How did you first come to end up in a yoga class? What brought you there, were you reluctant and how did you feel after your first class?

My first class actually came after nearly two years of self study and home practice.

Like a lot of people, I once thought yoga was only for the seriously fit and flexible so I never had the nerve to go to a class in the beginning. Instead I bought a DVD, Simply Yoga by Yolando Pettinato, and had my first go at it in my lounge room in Hobart in April 2005, when I was still hovering around the 100kg mark. I could barely do balasana, because the rolls of flab got in the way and were slowly crushing my lungs, making it impossible to breathe! I was so out of condition and inflexible. I didn’t see myself ever being confident enough to pursue it seriously.

But I stuck at it, and it got easier, and I relaxed into poses a lot more. When I moved to Melbourne later that year I started pursuing yoga with a bit more interest and passion, borrowing every DVD and book I could lay my hands on at the local libraries, sometimes practising for up to an hour a day. My flexibility improved out of sight, although the more difficult poses, especially backbends, I still struggled with. Around that time my wonderful friend Mary sent me Shiva Rea’s Yoga Shakti DVD, which has an incredible yoga matrix on it, and I am still yet to get bored with it. It has formed the basis of my home practice for the past four years.

As my confidence in yoga grew, I found myself really wanting to go to classes and learn more, and to get better at it. But then I got into triathlons at the end of 2006, and I focused on hard-core training for those. The only time I did yoga that whole time was the day before a race to stretch my well-used, worn-out muscles!

Then, in January 2007, I went to Sydney to spend a weekend with Mary and she took me to her regular class at Samadhi Yoga. I was really excited! It was an amazing and truly awakening experience. I discovered that I had the fitness to keep up with the class, the flexibility to be able to do the more difficult postures and enough respect for my body to be gentle with it and see where it wanted to go…..it revealed to me that my body was lot stronger than I thought it was. That class was the start of something – it really made me realise the power yoga had to be a really positive force in my life. I came away from that class, and from that whole weekend in Sydney really, ready for anything.

Tell me a little about your life before yoga. How is it different now you practice regularly?

Before yoga, I wouldn’t have described myself as “self aware” at all. I allowed myself to get carried along by the wants and wishes of others, and I didn’t have any idea really who I fundamentally was as a person. I had no real awareness of myself at all – both the physical space I took up and on a spiritual level. I was in huge denial about my health problems. I was unhappy with a lot of things in my life but didn’t have the guts to admit it. Well, I say that, but I actually had no idea how unhappy I was, because I distracted myself with other things. I had no idea how to be still, and to really listen to myself, to be in the present and assess it. I also had no self esteem when it came to my body – I was used to cursing it and hating it. It never occurred to me that it could be strong.

Now….well, I think it’s the culmination of a LOT of changes in my life over the past five years, but yoga makes me feel so grounded, and very aware of myself, what’s going on with me, and how things are sitting with me, at that moment. I’m a lot more self aware. Yoga has taught me so much about focus, and about acceptance. And I love the way my body feels when I practice. It feels so strong. It feels amazing. It’s wonderful to feel so proud of yourself and your body. That’s something I could never have imagined five years ago. It’s brought a lot of peace and joy into my life.

What style of yoga do you find yourself drawn to practice (and teach if you are a teacher)? What teachers and other mentors have influenced you along your path?

I’ve dabbled in a lot of different styles of yoga, but I come back to ashtanga, every time, for home practice. I need something dynamic and fast flowing, so a power vinyasa is always good for me. Jivamukti is probably the best yoga studio I’ve been to since moving to London three years ago. It was my sanctuary during the first few weeks here, as it took a while for me to find my feet and it was wonderful to have somewhere peaceful to go and to feel stronger and better equipped to handle whatever would be thrown in my path!

I’ve always had a soft spot for Bikram yoga too, especially in the freezing London winters!

My yoga mentors would have to be Shiva Rea, my ashtanga teacher Laura, and my friends Mary and Stella, whom I admire so much for how they “live” yoga.

Every yogi has one favourite and one least favourite asana. Tell me a bit about yours.

I love supta kurmasana (sleeping tortoise), pigeon pose, uttanasana (standing forward bend) and Gomukhasana (cow face pose). Any forward bend or twist, really.

Least favourite – headstand!

How do you live your yoga off your mat, every day?

