{"id":192,"date":"2023-08-08T03:05:23","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T08:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/12yogaquestions.com\/?p=192"},"modified":"2023-08-08T03:05:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T08:05:23","slug":"karen-stanley-yoga-instructor-studio-owner-forester","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/?p=192","title":{"rendered":"Karen Stanley \u2014 yoga instructor, studio owner, forester"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mind, body, spirit \u2014 yoga is a holistic experience for many. But did one element or another first draw you to the practice? That is, were you seeking to settle your mind? Have greater physical flexibility? Explore your spiritual nature?<\/p>\n

I became interested in yoga in college, but didn’t take a class until after college when I took my first job \u2014 the yogic and Hindu philosophy, present moment awareness, and meditation was what actually drew me in the first place \u2014 I am very much a seeker and a college philosophy course really sparked my interest \u2014 I was already doing physical activity, and the movement practice was more about the body\/mind connection \u2014 although flexibility is a great secondary benefit!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"How about now: does yoga feed your mind or your body or your spirit more, or are those elements more in balance than when you started?<\/p>\n

yoga over the past 20+ years for me now feeds every aspect of my life \u2014 as I now have more of a desk job, the physical aspect of stretching is actually more important to keeping me pain free \u2014 I also use breathwork and yoga nidra for relaxation \u2014 and teaching yoga and owning a studio also feeds a creative need in me \u2014 the process of putting together a yoga class and maybe some music to complement it is really enjoyable<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

How long did you practice yoga before you started teaching it?<\/p>\n

I practiced yoga for about 2 years before teaching \u2014 I knew I wanted a deeper knowledge of yoga, so the teacher training was more for me, at first \u2014 but our little community needed actual yoga teachers, so I began teaching as a way to bring it to others in 2003<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re teaching regularly, can you lead classes too often? How many times a week, and a day, might be too much?<\/p>\n

since I also have another job, I only teach about 4-5 classes a week \u2014 there was a point where I taught 3 classes in one day \u2014 that was a lot, both mentally and physically, and wasn’t really sustainable with everything else going on \u2014 two classes in a day is plenty \u2014 I try to balance my yoga so that it doesn’t feel like work! \u2014 it’s my passion and I want to protect that<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Do you have a preferred yoga style?<\/p>\n

my go to practice is Vinyasa flow or Yin Yoga \u2014 but I enjoy getting to practice Kundalini and Iyengar for some of the benefits more specific to each<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When you were starting out, what came easiest and what was more challenging?<\/p>\n

settling my “monkey” mind was often one of the hardest things \u2014 but I loved when I could really tune in during a practice or savasana and catch those times of “thoughtlessness”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

From your experience as a teacher, can you generalize about what comes easiest for beginners and what is more challenging?<\/p>\n

I don’t know if there is an easy part for beginners \u2014 but not because the practice is hard, but because of the mindset of forcing and not allowing \u2014 I find so many people intimidated to even start because they don’t want to “do it wrong” or “look wrong” \u2014 the beginner mindset is that it’s not okay to be a beginner \u2014 it has to be perfect right away \u2014 that’s the hard part… allowing yourself to be a beginner and open yourself up to learning and not looking or being perfect, because there is no perfect \u2014 after 20 years there are things that I can’t physically do, whether it’s because my body isn’t physically able to bend in a certain way or because I haven’t taken the time to really cultivate practicing certain things \u2014 and either way, that’s okay<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What are the more difficult poses for beginners to execute?<\/p>\n

unless it is set up well, I don’t think most people need to put the compression on the cervical spine that shoulderstand creates \u2014 our modern forward slumping shoulders already exacerbates that \u2014 until it is learned safely (at the wall and with props), I don’t think the benefits outweigh the risks \u2014 another asana that I think beginners should learn with a teacher so they can do them safely is Ardha chandrasana (standing half moon) \u2014 understanding rooting\/grounding and even using a block or a wall to find alignment if the hip isn’t open enough can make a lot of difference to the balance and enjoyment of that pose<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?<\/p>\n

learning to observe my thoughts in the moment before I act on something \u2014 being present for wonderful things that I might miss otherwise \u2014 breathwork, meditation and flexibility have helped me with both of my pregnancies and childbirth \u2014 and I get to meet some pretty amazing people as both teachers and students from being a yogini \u2014 shoutouts to a few of my amazing teachers: Anna Pittman, Paul Grilley, Eric Schiffman, and Katie Silcox<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Apart from yoga, do you practice other techniques of mindfulness or meditation?<\/p>\n

I practice yoga nidra, especially for sleep \u2014 walking and being in nature \u2014 my seated meditation is on and off \u2014 I also find painting to be a mindfulness practice, especially outdoors<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Do you regularly do other forms of exercise?<\/p>\n

mostly walking or hiking<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Outside of a yoga session, do you ever just strike a pose and stretch? If so, which poses and where?<\/p>\n

twists in bed first thing in the morning \u2014 squatting is great for some back traction \u2014 and legs up the wall on an acupressure mat when I get a migraine<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

You have a choice: lead a yoga class (1) outdoors on a beautiful day, overlooking the ocean, or (2) in a well-designed, very comfortable minimalist indoor space. Which do you pick?<\/p>\n

I’m a forester by profession and an outdoorsy person in general \u2014 outdoors anytime, anywhere \u2014 I’m spoiled to live in a beautiful place in the mountains where outdoor yoga is just magical<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014interview \u00a9 Marshal Zeringue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mind, body, spirit \u2014 yoga is a holistic experience for many. But did one element or another first draw you to the practice? That is, were you seeking to settle your mind? Have greater physical flexibility? Explore your spiritual nature? I became interested in yoga in college, but didn’t take a class until after college […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=192"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/12yquptownnola.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}