Category Archives: Teacher Training Graduate Stories

My Hips Story

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This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Sheryl Stich. Sheryl is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s 500 hour teacher training program and an instructor at Whole Life Yoga. She can be contacted at sh****@************gs.com.

Our bodies are made up of a complex matrix of muscles, bones, organs, energy, nerves and emotions. Our hips are centrally located and intricately connected with the rest of the body. Because of theses interconnections, it can sometimes be a challenge to determine where pain originates. We can even have problems in one area of the body, but we experience the discomfort in another area of the body, called referred pain.

When I was 22 I started to have pain in my right low back, which traveled down to my knee and foot. The doctors thought I had tense muscles in my back and gluts and gave me exercises to help relieve the tightness. After 17 years of unrelenting pain, and working with various doctors and therapists, my primary care physician sent me for an x-ray of my hip joint. There it was, plain as day – the cartilage was almost non-existent, which was causing the pain in my back, and referring pain down my leg. The doctor said the only way to fix it was to have a total hip replacement. I said, “This pain can be fixed? Sign me up!” I had no injuries or other things that might cause the cartilage to erode. Many of my family members had hip replacements, so my problem was probably genetic. The surgery was highly successful. Afterwards the pain was virtually gone! Amazing – what was thought to be back pain was actually being caused by my hip joint.

Several years later, terrible pain suddenly started shooting from my other hip joint down the front of my leg. I was certain something had happened to that hip joint, so I went immediately to my orthopedic surgeon. When I described the location of the pain, he told me it was a disc in my back, not my hip joint. “Funny, I thought, this time I think it’s my hip, and it’s actually my back.” I had surgery to trim the bulging disc, which immediately relieved the pain, but left me feeling a need to do something to help preserve my joints and hopefully stave off future surgeries.

I decided to start practicing yoga. As I was walking down Greenwood Avenue one day I noticed Whole Life Yoga and met Tracy Weber as she was opening the front door. I told her about my back and hip surgeries, and asked if this would be a good yoga for me? The answer was a resounding “yes!” She explained the benefits of Viniyoga to me, and I started taking classes that week.

After a few years of yoga practice, I took the Whole Life Yoga basic, and then advanced teacher training programs. As I was designing a hips practice for myself for the training, it occurred to me that others might also benefit from the practice, so I developed Yoga for Happy Hips class. In this past year I have had a hip revision surgery on my right side to replace the worn out synthetic cartilage from my 16-year old original hip replacement (when it was first replaced, the estimated life span was ten years). I believe my yoga practice helped me to lengthen the life of the joint by keeping the muscles around my hip joint strong and flexible. My left hip joint has lost a significant amount of cartilage over the years, so I practice to keep that hip strong and flexible too.

Through yoga, I have learned to listen to my body. When I have pain, yoga helps me not only physically, but helps me remain more calm and relaxed which helps reduce stress and discomfort. I truly enjoy helping my students by sharing my knowledge and experience with them, whether it’s tight muscles, stress, injuries or the myriad of other challenges that can cause hip discomfort.

Sheryl

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

An Exercise in New Year’s Resolutions

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This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Jennifer Campbell. Jennifer is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program. She  can be contacted at je******@*****il.com

For several years, every January 1, I would wake up early and pound out a few miles on the treadmill.  I told myself this would be the year – the year I would to lose weight, or finally take up running, or attain those mythical six pack abs.  I made elaborate schedules for my exercise and tried to move my 6:45 wake up time to 5 am so I’d have time to work out in the morning.

And every year, I kept it up for about a week.  Sometimes for two weeks.  But by the end of January, I’d have given up, only to try again the following year.

This year, I knew that I wanted to make exercise a New Year’s Resolution, but that I wanted to actually follow though for the whole year.  There was a small part of me that thought maybe I should give pylometrics or circuit training a try, and what is this HIIT stuff that I keep hearing about?!  But I stopped myself.  My schedule is a little too busy right now, and besides – the exercise that I really love is yoga.

Last summer, I attended a yoga workshop with Donna Farhi and she discussed the two different kinds of exercise – the kind that requires or depletes energy, and the kind that restores energy.

