My first real introduction to yoga was my sophomore year of college. My movement (for the actor) teacher taught us a version of a sun salutation, and we began each class with a sun salutation. We later work-shopped a few of the asanas (or yoga postures), and I learned that I had a pretty decent downward dog. That was about the extent of it, though. I remember enjoying it, but I knew very little about it. That being said, I am grateful for the introduction.
After college, I moved to NYC. It was there that a friend of mine took me to my first “real” yoga class at a hot yoga studio in Union Square. It felt “fancy” to me and I liked it even though I was simultaneously intimidated by it. I could imagine the fictional Carrie Bradshaw taking class there. There were maybe 10 students and the room was dimly lit and hot – but not too hot. That college yoga did in fact give me a foundation otherwise I would have been much more lost than I was. I’ll never forget feeling awkward as I swan-dived into my forward folds… at the time unable to find the grace my friend seemed to demonstrate so easily. In spite of my self-consciousness, when I walked out of that class – after having had a phenomenal workout and having stretched out places I never knew needed stretching – I felt like I was on top of the world. I remember feeling so alive, happy, and hopeful… blissful even. I walked around the city with all of my senses activated. The beautiful fall trees, the crisp air against my skin, and a deeper connection to my friend. I was inexplicably happy for the first time in a while.
After that first yoga class in NY, you’d think I would have dove into yoga with wild abandon, but I didn’t. I was still too distracted by everything else going on in my life at that time. I didn’t completely stop, though. I took a few more classes throughout the city with different teachers and at different studios. I took some great classes and some not so great classes. I’ll never forget taking a class I thought was for beginners but clearly wasn’t. I ended up getting a lot of attention from the teacher that day… I felt like a buffoon because I also happened to be at the front of the room. I learned on that day to get to yoga classes early enough to score a place to rest my mat at the back of the room. Of course, now I really don’t care where my mat is, but this was important to me at the beginning of my yoga journey.
When I moved to L.A. 5 years ago, I received my introduction to yoga in California by taking a donation-based power yoga class with Brian Kest. I didn’t know it at the time, but Brian is somewhat of a yoga legend. I took several power yoga classes with him and other teachers for a while. They were really challenging and fun for me. I then had the good fortune of taking class with a friend of mine, Aden, who was recently certified to teach. I felt comfortable enough in her class to try new things, and I credit her for really helping me perfect some of the different asanas that we worked on with her in class. I later moved from the West side of LA to the East side, and ended up having to change up my yoga practice. I went to Groupon to try out different places. I enjoyed Iyengar and Vinyasa classes over at Yogaworks on Larchmont. I checked out Kundalini Yoga at Golden Bridge in Hollywood and found it fascinating and mystical. I really liked the teachers I met at Still Yoga in Silverlake. They always seemed to share some brilliant nuggets of wisdom with us. However, after jumping around quite a bit, I ended up doing most of my yoga with my wonderful yoga teacher, Nicole, at my cross-fit gym, Pink Iron. She helped take my yoga to another level. I’ll never forget doing my first crow in her class and feeling incredibly proud of myself afterward. Thanks Nicole!!
It was at some point over this past summer that I came across a Groupon for a yoga teacher training. I perked up and felt compelled to do it. I found it somewhat funny that I felt this way because I’d never considered teaching yoga before. I had definitely made strides over the years with my yoga practice, but I knew enough to know that I still had a lot to learn. So I dismissed the Groupon and went about my day. Later on that week, however, I had an epiphany. I realized that though I am an artist at heart, and will always pursue acting, I wanted more fulfillment from my day to day work. I looked into Wellness coaching, and learned that before I could take training to become a wellness coach, I would need training in some fitness or nutrition program… such as a 200 hour yoga teacher training program. AHHH! So the intuition I felt when I saw that Groupon wasn’t nonsense after all. I immediately got in touch with Michael Baez, the head of the “Awakened Warrior” yoga teacher training program and arranged to take a class with him to test out the waters before I officially signed up. The class I took was amazing and for the first time since that first yoga class I took in NY, I once again felt that incredible sense of bliss and inner peace afterwards. I wrote a check the next day and with that my journey to becoming a yoga teacher began.
Now, as I write, I am nearly finished with my yoga teacher training. I feel incredibly fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity, and I look forward to teaching actors and athletes alike the joys and benefits of yoga in very near future. At this point, I’m not even sure if I’m still interested in pursuing wellness coaching, even though that’s the very thing that propelled me into teaching yoga in the first place. But who knows, only time will tell… For now, it’s about figuring out the balance between the work I have now and finding more work teaching, all the while taking care of the artist within me. I’ll keep you posted, though. I’m thinking that next month I’ll write an even more extensive blog on how yoga can positively affect the artist.
But I’m curious…What have your journeys with yoga been like? What brought you to it? What have you learned and experienced? Has it helped you as an artist? Do you have any questions about yoga? I’d love to hear from you.
Namaste. (One translation of this is: “The divine light in me honors the divine light in you.”)