Total Body Yoga Teachers
Laura Mills
"Try yoga." These two words--courtesy of a friend--changed my life a few years ago at the culmination of a very long, particularly stressful time. I began with a once-a-week adult education yoga class and quickly fell in love with the practice. After signing up session after session, I sought out additional yoga opportunities, which eventually led me to Total Body Yoga and ultimately to the TBY Teacher Training Program.
Today, I humbly credit yoga with "saving" me at a time when it seemed nothing else could, as I am physically healthier and emotionally and spiritually happier than I've ever been before. I am endlessly grateful to my own yoga teachers both past and present, and I am now honored to join the TBY teaching team and to be given the opportunity to take my practice beyond myself and bring to others what yoga has brought to me. The bottom line for me is that yoga feels good. It is a ballet of body, mind and spirit that soothes like nothing else; when a person opens up to the practice, the body thrives, the mind calms and the spirit flourishes. The blessings are indeed endless, everything from a stronger back to increased confidence to the ability to appreciate the small positives in every day. I look forward to helping others uncover these blessings in their own lives, as well as continuing to learn from others as my own practice deepens.
What other hobbies do you have aside from yoga? My biggest hobby other than yoga is writing. In the last few years I've actually had some freelance essays and articles published, locally as well as nationally, and at any given moment I always have at least one writing project of some kind in the works. But in addition to that, I also really enjoy reading (everything from philosophy to science thrillers), hiking or else just going for long walks, and scrapbooking.
What is a book you could strongly recommend? One of my most favorite books is I'm A Stranger Here Myself, by Bill Bryson. It's about his experiences returning to the US after living in England for 20 years. I've read it several times, and it's always just as wonderful (both funny and moving) as it was the first time I picked it up.
What element, quality or technique of yoga do you find most fascinating and why? Definitely the way the body, mind and spirit all come together.... Nowhere else in my life experience have I ever felt honored as a WHOLE BEING. Exercise was for my body, for example, school was for my brain, etc. But I've learned that yoga is for all of me, and whenever I practice I encounter a beautiful feeling of completion.
What are your all-time favorite movies? "The Natural" is probably highest on my list...but "Apollo 13," "The Blues Brothers," "The Lion King," and "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" are never too far from my DVD player, either.
What is one of your all-time favorite comfort foods? If I have to pick one: my mom's eggplant parmesan.
What is your favorite color? Red
Where would you like to visit in the world? My heart belongs to Arizona--I've traveled there several times and always long to return--but I'd also really like to visit Greece and Germany.
What brought you to yoga? I decided to take my friend's advice and "try yoga" because I was looking for something to help me relax, plus I was curious about yoga as a way to help improve my physical health. Little did I know what a treasure awaited me!
What is your favorite pose and why? Overall, balance poses are my favorites--it's while practicing those poses that I most notice yoga's quieting influence on my mind. Not only that, but it's hard not to feel happy when balancing in a pose like Vrksasana or Natarajasana or many others.... I think they're beautiful poses, and on the days I'm able to keep my balance I literally feel like I'm flying.
What qualities are needed to be a good teacher? I think the willingness to listen, not only with the ears but with the heart, is essential to good teaching. The better a teacher is at "hearing" students, the more capable she or he will be at appropriately serving students in ways they most need to be served.