Her point was that we need both in our lives, and that yoga can fulfill either.  But what I’m taking from it in thinking about my New Year’s Resolution for this year, is that my life is pretty stressful right now – I’m working and in school full time.  It takes a lot of energy.  What I really need at this moment in my life is the kind of exercise that restores energy.

To me, that means long meditative walks, and finally trying Qi Gong (I’ve been meaning to try that for months).  Things that bring movement to my body, but that leave me feeling refreshed, rather than exhausted.  And actually, that fits better with my exercise goals, which are not to get an intense workout, but to improve my posture (my posture sucks), relieve stress, sleep better.

And of course, I’ll be practicing plenty of yoga.

Jennifer Campbell

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

A Yoga Love Story

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This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Kim Tull-Esterbrook. Kim is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program, and our newest instructor!  She  can be contacted at ki***@*******il.com.

 


I did not love yoga when I was first introduced to it in my early 20’s . My short hamstrings and patched together heart found the practice challenging, to say the least, but I knew right away that it was good for me. I could tell that it was a practice that had the potential to change so many of the patterns that felt damaging in my life; but I was unwilling to really dedicate myself to it, or more truthfully, I was afraid. I imagined that I would uncover some horrible truth about myself hidden beneath the surface and so I played with yoga inconsistently for years.

Six years later, while going through the painful transition of a divorce, I found my way to a consistent practice as the only means of keeping myself afloat, but I was a needy partner; opening myself only as far as I felt safe and expecting so much in return. My practice had a one- sided desperation but it saved me in so many ways.

Fast forward 6 more years and with the support of a dear friend, I found my way to Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program. Finally I was ready to do the work. I moved step by step to open myself and was emotionally prepared for whatever horrible thing I was going to encounter in the depths of my being. What I found was very much a surprise.

Absolutely, there were things that were hard to take about patterns and choices in my life- things that I had been doing to myself to sabotage my own hopes and dreams, but it was also liberating to learn to see things with clarity and without judgement. I learned how to separate my ideas of myself from those layers of habit. I learned the great value of showing up to my practice even when I didn’t want to- when it was hard, when I was distracted, when I felt defeated.

And somewhere in the midst of all that work that I knew was good for me, I found my way to a place where I love my practice. I am not where I thought (or even hoped) I would be when I reached that terrifically adult age of 35. I have not published a book (though maybe this will be my year!), I have not landed that money making job, or even found my way anywhere close to that unattainably beautiful classical King pigeon pose but I pull out my mat almost every day and feel instantly at home.

Through my practice I feel as if I have an outlet for the best parts of me. I have found a way to feel connected to myself, my community and the world. I have found a way to be free. Some days, I think that there is still so much that I don’t know and that is true. On other days, I think this is all I could ever need to know- I take a breath in, I let a breath out. The world feels a bit simpler. It feels like love.

Kim

Please Join Kim in her new classes at Whole Life Yoga!

A Personal Journey with Yoga

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This week’s blog entry was written by guest author Matthew Peterson. Matt is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program . He  can be contacted at pe***************@***oo.com.

I remember very clearly one particular hot summer day when change crept into my life. I would say in retrospect, that is the day that Yoga found its way into my world.  I had just gone through a trying day at a job that my heart was really not in, and grid locked traffic seemed to add a particular spice to my emotions! Upon arriving at home I had this over-whelming and heavy feeling that something was missing. There was just no possible way this was the entirety of the purpose in my life. After some time of being frustrated and short tempered, my wonderful fiancé, naturally concerned, started dialoging with me about these emotions that I just could not seem to shake

She suggested that perhaps it would be beneficial for me to pursue some of my spiritual pursuits, rather than letting them stay cerebral. I have always had a fascination with other people’s faiths and philosophies, and I would always seem to have any number of half finished books on this subject. While reflecting on this I realized that I had read some about Yoga but for some reason the concepts seemed just out of reach, but more real and obtainable than other paths I had researched. Then the thought came to me; I need someone to show me these things, as it was becoming apparent that I was quickly becoming a victim of my own mind.

To edit a bit, I did some research and found Whole Life Yoga, after setting the meeting and having the opportunity to voice my questions and worries about committing to the upcoming teacher training. I left the meeting feeling like I could most likely accomplish the training and made the decision to go ahead and at least give it a shot. Today as I write this a year plus has passed by since I started this walk, and I am simply humbled and astounded at the subtle power Yoga has had in my life! I feel blessed with a truly awakening journey and labor of love. I believe deeply that Yoga has something to offer anyone who seeks that “something else” in this life.

