There’s a lot of yogi stereotypes, especially in the age of the uber-celebrity yogis found on social media. Whether you believe that yogis or yoga teachers are kombucha-drinking, mala bead-wearing, om-chanting hippies or the skinny, leggy, jet-setting acrobats who publish their practice on Instagram every day, I am none of these things.
A few of the reasons I am an unlikely yogi is that I like wine and cocktails. Even bacon sometimes. And chips, definitely chips. I see 5am occasionally, but usually on the way home, not because I’m getting up to greet the sun.
Also I’m 43. I can’t get either one of my feet behind my head nor stand on my head long enough to take a selfie. I’m short and most definitely a little chubby.
I love yoga. I love my practice and now that I teach, I love that too. I start each day with a cup of hot water and lemon. I practice whenever I can and read endless books about yoga and yogic philosophy. I even dream about yoga sometimes. I work hard at my practice and at my classes, hoping to inspire others to commit to making yoga part of their own life and ultimately create their own practice. I meditate and I have a lots of crystals. I even chant OM sometimes, albeit extraordinarily out of tune.
But on balance, I still think I’m an Unlikely Yogi, but I hope that my clients find that my ordinariness makes yoga approachable and not unattainable.
