, supported fish pose on blocks is one of the few things I can do that offers me relief.

4. What is your least favorite?

In honor of full disclosure, I must say that it’s true: I even love the poses that I totally cannot stand because I know they’re good for me and I’m always better off having done them. That being said, as of today, I’d have to go with kapotasana (pigeon), folded forward. It’s very difficult for me to choose this pose because usually I love it! But for right now, it tops my least favorite list because I’m dealing with a knee/hip issue as well and it’s very difficult for me to abide calmly in this posture. I have to concentrate on my breathing and make peace with the fact that this pose looks, feels and IS very different than it has been in the past. But THAT is totally the practice of yoga: being honest about the present moment, modifying your practice and meeting that experience calmly. Being in pigeon is not a pleasant situation for me right now! But it’s a great chance to work with my mind in my practice.

5. If you were an animal, you would be: a hummingbird, my mother adores them 🙂

6. Describe what yoga means in your life using just 6 words: Calm, Steady, Wakeful Awareness Manifesting Interconnectedness

7. What might your students be surprised to learn about you?

I have scoliosis and lots of old dance injuries. I danced professionally in NYC for 6 years and yoga has always been my therapy. My practice looks different every day because I’m one of those practitioners who requires constant adaptation. On some level, we’re all that way. Also, I love the NFL. Yes, Yogis can love the NFL too!

8. Do you have any words of wisdom or advice for new students?

When I started this practice, it was rather unpleasant and I think that’s typical! So if you are new to the practice and that’s your experience, you’re normal. Lastly, I would just say, in this practice, an inch is a mile.

Sarah Clark teaches a mixed level flow class at Yoga One on Wednesdays at 5:30pm.
Go here, then click on “workshops” to check out her upcoming workshop: Balanced and Calm Holiday on Sunday, December 11th.

Whenever I walk into REI I’m simultaneously excited about all the wonderful outdoors-y things that people do, things that I could be doing if I only had the right gear, and amazed that there’s an industry dedicated to taking something as simple as say, hiking, and making it complex by selling things to enhance the experience. Granted, there are many activities that simply wouldn’t be possible without the right gear – whoever heard of canoeing without a canoe, or skiing without skis? But there are other activities like hiking, running or (dare I say it?) yoga that require next to nothing when you really get down to basics.

What do you really need in order to practice yoga? I found this thought running through my head while I was out of town on vacation for two weeks. I had dutifully packed my suitcase with my ipod, yoga pants, a few sports bras, travel mat and even some essential oils to take with me, fully intending to keep up my regular practice even while bombarded by family and friends and baked goods. But when I sat down in the living room before everyone else was awake and thought about it, yoga doesn’t need those things. As long as you have comfortable clothes that move with your body, you’ll be able to do the poses you usually do. And sure, having a mat is nice, especially when your hands start to slip on the carpet in downward facing dog – but is even that necessary?

As I moved through a sun salutation in silence, I realized how stiff my joints felt and how my muscles didn’t bend the way they usually did. Listening only to my body, without the voice of a teacher nearby, I decided to do another sun salutation, then another and another until I felt limber enough to try something else. By the time I finished my practice, I realized I’d done much less than I usually would have done in a class. It wasn’t a full hour of practice and I’d only opted to do five or six standing poses and double the number of lying down poses as usual. Maybe it wasn’t the best practice ever and I know myself well enough to know I do not prosper without the regular guidance of teachers and established class times at the studio – but it was yoga on my terms, the kind of yoga my body told me to do – which is yoga in its most basic form.

There are many things in life that would be nice to have. I find myself thinking all the time about how a particular new mat would be better than the one I have, how my workout clothes are wearing out and I should probably buy some new ones, and that maybe I would be better about practicing at home if only I had a block, strap and woven blanket like at the studio. It’s nice to take a step back and think about the things that are really necessary for yoga practice: a quiet space, comfortable clothes, a heart willing to listen to the teacher within.

namaste,
Laura

I LOVE it when instructors admit that they have trouble getting into a pose. Not that it wouldn’t be great to take a class with some super yogi guru who can do everything and has a pose named after them. (I’m looking at you, Marichi.) For the rest of us, yoga practice seems to be filled with poses we like so much that the body eases right in or poses we have a positive aversion to because they’re difficult or even scary.

If I had known ahead of time all the poses we would be trying out in Leah’s 1/2 Vinyasa class last Saturday, I might have felt overwhelmed. But you know what they say: let go of your expectations. So I suppose it was better that nobody knew crow, headstand and side crow were right around the corner! What could have been a scary, intimidating class was transformed into no-pressure play time as Leah’s gentle energy led us to explore the postures with plenty of guidance to move in and out of them safely as well as the option not to do them.

The best part of class came when she admitted that side crow was still a challenge for her and she laughed about only showing us her strong side. It brought a smile to everyone’s face and I’m sure encouraged more than one person to try something new. I remember how it felt the first time I saw someone do crow pose – how blown away I was and how my first thought was I could never do that. But with time and practice, I found that I could sorta do crow, then I was mostly in crow and finally, on a good day, I could get into crow for just a breath or two before coming down to my feet triumphantly.

The beauty of yoga is that there’s always a new pose out there to try or a deeper refinement of a pose you already know. It’s good to reflect on how yoga felt when you first started and how you feel now. What poses are still a challenge for you? Do you have more confidence doing a pose now that used to be difficult or inaccessible?

Some of the best words you can hear in life (other than “congratulations, you’ve just won the lottery!” of course) would have to be “welcome home.” Two simple words that express so much: first, that you were somewhere else before and secondly, that someone was waiting at home to welcome you back. I’ve moved around a lot in life and consequently the word “home” has taken a beating. It becomes next to impossible to hang on to the old definition of home as a specific location. Instead, home is elevated to an idea, a feeling, an experience created by the presence of those you love.

Just over a year ago, I moved to San Diego from the east coast and I immediately liked the city. But for awhile, it didn’t feel real to me, much less like someplace I could call home. Every day felt like I was on vacation (am I right, fellow transplants?) and by the time Fall rolled around I was itching for leaf piles and scarves and that smell in the air that means it’s going to snow.

A funny thing happens though, when you settle in somewhere and establish a routine. You meet new people, find a social circle, maybe even a few good friends. Looking back on all the moves I’ve had, there’s a common theme: the moment I start to feel at home in a new place happens concurrently with the moment I find a new yoga community. It’s no accident, either. The yoga studio is a place where people bring all of themselves and where they find the practice they started to feel better in their bodies leaves them feeling better in their hearts and minds as well.

When I finally started to feel at home in San Diego, I read these words in an email, “we look forward to having you in the Yoga One family!” Family. A word so closely associated with home. There’s something really special happening at Yoga One and you can feel it from the moment you step through the door. With your family, you have a shared history of experiences so that every time you meet up, you don’t need to explain everything that’s going on. There’s continuity there, a never-ending conversation, if you will.

Here’s a place where we can keep that conversation going; to take what happens in class and spend some more time on the details or reflect on the bigger picture. I’m excited to offer the Yoga One community a new place to call home on the internet. I invite your regular participation on this blog and I look forward to creating new memories together.

namaste,
Laura