Meet Adrienne. One of the new 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Trainers grads. Alex and Adrienne met on their sober journey through a Sober Facebook group. She did her training in the Late Fall Season 2021 and is joining the team this Winter Season 2022. As always, we wanted to get to know her more, her yoga journey and her experience of the Soul Aligned YTT with Alex. Here’s our guest for this week answers…
Where in the world are you? Tell us more about yourself?
Adrienne: Hello! I’m currently living in Ottawa, Ontario Canada. I recently moved here from Calgary Alberta in the Rocky Mountains!
I’m a full-time flight attendant, wife and mom of two small boys, Myles and Griffin. I am also a Juice Plus partner and Epicure consultant. My passions are Yoga, cooking, reading, knitting, hiking and meditating.
How was the Soul Aligned 200 Hour YTT with Alex and what pushed you to become an instructor?
Adrienne: I LOVED my YTT with Alex! When I signed up, my intention wasn’t necessarily to teach, but to learn more about the philosophy and history of Yoga. By the end of the program, I was definitely inspired to share my passion for Yoga in a more tangible way, and developed a curiosity towards teaching. Now I’m excited to share by leading and inspiring people on the mat!
When did you start practicing yoga (before you started teaching) and how did yoga change your life?
Adrienne: I started practicing Yoga in my late teens. My very first sequence ever, was Rodney Yee’s Gentle morning yoga dvd. I wore that thing out!
I didn’t even have a mat! My first actual yoga class was a Kundalini class at a beautiful Yoga studio called Rama Lotus in the heart of downtown Ottawa in a beautiful old building. The peaceful atmosphere was unlike anything I’d experienced before, and I was instantly hooked. I bought my first mat there, which I still use to this day (20 years later!).
If you had to describe your teaching style, how would you?
Adrienne: Gentle, spiritual, open, warm, vulnerable and inclusive.
What is the intention you try to instill in your students?
Adrienne: That Yoga is for everybody. That gently re-connecting with your body every day has a funny way of re-connecting you with your spirit as well.
What is your favorite posture? Your least favorite posture?
Adrienne: My favourite posture is pigeon pose and I also love supported fish. My least favourite is melting heart!
What is your favorite Mat? And why?
Adrienne: I’ve been practicing on the same sky blue mat for 20 years. I don’t even know what brand it is!
“I LOVED my YTT with Alex! When I signed up, my intention wasn’t necessarily to teach, but to learn more about the philosophy and history of Yoga. By the end of the program, I was definitely inspired to share my passion for Yoga in a more tangible way, and developed a curiosity towards teaching.”
Adrienne
Set the scene for your perfect practice - paint us a picture!
Adrienne: My perfect practice would have to be a gentle morning yoga flow, outside in the middle of the majestic rocky mountains.
Equally beautiful, would be a practice in a warm chalet with a roaring fire, in a room with a wall of floor to ceiling windows, while snow falls gently outside.
What’s the biggest myth about yoga instructors? Set the record straight!
Adrienne: That we’re experts on everything yoga! A good teacher is ALWAYS learning!
What will you be teaching next?
Adrienne: I feel so strongly that yoga can benefit everyone, and that the world would be a much more peaceful place if everyone was able to sit with themselves in this way. I’d love to do a series of beginner classes to introduce people to the wonderful world of physical and spiritual union! I would love to make every person’s first experience with yoga a beautiful one. An experience that compels them to return to the mat again and again!
Any advice to newbies teachers/students? (And oldies?)
Adrienne: Well, I’m a new teacher, so I’m not the best person to be handing out advice, lol! But I guess the advice I’m following right now, is to keep it simple. Don’t overcomplicate things, and teach about something you’re passionate about. It will flow much easier that way.
Where do you see yoga in the next five years?
Adrienne: Hopefully a greater awareness that yoga is not about religion, but spirituality. That you can follow whatever religion you want. Yoga is about you. Your spirit. Your body. Your peace. Not about the God you believe in.
Thank you Adrienne for the amazing and inspiring interview. Join Adrienne this season in the FREE Mindful Let Go (The Middle Path) every Saturday. Check out the schedule below for your time zone.
Hope you enjoyed this interview. Leave us a comment or question below.
Until next time, may you all be safe, happy, healthy, and free.
Yasir
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