I went to a lovely hatha class a few months ago and the teacher said something beautiful during one of the meditations that I kept with me afterwards. It was about going through life with a calm and balanced mind, and an open and compassionate heart. That is how I interpret “living yoga” and is definitely how I try to live my life. Being kind, and open to all possibilities in life. Trying to understand why people do what they do, even if it’s hurtful or isn’t what I would do. Sitting with things that are a bit uncomfortable, because I know I will be stronger for it in the long run. Showing support and compassion for people instead of being judgemental or feeling entitled to something from them. Admittedly this is harder than it sounds and I don’t always get it right! But I know from nearly five years of practising yoga that I don’t have to be perfect all the time. Some days will be easier than others – kind of like life, really! But by focusing on positive things and making time to treat yourself well, it makes such a difference. In today’s practice, for example, my dedication was for courage, gratitude and love. I was so agitated before I started my practice today, but I came out of it feeling so blessed and grateful, and ready to do battle with my novel manuscript tonight!

I’ve also learned from my yoga practice that with commitment and the willingness to learn and be guided, by both your intuition and wise souls who care about you, you will succeed in your goals. And also, don’t be afraid of making mistakes because they can lead you to some pretty great places.

“Don’t waste yourself in rejection, nor bark against the bad, but chant the beauty of the good.”
(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

Phil is a square peg Australian girl who found her square hole when she moved to London in July 2007, where she still lives with her soon-to-be husband. She is an editor and writer and keeps two blogs – Green Ink, about her creative writing life and the things that inspire her, and Skinny Latte Strikes Back, which is about her weight loss journey and maintaining her health and fitness. Among her many passions and obsessions are travelling, reading, healthy food, the great outdoors, running half marathons, antique cutlery and, of course, yoga.

(These photos were taken at Phil’s first yoga class by Mary at (rand)ombites.  Please note that she is sitting in half padmasana IN HER FIRST CLASS.  Which goes to show that most of the illusions we have about our bodies are just that.  Illusions.  – Rachel)

How did you first come to end up in a yoga class? What brought you there, were you reluctant and how did you feel after your first class?

Yoga was on the periphery of my life for a long time before I ever practiced an asana… Kind of like the movie where the kids go to school together but barely know each other, take a convoluted path through life, and end up falling madly in love. Except with yoga. Anyway. My mom did a bit of it. A friend of mine in high school urged me to try it but in conflicted with my theatre class. It floated around University but I was too busy organizing demonstrations and writing articles about injustices in African countries.

I remember with absolute clarity the first time I tried to practice yoga. I was in a small village near the Cameroon-Nigeria border, staying with a friend who was doing his Peace Corps out there. It was a remote place, and not one I felt comfortable jogging on my own, so I was going a bit stir crazy. This friend of mine had Iyengar’s “Light on Yoga”, and he suggested I give it a go. I was 21 I think, or 22.

I can see perfectly in my mind’s eye that small, simple room with the woven mat that I placed on the floor, the morning sunshine white and the day still cool. I remember that particular smell of the smooth, unpainted concrete walls and floor. I remember being completely enthralled with the Introduction to the book, and after some reading I began to attempt one of the asana sequences outlined in the back of the book. Tadasana. Seemed ok. Forward fold. I can’t touch my toes, but that’s ok. Now, what’s this? Chaturanga dandasana? Ok, sounds simple enough… And of course I face planted on the floor. This Yoga was hard! Like, really hard!! And I loved it.

I can still taste the sensation of having found something that FIT, having found something right. I loved how my body felt, and my mind. I loved that I suddenly felt a sense of purpose – waking up in the morning and doing yoga in the early light. I loved then all the things I still love now, loved how Yoga was more to me than just an asana – it was a lifestyle, it was a step in the right direction. It was waking up early, eating healthily, exercising my body, breath and mind. It was everything I thought I wanted to live and never yet had the discipline to achieve.

After that, I moved to London to do a master’s, and signed up for a beginner’s course in a nearby Yoga studio. But those few weeks with my book were my first real yoga classes and I will never forget them.

Tell me a little about your life before yoga. How is it different now you practice regularly.

My life before yoga? It feels almost like a different life! I had an unhealthy lifestyle, bad self-body image, I suffered from the highs and lows of depressive cycles. I talked a lot to cover my insecurities. I binge drank with friends and then regretted it the next day. I fell briefly and madly in love with people who were completely wrong for me, and then obsessed over them for months until the next one came along. So, pretty much your average teenager!!