Looking back now I can say that I have learned to trust myself more often, even if I am scared. I have developed a deeper compassion in life, for not only others but myself as well. I have shed tears over past pains, and witnessed gratitude take the place of anger. I saw those around me leap their own hurdles and come out stronger people. Just sharing in the happiness of others breakthroughs that were facilitated by these ancient teachings has made it all seem more real, and given rise to a certain strength inside of me. The magic in all of this is in the pure simplicity and gentle nurturing that is Yoga. It is has allowed me to be able to move forward with a new found confidence, one that is not rooted in pretending that I know this or that, but one that has its foundation built on being able to say, “I don’t know, but I am willing to learn!”  And I am starting to learn that some of the greatest of all journeys begin in this way.

Matt

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

Developing a Yoga Therapy practice on a Small Island

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This week’s blog entry is written by guest author, Marcia Olmsted. Marcia is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program (200 hour) and has since completed her 500 hour certification with the School of Integrative Yoga Therapy with Joseph and Lillian Lepage and is currently working on her 1000 hour certification with IYT.  Marcia has spent the last three years developing an integrated yoga therapy and personal training practice on Pender Island, near Victoria, British Columbia.  You can reach Marcia at yo******@***il.com

My original career intentions were to work therapeutically with people but I ended up working on team effectiveness in the corporate world for 25 years.  As I became ready to transition to a different way of living, I became certified as a personal trainer to start moving back to my goal of helping people.

While I enjoyed working with individuals on their fitness, the mind-body connection was missing.  I searched for yoga teacher training in Seattle (where I lived at the time) and found what I was looking for – Whole Life Yoga.

Under Tracy Weber’s mentorship, I found the perfect combination of functional yoga training that supported my fitness certification, packaged with yogic options to increase wellness at all levels.

Tracy opened my eyes and my heart to exploring yoga therapy tools for myself as well. A week before I started studying with Tracy, I had a major disc herniation (C6-C7) and was sure I had to cancel my training.  Tracy convinced me instead that I would learn through my own experience how to protect my injury while keeping the rest of me in balance as I healed.  A year later, I was 90% healed with no surgery.

It’s been just over three years since I moved to Pender Island, a thirty minute ferry ride to Victoria, B.C.  I set out deliberately to not set up a business but to do things differently – to contribute to the island ensuring that I would feel a fair exchange of energy.   My therapeutic yoga focus, especially private yoga therapy combined with personal fitness tools distinguished my services on the Island. I set up guiding principles for myself that would support my objective of complementing and partnering with others in the wellness business, where possible. I would charge the going rate ($10 drop in and $60/session for privates – very low in comparison to city rates, I know).  I would do my best not to schedule my classes against other yoga classes on the Island.

Marcia’s yoga studio in the basement of her renovated home on Pender Island, BC

Before our house renovations, I offered small Viniyoga classes in my basement.  There two cement poles around which I carefully positioned mats for visibility.  I began to work privately with people on the island who had various issues – my neighbor who was sadly dying of terminal colon cancer with complications from pulmonary fibrosis.  I did gentle postures with him 3-4 times a week focusing on gentle breath work to relieve the anxiety he increasingly felt as he needed to use his oxygen tank more and more.  A 72 year old woman who was overweight, deconditioned and depressed felt that her active days were over.  We worked together to shape a  combined personal training program (cardio and strength) as well as a series of 15 minute private yoga home practices to increase her fitness but also her sense of self-confidence and control over how she felt.  She continues to come to my ongoing drop in classes and workshops today.

Today I offer 6 yoga classes a week – some drop in, some therapeutic series such as Yoga and Aryuveda and work with people privately on a regular basis.

Yoga for Men 55+ Class at the Anglican Parrish Hall on Pender Island, BC (registrations have remained from 20-25 for every 8-week series for the last 3 years)

I am so grateful for the solid foundation that Tracy and Whole Life Yoga gave me in yoga therapy.  I can still hear Tracy saying that I will go to “yoga jail” when I sometimes put too many backbends together or pay more attention to how I’m feeling instead of to those that I serve.

