Sara Ivanhoe inspired me to teach yoga & quit smoking

I did the official Day One of the Reach Out Challenge yesterday, with a 27-minute class from My Yoga Online. I searched for classes by Sara Ivanhoe, and found one called Yoga on the Edge: Sunset.

Sara is the teacher who inspired me to become a yoga teacher to begin with. When I first moved to Monkey Valley, I found her Basic Yoga Workout for Dummies video at the local grocery store, and started doing it at home. The benefits I found from doing the yoga were incredible. I experienced a natural high from the ujjayi breathing, and an overall feeling of well-being from the total-body stretching and re-alignment. Having this positive experience of breathing helped me to quit smoking once and for all. Over the years I have bought the video for family members, and it forms the foundation of the classes I teach.

A few years ago I was fortunate to have the opportunity to take a live class with Sara at the Vancouver Yoga Conference. Afterwards I spoke to her and told her of the impact she had on my life. She asked where I taught, and I felt very proud to be able to tell her that I taught to youth in prison through Yoga Outreach. It was a Wow moment in my life.

Yoga on the Edge: Sunset is from another DVD that Sara has recorded. It is a gentle, flowing practice, which is the style I do most often (of course, since my regular practice comes from Sara to begin with!). I liked the flowing sequence from the wide-legged forward bend pose into triangle and warrior variations. As with the previous class I wrote about, the yoga was harder than I am used to. I have definitely gotten into a rut with my practice, and doing the challenge is exposing new parts of my body to exercise. I must say, my butt was very sore yesterday from the yin yoga class the day before! Today I am feeling the challenge in my upper back. It feels great.

Yesterday the folks at Yoga Outreach suggested that the people taking the challenge spend a few moments thinking about what motivates us to do this. What is my intention? I am finding that as I speak to people about the challenge and ask them to pledge me, I feel re-inspired by the work that Yoga Outreach does. It opens my heart to serve the people that we bring yoga to. I am also finding that my personal practice is really opening up, and my body along with it. My intention at the beginning was really just to support Yoga Outreach. But I am discovering the personal benefits are much greater than I anticipated.

P.S. I received a report of a problem with the online donation link. If anyone else has a problem, can you please let me know? Thanks. If you haven’t pledged me yet but want to, you can do so online, or phone or email me.