Now, I have learned to value silence. I have learned to love and respect my body. I have gravitated towards a healthy lifestyle, with lots of sleep, nourishing food, little alcohol. Does any of this have to do with yoga? Yes, and no. Without yoga I might have gravitated towards the same things!

One thing that I know for certain is that Yoga has made my scoliosis more even. Just a little bit of yoga can relieve pain in my body. And Yoga also makes my emotions more balanced. If I’m cranky or uninspired I step onto the mat, and by the time I step off, I am back in a centered place. So yoga brings me a satisfaction that’s more than physical. It clears my mind, and every day my body and my spirit feel stronger and more balanced. So while I’ll never know what my life would have been like had I not come to yoga – I can certainly say that yoga is an integral part of my life.

Also – I have this great blog community!

What style of yoga do you find yourself drawn to practice (and teach if you are a teacher)? What teachers and other mentors have influenced you along your path?

I am completely drawn to vinyasa or flow yoga! I love the activity of this type of yoga, the emphasis on the breath. When I get into the flow, everything evaporates and all I can hear is the soft, smooth sound of my breathing, taking me through the poses. It’s magic.

I also love Yin Yoga, which might at first seem to be the opposite of vinyasa! But it’s equally focused on breathing. I find it deeply meditative and the stretch it gives me is absolutely amazing. I affectionately call it “yoga with pillows”, and I can’t get enough of it!

Because of my lifestyle my teachers have been few and far in between, and a lot of my practice has been at home. But my YTT teacher was truly amazing. His love for yoga and philosophy, his modesty, good humour and spiritual quest continue to inspire me daily even though I haven’t seen him since my training. His classes were phenomenal – we would all leave a 2 hour session with huge smiles on our faces, and begging for more! If I could teach like anyone in the world, it would be like him.

Every yogi has one favourite and one least favourite asana. Tell me a bit about yours.

My favourite asanas are a bit like my favourite colours – they change over time, as I change. At the moment, though, I am infatuated with the 3 Supta Padangusthasana series, which I wrote about recently as a guest post for this blog! These 3 poses together are like a bit of therapy for my back, hips and hamstrings!

My least favourite pose at the moment has to be Navasana. I make myself do it, as it’s super for strengthening the core, but it’s hard hard hard!!

How do you live your yoga off your mat, every day?

I try to live my life with grace. I try to live free from fear, from the Ego’s whisperings in my ear. I try to live a life with patience, generosity and compassion.

I try to integrate the Yamas and the Niyamas into my life in practical ways – by not acting or saying things that will harm others (ahimsa), by telling the truth always (satya), by not clinging to material things or imposing my ideals on others (aparigraha). When I get emotional, I try to breathe through it and not project it on those around me.

But most of all, I practice. Practice Yoga, practice self-acceptance, practice breathing, meditation. Practice compassion, practice patience. Without judging, just practice. I may not be perfect, life may not be perfect, but in spite of it all, I practice. And that, for me, is yoga.

LaGitane (Bree) has been practicing yoga for 8 years and teaching for 4. She is a certified Vinyasa instructor in the Ashtanga tradition but harbours a not-so-secret passion for restorative and therapeutic Yoga. A lifetime nomad and development worker, she blogs about yoga and life over at YogaGypsy from her present base in Dili, East Timor, where she lives with her beautiful partner and their very fluffy cat. When not doing yoga, she enjoys wine, cheese, sailing and scuba diving, although not necessarily in that order!

How did you first come to end up in a yoga class? What brought you there, were you reluctant and how did you feel after your first class?

I actually did not start doing yoga in a class. I first became intrigued by it as a child, when my Dad practiced at home to relieve the stress of his job. I didn’t think much of it in my teen years, but when I was in my mid-twenties, a co-worker revived my interest in yoga. The funny thing was that she wasn’t very nice to me, and we weren’t friendly as a result of that – but she was always showing our students the new poses she’d learned in her teacher training, and often spoke of how proud she was of how strong she was becoming. I started practicing with some Shiva Rea CDs I had bought a few years earlier, and then a DVD, and found that the only thing that could calm me down after a day of teaching was doing sun salutations. It became almost an addiction.

