Posts In: restorative

This month’s Instructor Spotlight is on Missy DiDonato. Not only does she teach the super relaxing Friday restorative class at 4pm, you can flow with her on Tuesday mornings at 9am. Missy is also our much beloved Office Manager (or OM) whose friendly smile lights up the Nook. Pencil in one of her classes on your schedule in the next week and you’re sure to feel the mama bear love! Check out our full schedule here.

1. What is your favorite style of yoga?

I love vinyasa, anusara and restorative. I really try to honor how I’m feeling: some days I prefer one over the others, it just depends on my mood and energy level at that moment. The most important thing for me is to stay connected to my breath and use it to enhance the poses. If I stay grounded and breathing, then all yoga is my favorite.

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

I started practicing yoga when I was 14 years old and like most 14 year olds, I had low self-esteem and body image issues. Yoga made me feel good in my own skin when adolescence was making that difficult. I didn’t know it at the time, but yoga helped me find my place in life.

3. What is your favorite yoga pose right now?

Supported supta baddha konosana. It opens my lower back, shoulders, chest, hips, inner thighs and IT’S RELAXING!

4. What pose is still the most challenging?

Savasana – I’m usually really good at it, but lately I can’t seem to stop my thoughts and completely let go. When I finally do, it’s time to come out!

5. If you were an animal, you would be: a mama brown bear. I’m soft, cuddly and playful but if you mess with me or any of my cubs (a.k.a. friends, family, yoga students) then I get angry 🙂

6. Describe what yoga means in your life using just 6 words: uplifting, freedom, alignment, contentment, breath, light

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

I’m mildly addicted to video and computer games. I play probably once a day, whether it’s Mario Brothers or a puzzle game on the computer. I don’t play “shoot ’em up” games though, my favorites are the ones with cute animals and plants that come to life.

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

Don’t be afraid to try yoga and don’t feel guilty if you don’t like it at first! Just try a different teacher or style and find what works for you. There are so many different variations out there in the yoga world, it’s going to take some trial and error. Take note of how a class made you feel and move on.

Becoming aware of your body and mind is the most important skill yoga can offer. If you can remain aware of how you feel on the mat, then you can take that awareness off the mat. In time it spreads from you to others around you to nature. Being conscious and aware is what this world needs! Be part of THAT movement. Do YOGA! Namaste!

Hi, there! In honor of Yoga One Blog’s first birthday, we’re checking in with blog writer and yoga teacher, Laura McCorry. Usually behind the scenes writing and organizing blog posts, Laura also leads a Gentle Flow class at Yoga One on Thursday nights at 7:45pm. It’s the latest class on the schedule, but it’s the perfect yoga nightcap – including a forehead massage during savasana. Check out our full schedule here, no reservations required.

1. What is your favorite style of yoga?

My favorite style of yoga varies with the seasons, time of day and my energy level. I love a quiet restorative practice whenever life gets overwhelming and an energetic Vinyasa flow for those days when you just need to move and sweat!

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

I started practicing yoga during a very stressful time in my life when I was anxious during the day and having nightmares every night. I’d tried going to a meditation class but the chaos inside my head only increased. Someone told me that yoga was a moving meditation with the eyes open, so I went to a class at my local gym. Even during that first savasana, I felt glimpses of the peace that comes with practice.

For me, the best part about practicing yoga as a new student was that I needed to pay attention to my breath and the way my body moved. I’d never done that before and it was very challenging! The unique combination of breath and movement turned out to be the key to releasing the frenetic energy of my thoughts.

3. What is your favorite yoga pose right now?

Restorative twist with a bolster or folded blankets. (Shout out: Missy often includes this pose in her 4pm Restorative class on Fridays.) This pose is super relaxing for my body, I have to be careful not to fall asleep! I find that my mind is quietest when my gaze is down or to the side rather than straight up – so for me, this pose is often more peaceful than savasana.

4. What pose is still the most challenging?

I thought about answering with wheel or handstand but seriously, one of the poses that challenges me the most is chair. It’s never easy, never comfortable and always a struggle to remember to breathe. I’m the first person to stand up in tadasana or fold forward when it’s over.

5. If you were an animal, you would be: a cat. I almost always know my own mind and I’ll often ask for advice from others and then do exactly what I’d been planning all along. I think cats are contrary that way. Also, they’re very wise: they know you don’t need to work too hard in life in order to be happy and that’s a philosophy I can get behind.

6. Describe what yoga means in your life using just 6 words: peace, healing, challenge, strength, joy, prayer 

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

I went to university to study French and desperately wanted to be a high school French teacher after graduation but it wasn’t meant to be. Enrolling in a yoga teacher training course and learning to teach yoga (another passion) soothed my soul and gave me a new purpose.

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

Yoga can be so many things: exercise, stress-relief, spiritual connection – soak up what resonates with you and let the rest go. Do what feels good in your body and don’t be afraid to modify. Never compromise your physical well-being for the sake of keeping up with the class. With that in mind, be sure to challenge yourself: hold a pose longer, take that stretch a little deeper, try out the scary arm balance. The biggest challenge any yoga student faces is simply showing up to class. 🙂

It’s that time again! Get to know Jennifer Tipton online and then come to one of her classes and meet her in person! She teaches Yoga for Backs at the studio on Tuesday nights at 7:30 or swing by the Porto Visto Hotel Rooftop on Sunday mornings at 9am ready to Flow. Click here to see the online schedule, no reservations required for class.