9 Students, 1 Question: The Impact of Yoga on Their Lives

This enlightening episode of the Native Yoga Todcast, brings together a diverse group of yoga practitioners to explore the profound impact of yoga on their lives. From managing anxiety to improving physical health, each guest shares unique perspectives on how their yoga journeys have evolved, inviting listeners to delve into the transformative power of practice.

About the Guest(s):

• Mandy Coleman: A yoga practitioner who finds solace and mental peace through yoga, specifically in managing anxiety and reconnecting with her inner self.
• Ilicia Koslow: Introduced to yoga after a car accident, she focuses on the emotional and mental healing aspects of yoga, utilizing mantra and yogic philosophy to overcome challenges.
• Barbara Dar: Found yoga initially as a pain management tool, which later evolved into a grounding and stabilizing practice for her mental health.
• Emily Content: Practices Mysore style Ashtanga yoga, which helps her manage anxiety and improve physical health, muscle control, and mindfulness.
• Polly Barr: A long-time practitioner of Mysore style Ashtanga yoga, she values the meditative and focus-building aspects that aid her in personal progress and adaptation with age.
• Maria Claudia: Utilizes yoga for physical mobility and mental balance, emphasizing the importance of movement for maintaining joint health.
• Steve Sanders: Yoga has helped him find relaxation and spiritual grounding amidst physical tightness and the complexities of life.
• Paula DeFabrizio: Enjoys the strength and balance yoga brings to her life, providing a mental and physical sanctuary from daily stressors.
• Jane Li: Discovered yoga during a retreat and a life-changing trip to India, leading to a holistic appreciation that combines physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.