Unfortunately, I believe my inner perfectionist was what ultimately attracted me to yoga at first. This co-worker was very competitive about yoga and my own natural competitiveness made me want to spring right to her level. I pushed myself into poses I had no business doing, and as a result, severely injured my knee in a way that may affect the rest of my life. However, my love for the calming aspect of yoga kept me coming back to it, even while my knee injury created serious limitations to my practice. These two things combined actually turned out to be exactly what I needed in life and in yoga. Normally, if I cannot do something in a way that I feel is “good enough,” I will quit. But I could not abandon my love for the calming effects of yoga practice. So I have been forced to continually challenge my need for perfectionism, and explore the reasons why I developed it in the first place.

As for formal classes, I didn’t attend one until my second year of yoga practice – about one year after my knee injury. It was a Sivananda class, and I went with my best friend. I have long avoided going to classes (even now), as I am extremely uncomfortable doing any physical activity in a room with strangers (old insecurities from being the overweight kid in P.E. class). However, the feeling I had after class – a calm I hadn’t experienced in years – was worth facing the anxieties of group practice.

(Yancy’s yoga vision board)

Tell me a little about your life before yoga. How is it different now you practice regularly.

Before yoga, I would say that I lived a very limited life. I’ve struggled with my weight since I was 12, fought eating disorders throughout my teens and early twenties, used aerobics addictively in an attempt to control my weight, and battled self-loathing every time I looked in the mirror.

When I started to practice yoga, I found myself faced with a new and very confusing landscape: A physical activity that brought me great peace, and one that brought me face-to-face with my worst fears about myself and my body’s appearance and abilities. Every moment on the mat was filled with fear and anxiety and excitement and revelation. I had to constantly pull at the roots of my behaviors, beliefs, and perceptions, and constantly remind myself that what I am in the moment is okay, and that I should always respect my body’s inner wisdom (something my the pain in my knee would not let me forget).

In September, it will have been four years since I started practicing regularly, and I am still struggling with my perfectionism. However, I have gotten control of my weight in a healthy, non-obsessive manner (for the most part, lol!), and continuing my practice is immensely helpful in exploring the insecurities that led me down those destructive paths. Every day is another opportunity to heal those wounds.

What style of yoga do you find yourself drawn to practice (and teach if you are a teacher)? What teachers and other mentors have influenced you along your path?

I started practicing with videos, and love vinyasa flow practices. I always enjoyed Shiva Rea and Seane Corn’s work. I also love Kathryn Budig as a teacher – she makes yoga fun yet challenging. I also intensely miss attending Sivananda classes – since I’ve moved, I can no longer attend, as that studio is nearly 20 miles away and there are no Siv classes in my current hometown. That is probably my favorite practice.

Every yogi has one favourite and one least favourite asana. Tell me a bit about yours.

I absolutely love Triangle. It feels like it stretches every part of my body at once. I have several asanas that I love, but this one is probably always at the top of the list. I think my least favorite is Chataragana. After four years, I have yet to be able to do this – my upper body strength is not so great and I have a “tweak” in my right shoulder. So I find this posture frustrating, and sometimes I can’t even do modifications if my shoulder is acting up.

How do you live your yoga off your mat, every day?

I try very hard to keep accepting myself the way I am, first and foremost. That is the number one struggle that getting on the mat brought up, and I try to use the lessons of self-acceptance that I learn from yoga in everyday life. How I look, what I think, how I respond to a situation, etc. All of it comes under the umbrella of yoga training – learning to accept your limitations, doing the best you can but never pushing yourself further than your capabilities will allow, and listening to your inner wisdom.

Taking these lessons and applying them to OTHERS naturally arises, which makes you more aware of judgments, lack of forgiveness, and any other negative habits you engage in with other people. I’m not saying that yoga has cured me of these bad habits, LOL, but I am constantly more and more aware of them and of how I feel when I engage in this behavior. Then you feel that you have a choice – do I want to continue in this behavior or not?

Yoga has also made me more and more aware of life. Of the life in the earth and the creatures that live all around us. I try to be aware of the importance of all creatures on this earth – even the ones that scare me or gross me out! Everything has a purpose in the garden of life.

Yancy Wilkenfeldt authors A Green Spell and Five Seed , owns a natural beauty business, gardens in the suburbs, practices yoga in her bedroom, strives to use her bicycle instead of her car, and dreams of being a mama to bees, chickens, goats and sheep on a happy little farm of her own someday.