Where will yoga on the Island go from her for me?  My answer today is simply, I will do the next indicated thing, providing value where I can and continuing on this lifelong path of yoga.

Marcia

Practicing for Yourself

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This week’s blog entry is written by guest author Tiffany Blackburn. Tiffany is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program.     She  can be contacted at tiffanyblackburn.com.

It took me so long to practice yoga for myself. I went to countless classes over the years, dutifully doing everything the instructor called out. I did every “if you want to work harder…” option that was offered and I never accepted the invitation to “rest if you need to.” I reached higher, sank deeper, stretched further whenever the teacher walked by or glanced my way. I compared myself relentlessly to the stronger, more flexible people on the mats around me, and struggled to keep up. I was practicing to please the instructors and to gain the admiration of my fellow students. I was practicing with the exact opposite of mindfulness — I was practicing mindlessly.

The result was pretty predictable: injury after injury. But I kept at it because I believed the the fault was with my body, with myself for not working hard enough. That was part of the reason I looked into a teacher training. I wanted to learn more about yoga because simply taking classes wasn’t providing me with the answers I wanted, specifically “why wasn’t I doing it right?”

It wasn’t until I researched training programs that I really came to understand the differences in yoga styles. In my quest, I took an introductory series in Viniyoga at Whole Life Yoga. I went in feeling like I already knew a lot about yoga, but Viniyoga was such a different experience that I was blown away. The movements were so careful, and the use of breath brought my practice so much more internal than it had ever been before. The nurturing attitude, the non-competitive atmosphere, the thoughtful instructions all combined to finally allow me to relax on my mat and actually notice what was going on in my body and my mind. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with other styles of yoga, but I do think that my experience with Viniyoga was what it took for me to finally “get it.”

Over time, practicing and attending the 200-hour Viniyoga teacher training, I came to better understand both yoga and myself. I’ve come closer to accepting the fact that we all have limitations, and some things just don’t work for my body. I found that easing up a little has actually allowed me to progress further, and that it doesn’t matter what anyone around me is doing. Now I frequently take the opportunity to rest during practice — even if the teacher is looking.

Tiffany

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

Reducing Stress with Yoga

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This week’s blog entry is written by guest author Melanie Reed.  Melanie is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s advanced 500 hour teacher training program and a teacher at Whole Life Yoga.    She can be contacted at sa*********@***oo.com.

We become what we pay attention to.

In our modern urban life we find ourselves in many circumstances which we experience as stressful.   As a result, many of us are chronically stressed, living our lives in a state of mild to extreme exhaustion.

During periods of stress, there are three stages of physical responses:

  • An initial fight-or-flight response, mobilizing the body for immediate action.  Nerve impulses direct energy to muscles and organs needed for survival and away from processes not required for immediate survival (such as digestive and reproductive systems).  Think about what is needed to run away from a tiger…
  • In the second stage, after the initial fight-or-flight response dissipates, hormones are released (such as cortisol) which produce energy, help repair damaged cells, and reduce inflammation.  Thus the individual can continue to resist the situation which is causing the stress.
  • During the third stage, as the body becomes exhausted, large amounts of stress hormones continue to be produced.  Symptoms of persistently high levels of cortisol include anxiety, insomnia, high blood pressure, ulcers, immune dysfunction, and depression.

Responses to stress have served us well during our evolution as humans.  Although we rarely need to run away from a tiger, we do encounter situations which cause stress, such as:  driving on the freeway, listening to the voice of the inner critic, feeling powerless in the face of climate change, difficulties in our relationships and on and on.

For most of us, the stress triggers in our lives are not situations where our physical survival is in question; the source of the stress is psychological.  And, here is where Yoga can provide relief from stress.

One of the powerful effects of the concentrated focus on breathing in Viniyoga is it activates the part of the nervous system which supports a sense of relaxation and calm both in the body and mind.    Students may not be aware of this ‘relaxation response’ until they are resting in savasana (the period of rest at the end of a posture practice).  The peaceful effects of a yoga class can sometimes last for days.

