Interview Q's for Natural Awakenings

September is National Yoga Month! Natural Awakenings, a free health-focused area magazine is doing interviews with several area yoga teachers. Here is my Q&A. Look for some quotes in the September issue!

Me in Mermaid Pose, age 22

What was your first yoga experience?

As a teenager, I saw mermaid pose (eka pada rajakapotasana variation) on the cover of Yoga Journal, and I thought the pose was so beautiful that I bought the magazine and taught myself how to do the pose over several weeks. I had had no exposure to yoga up to then.

Where do you teach?

I am co-founder of Kula Yoga Community, and most of my yoga classes are part of Kula (kulayogacommunity.org, info@kulayogacommunity.org, 251-202-YOGA). Kula hosts Pay What You Can classes in five different shared spaces in Mobile and Daphne. I also teach at Yogabirds in Fairhope (yogabirds.com) and at Pro Health at Mobile Infirmary. You can find my personal schedule at brenneryoga.com.

What kind of style do you teach and how would you describe it?

I have background in Therapeutic, Anusara, and Vinyasa Yoga. My style constantly shifts, but recently I have been teaching a slower class with longer holds, focusing on the finer details of the poses. No matter the pace of my class, each class has a philosophical and therapeutic emphasis.

How would you describe yoga to someone who knows nothing about it?

Yoga is a series of postures and movements designed to heal (or maintain) the body and bring mental peace and clarity. Yoga is also a lifestyle of constant awareness and improvement on all levels- physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Why do you practice yoga?

When students ask me this questions, I playfully answer that I don't know how not to. If I didn't practice yoga, I would fall apart. I began consistent practice because it was more fun than running or swimming, and it relieved my mild depression. Being overweight for most of my life, physical activity just didn't come naturally, but yoga felt right. I continue the practice because it keeps me in touch with something greater than myself and makes me a better person.