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Transcript

0:33

Welcome to Native Yoga Toddcast, so happy you are here. My goal with this channel is to bring inspirational speakers to the mic in the field of yoga, massage, body work and beyond. Follow us at @Nativeyoga and check us out at nativeyogacenter.com. All right, let's begin. I'm so excited to have Mandy Coleman here. And Mandy just walked in, and I asked her if she would sit down with me and just answer a quick question, Mandy, how do you feel Yoga improves your life? Well, for one, it helped with the anxiety I had for most of my life, and it also gives me time to reconnect with that quiet part inside that sometimes gets lost in the busy world. Beautiful. Thank you. Have Ilicia Koslow here, who just finished practicing. What kind of benefits do you see or feel in your life based off of your practice? When I first came into the practice, I got into a car accident, and I went to a massage therapist or a chiropractor, and I remember telling him, like, I don't want to age and be cranky in my body. And he was doing some adjustment on me, and he said, have you tried yoga? And at that point, I was not able to do any physical Asana. So I went home, and I was speaking to my father, and I was suffering deeply on an emotional level, and he challenged me, told me about some emotional practices, and said, I don't think you're ready. And I went and locked myself in my room while my body was healing physically, and just started to look up all different mantra and yogic I just came upon all of these yogic method that were not physical, Asana, origin related, and I started to chant mantra that was like the first thing that brought me into the practice. And I remember finding a mantra, chanting the mantra, and actually someone finding my mantra, because I thought that was very sacred, and kind of crashing the energy that had been pulled up. And that was the first moment when I had, like, real insight, like, Oh, we're on to something here. Wow. And I was able to heal so much physically, as well as mentally, emotionally, a lot of what ways of functioning that I thought were actual methods of functioning, because that's what I was fed by the world. A lot of those healed pretty quickly. The beginning of the practice, and then the real work began, where it just more and more opened up and through the philosophy being able to look at my humanness, the things that challenge me on this human journey, and that I don't feel alone, there are practitioners for 1000s and 1000s of years that have been working to heal the human condition and define what the true self is that is not skewed by samsara, right? Like in the the opening mantra, right? Samsara, Hara, Hala. Like the jungle physician coming in to remove the delusions of samsara. And I was, I was deeply ingrained into samsara, and still I have, you know, layers of that delusion that I am waking up from in this life. Yeah, and I just find, I find the asana and the pranayama brings me back to my body and helps me to tether back into the intuitive sense, felt sense that I find when you first ask me the question, I find it very hard to articulate how much this practice really means to me, because it helps me every day, heal so much of my humanness, you know, or become a better human for others and for myself and want that and to see Where I am not being that and to love myself because I was. I've been fed this and so of my ancestors. Yeah. Anyway, oh, man, thanks. Ilicia. Love it. Great benefits. Yeah, yeah, thanks. I have Barbara Dar here. Barbara, good morning. Thank you. I just pulled you out of the ether and surprised you here with a quick question about yoga. Take out your comfort zone, but you're pretty comfortable person, so I think it'll be easy. Why do you practice yoga? Because I would be insane if I didn't practice I would literally be a complete mess. It stabilizes me. It gives me perspective. Yeah, it took a while, yeah, in the beginning of what I started as a form of exercise, and because of back pain, and as I you know, uncovered layer after layer after layer. It became much more than that. It became a grounding experience. Amazing. Thanks for sharing. All right. Thank you. I'm so excited to have Emily Content here. And I just, you know, she just finished practice, and she had no idea I was going to ask her. So she's like, What am I doing? Emily, why do you why do you have a consistent yoga practice? Why do you keep showing up every single Tuesday and Thursday at eight o'clock to practice Mysore style Ashtanga Yoga with us? I really, really like Mysore, especially here, I like the way I can go at my own pace. I like that. It's like having an individual teacher. I struggle a lot with anxiety, and yoga has really, really helped me with that. Like even the most simple parts, the parts that are in between the poses, like just the small breath when you sit up, like when you release the pose and then sit up and then begin a Vinyasa. Even that pattern and thoughtfulness of breath has made a big difference for me and my anxiety level and even the way I approach some situations, some problems. So it's very restful for me mentally and then all of the physical things that I can see, my health, my strength, my flexibility, my muscle control, my ability to know which muscle is doing, what develops each time I'm here. So those are a lot of benefits to glean from the investment of twice a week yoga. I mean, that's huge, huge. Very cool. Thank you. You're welcome. I'm really excited to have Polly Barr here, and Polly's been practicing with us at Native yoga center for, like, so many years. Polly, how many years has it been? I think it's going on 15, amazing. Why or what is it about Ashtanga Yoga, my source style, Ashtanga Yoga, that has gotten you so inspired to come and practice so regularly for 15 longer years with us. Well, I love the meditative part of it, and also just advancing it is makes you feel really good when you can work really hard and find something that you can do and do better all the time. Yeah, so and you can modify as I've gotten older, I've had to do that so, but it's the focus and the meditation that is really special. Thank you. I have Maria Claudia here and Maria Claudia. What is something that you've benefited from in your yoga practice throughout your life? Motion is lotion when you feel stagnant or lack of range of motion, the worst thing that you can do is just stay still. So yoga for me, who I've had issues with my joints all my life, have given me the freedom. And it's giving me opportunity not to get worse. So again, motion is lotion and mentally is incredible as well. Balance, physical and mental balance is incredible, awesome. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so happy to have Steve Sanders here. Steve, what is something that you've noticed that is one of the benefits that has come out of your experience with yoga practice? Well, we've been practicing with you guys for years and years and years, and there's been so many benefits that I have experienced. I'm naturally very tight, both physically, mentally and spiritually, and yoga has definitely provided an avenue where I've been able to relax, to be able to find great motion in my body and relax in my mind and my spirit. And centered me has centered me a lot in this very, very busy world. Great answer. You know, I got a chance to ask you. And previously, Maria cloudy and you guys both just came out from doing the sound bath meditation. You're so chill and relaxing. I like the vibe. Thank you. I mean, you you guys have been awesome, and you guys have been it's been a such a great experience to be able to to be led by you guys in his journey, and you guys have done a great job. You feel the same way. Thanks, Steve. I'm so happy to have Paula DeFabrizio here with me. And Paula, what got you excited to try yoga for the first time? Oh, well, let's see. Was 100 years ago. I love yoga for so many reasons. Yoga makes me feel strong and gentle at the same time. It helps me balance my mind and my body, and I can feel like I can leave the rest of the world outside, just for that time we're in class together. And the more I do it, I feel, the more I learn about my body. And I really feel so much more centered, even when I'm not in yoga class. Yeah, from the things I've learned in class, like, if I'm stressed or irritated in real life, not real life, you know? And outside, yeah, I use some techniques that I've learned about breathing and just the certain asanas, and it just really helps, just with normal life when I'm not in class, then when I'm in class, I have more, like, tools and info to help me when I'm not in class, Yeah, amazing. Just awesome. I couldn't live without it. I could live without the chimichangas, but we'll let that go. That's an inside joke. Every time I'd have Paula do it Chaturanga. One day she came out, she goes, Oh, there's too many chimichangas. And I just, I'll bring some salsa verde for you next time. All right, thanks. I'm so happy to have Jane Li here. Jane just finished practicing this morning, and Jane, how did yoga find you? I don't know if I should say yoga found me or I found a yoga it's very well, it's very interesting question. I would say first yoga found me one was at a retreat like probably 12 years ago, I was curious, and I didn't know anything about the yoga. I said, Okay, I'm just nothing to do in the morning. Let me just go take a look and and then all these stories in my head, thinking about, no, I'm not flexible enough. I'm not listen enough, that enough. I'm not able to do this. This is not for me, and let me just go back to the gym. And later on, there was an opportunity that I went to India around that time that was probably one of the most, I would say, heart Opening trips in my life to see the culture to witness how people live, and I didn't see anyone really doing yoga, per se. But around the same time I was reading, I. Some books about India and naturally, about Ayurveda and yoga. And then I realized Yoga is not just physical exercise or something you do that when you are not going to the gym, but it is. It's a union. It's united body, mind and spirit. I said, Oh, okay, let me give you yoga try again after I came back from India, and I went to a yoga studio again. Then this time around, it was totally different. My mindset was different. Then I would say I found yoga, and Yoga also found me just like me in the middle, the midpoint and just Yeah, from then on, always hear heart disease yoga, and it's just so profound effect on In my life. Yeah, very grateful. Thank you, Jan. I The native yoga Todd cast is produced by myself. The theme music is dreamed up by Bryce Allen. If you like this show, let me know if there's room for improvement. I want to hear that too. We are curious to know what you think and what you want more of what I can improve. And if you have ideas for future guests or topics, please send us your thoughts to info at Native yoga center. You can find us at Native yoga center.com, and hey, if you did like this episode, share it with your friends. Rate it and review and join us next time you.