Practices such as pranayama (breath practices), Yoga Nidra, and meditation can help us work directly with our energy, emotions, and the mind to ‘re-pattern’ responses to circumstances which habitually trigger stress.  By consciously choosing to focus our mind on the breath, an affirming word(s) or image, or object (e.g. the flame of a candle), we support the process of transforming our habitual patterns of awareness.  Over time, as we replace a focus on negative reactions with contentment, calm, and relaxation – the flow of our thoughts will become more positive and our behavior toward ourselves and others more appropriate.  In other words, the circumstances which trigger the stress will have less effect on us.

Reacting to situations in our daily lives with fear, frustration, and anger can trigger stress and over time, these kinds of reactions will not only have a detrimental effect on our health, but are also not useful – they do not usually lead to the effect we really want.  With the support of yoga practices we are able to turn our attention to positive qualities and as we practice over time, the positive qualities can become dominant. 

To experience this for yourself, try this simple exploration: in a quiet room, sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes.  Bring your focus to your breath, allowing it to slow down.  After several breaths, as you begin to feel internally calm and settled, focus your awareness on an object of your choice, such as a tree (to invoke groundedness), a bear (to invoke strength), the ocean (to invoke a sense contentment and/or going with the flow), an image of your grandmother (to invoke unconditional love) – anything you are drawn to.  Meditate on the object of your choice for several minutes and then, notice how you feel. 

… you become what you pay attention to.

Melanie Reed

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

A Yoga Picnic

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This week’s blog entry is written by guest author Leo Dunbar. Leo is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program  and the founder of YogaVan.      He  can be contacted at in**@*****an.com.

Have you ever been on a yoga picnic?  You pack a light meal, grab your yoga mat and blanket, then you head to a nearby Seattle park to practice yoga before enjoying a light lunch or dinner.  “…Yoga outside?  You’ve got to be kidding.  …Maybe a picnic – but not yoga.  And besides, it’s too cold for a picnic; summer is over, or haven’t you noticed.  What are you thinking?”   That’s the conversation that ran through my mind when I first thought of having a yoga picnic, but a yoga picnic is my way of saying good-bye to summer and hello, to fall.

I’m sad to have to say good-bye to the warm sunny days of summer, especially when there seemed to be so few of them this year, but some of our most beautiful days may still be ahead of us.  Call me an optimist, but Seattle has had some exquisite October and November weather in the past.

By the way, you can’t plan a yoga picnic in Seattle, due to our weather, so you just have to be ready to head out the door when you see that little spark of sunshine peak out from behind the cloud.  You know the cloud I’m talking about; it’s the one that seems to sit over us for the next eight months or so.  Sure it travels around a bit during the week days, but it always finds its way back here during our weekends off.

I know the temperatures are a little cooler, and the days are starting to get progressively and noticeably shorter.  Looking around me, I see that some of us seem as reluctant as I am to let the days of summer go.  Some people are still wearing shorts, but they’ve started to pull on their sweaters; socks are being worn with sandals; and soon, the hats we wore to keep the sun out of our eyes will be replaced by the hats that keep our heads warm.  All are signs that summer is over, but that doesn’t mean that all of our outdoor activities have to end.

Go on a yoga picnic.  Bring closure to your loss of Seattle’s summer sun, and give a warm welcome to the blazing new colors of fall.

Leo

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

Yoga for Men

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This week’s blog entry is written by guest author Rene De los Santos.  Rene is a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program and a teacher at Whole Life Yoga.    He teaches yoga for men as well as mixed gender classes.   He  can be contacted at th*********@***oo.com.

There’s an old saying that we do not choose yoga; that yoga chooses us… perhaps from a previous life?

I first became curious about yoga in 2001 after observing yoga participants leave a class more tranquil and at ease than when I observed them going in. My first thought about yoga was “Someday I’ll do yoga- when I am old”.  But yoga had called me and I quite couldn’t get that ringing out of my ear. My second thought about yoga was that I would only take classes for my own benefit but not teach it.

My misconceptions about yoga were mostly that it was for women and those either really flexible or really weird; rarely did I notice men leading a yoga class but when I did, and got to know them better, I realized that they were not particularly flexible and not at all weird. They were just like me. Normal.

This yoga journey lead me to teacher training at Whole Life Yoga, various workshops in Portland OR, San Francisco CA, Long Island NY and India to study (briefly) with TKV Desikachar, son and student of T Krishnamacharya and his son Kausthub Desikachar. Traveling to India was a life changing experience that continues to this day. It was a revelation to see that the senior teachers at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram were equally divided between men and women and that a great deal of respect was shown to each.

