March 2024 Yogi of the Month

Shirley

Shirley has lived on three continents and has been practicing yoga for seven years. She found YogaSpark after the pandemic and has become a beloved member of our community!

Q: How long have you practiced yoga and what other forms of exercise do you like to do?

I started practicing yoga about 7 years ago. A spin instructor i liked also taught yoga so i decided to try it - i had no idea it was hot power yoga - i thought i would die that first class! I also spin and ride real bikes, swim, hike and walk.

Q: What brought you to YogaSpark?

I was going to a different studio before the pandemic. When things opened up again i decided to try Spark as i had often walked by the studio. And here i am.

Q: What do you love about practicing hot power yoga?

It makes me feel cleansed, calm and strong all at once

Q: Can you give a word or phrase that describes yoga to you?

Life saving. I came to yoga during a time in my life of significant personal trauma and tragedy and it was the one place i could stop my head spin, the one place i could find peace in all the chaos.

Q: Do you have a favorite quote?

I have many favorite quotes but i am going to share something Christina B read out loud at the end of one of her Friday morning classes - it really resonated with me and i lean on it often
A monk decides to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation. After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own. With his eyes still closed, he senses his anger rising, and by the time he opens his eyes, he is ready to scream at the boatman who dared disturb his meditation. But when he opens his eyes, he sees it is an empty boat that had probably got untethered and floated to the middle of the lake. At that moment, the monk achieves self-realization, and understands that the anger is within him; it merely needs the bump of an external object to provoke it out of him. From then on, whenever he came across someone who irritated him or provoked him to anger, he reminded himself ‘’The other person is merely an empty boat. The anger is within me……”

Q: What yoga pose do you love practicing right now?

I used to be great at balancing (which made me very proud of myself) and with the soft floor at Spark i seem to often have trouble with balances now so i keep working on that

Q: Tell us one non yoga factoid about you

I have lived on three continents and traveled to many countries we can no longer go to for safety and security reason