In India I learned that those who learn about yoga but do not share its teachings are like thieves.

My experience has shown me that most men (not ALL men) in our society have misconceptions concerning yoga; most of the men that I’ve spoken to do think yoga is for women, men with special powers or weird people. Most men new to yoga feel awkward walking into a room filled with women on the floor who they presume to be fit and flexible. Men tend to feel out of their league

Female yoga instructors can help ease the anxiety with new male students by not only welcoming them but also by asking if they have any questions or special concerns. Show them where everything is in the studio even if they are there with a friend who is a regular student.

When my women friends ask me how they can get their man into a yoga class, my response is simple: “Work on your own practice.” I believe strongly that yoga is ultimately about relationships- it ultimately transforms the practitioner, usually and hopefully for the better.

Yoga classes specifically for men only are gaining popularity. It gives men a chance to come together in a non-competitive environment and there’s something special about “man time” (sometimes knows as “me” time).

Men new to yoga tend to like “stronger” postures because of their natural strength; left to their own devices, my guess is that they would work more towards strength and less towards flexibility while women usually do the opposite! This can present a challenge for instructors wanting to create a challenging class with both men and women practicing together.

When my men friends ask me why I “do” yoga, my response is simple: “It makes me a better man.” The journey continues…

Namaste

Rene De los Santos

Come visit Whole Life Yoga in Seattle!

Bringing Yoga Teachings to the Mountain….

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This week’s blog entry is written by Lauren Lake, a graduate of Whole Life Yoga’s 200 hour yoga teacher training program.  Lauren can be contacted at la*************@***il.com.

A year ago, just as I was finishing my yoga teacher training with Tracy Weber at Whole Life Yoga, I decided to climb Mt. Rainier with my best friend, Mariza Esteban.  Mariza and I had talked about climbing Mt. Rainier multiple times over the years, but there was always some excuse – lack of time, money or life getting in the way. We finally decided last summer to hold ourselves accountable by paying for a guide service to ensure a safe climb. We grabbed the last two spots on a full moon weekend in August, and then started to panic about what the heck we were getting ourselves into!

To my surprise, yoga teachings kept surfacing over the year during the training and again during the actual climb.  One of the recommendations on the RMI website for training emphasized the need to stretch, improve balance, and work on core strength.  These skills are particularly important during the summit climb, in order to safely navigate tricky terrain.  Thanks to the training at Whole Life Yoga, I was able to create a home yoga practice focusing on balance, core strengthening, and leg stretches.  Mariza and I also created a mantra for our climb.  This climb with the guides is described as running a marathon, and then taking a nap, and running another marathon, which is a fairly accurate description.  I spent many hikes with a heavy pack on Mt. Si feeling out different mantras, and finally discovered that repeating to myself, “It will get better” was my mantra to use on Mt. Rainier.  It reminded me that the pain was temporary, that a break would come eventually, and that I could survive the situation.

One benefit of using the guide service, was receiving a mountaineering class the day prior to the climb.  At the very start of the class, one of the first skills we learned was pressure or pursed lip breathing.  When we reached altitude, and the fatigue was creeping in, our lead guide, Dave Hahn, taught that we should use a rest step (a quick pause to allow your muscles to relax) along with a pressured breath to increase the amount of oxygen we received while climbing.  This breathing technique is similar to some of the techniques we practiced in our yoga teacher’s training course.  Sure enough, at around 8,000 feet, with fatigue, altitude and low oxygen levels settling, I had to rely on my mantra and my breath to continue moving up the mountain.  At 11,000 feet, during our summit climb, my knees were screaming at me, and causing unsteady footing.  To ensure a safe descent, I turned back to base camp arriving just in time to enjoy a beautiful sunrise with the beautiful full moon overhead!

Surprising or not, yoga complements mountaineering very well, as it felt like a physical meditation to be climbing the mountain so slowly, with such intention, and focus on the breath.  Attempting to climb Mt. Rainier has been one of the most difficult adventures I have pursued in a long time, but I am grateful for the journey with my best friend and happy to be safely back at sea level in Seattle!

Lauren Lake

More information about Whole Life Yoga’s teacher training program can be found at our web site:  Yoga Teacher Training at Whole Life Yoga.