We're offering another $5 Community Class on Sundays, 6 - 7:15pm, starting tonight! Our community classes are a great way to get on the mat when you're on a budget. Plus, any of the class passes can apply, too. Visit the class schedule for all the class offerings.
And tonight's class is doubly special because one of our own Mighty Yogis will be teaching! Alexa Class started as a Mighty student more than a year ago. She just completed her 200-hr teacher training in Philadelphia last month, and we're thrilled she's re-joined the Mighty team as our newest instructor! Join us in giving her a Mighty Welcome Back! Meet Alexa below and join her on Sundays this spring!
MY: How did you come to yoga?
Alexa: I came into yoga the first time by taking an open community-college
Kundalini class. It was out there, from my perspective, we were
practicing an intense breathing exercise for about 30 min, and I was
exhausted, so much so that I felt drugged. I thought it was wild, and I
wanted more of it. I eventually poked around in many different styles
of yoga, before finding a teacher and class that really spoke to my
physical, psychological, and spiritual self. This was a power vinyasa
class led by a professor who was as informed about biology and science
as she was about universal consciousness and prana. I took her class for
the 4-plus years I was doing my biological dissertation work, going to
every single class she offered (5 a week) and then seeking out other
yoga classes (and some Pilates) on the side. I loved her for how well
rounded she was, for her gift at teaching and for the way she carried
herself--as someone who was aware, informed and conscious of all of
life around her. I started making a deep internal transition into
understanding that I was not there for the physical activity (though I
loved this, too), as much as for the mental clarity, internal peace and
mental quiet yoga brought to my being. I was hooked!
What do you like about Power Yoga?
Alexa: I
like that it brings you into a deep awareness of the fact that you are
just like everyone else around you, but that you are also 100% yourself,
with a unique story, perspective, and personal reason for coming into
yoga. If you are open to the challenge, you can use the limbs of yoga to
figure out who you are and be open to that, no matter where you are
starting from.
How has your yoga changed since the first time you practiced?
Alexa: I have become very conscious of the power that pranayama, the life
force and breath can have to keep you moving, feeling steady and
grounded in your yoga practice and through your day. Without breath
none of us would be alive. It is such a critical thing to try and bring
into our over-scheduled, busy lives. I have also learned a lot more
that yoga is entirely about knowing yourself. Your mat really is like a
mirror and it will reflect things you are working through very clearly
if you let it. I love this internal space--the time I spend working on
finding self-peace is certainly reflected in how others relate to me.
Yoga just has an unstoppable power to bring consciousness into your
life where it is lacking. I really believe in it as a healing tool and a
community-builder. We need more of that than any of us realize in this
capitalistic society we live in.
Why did you decide to teach yoga?
Alexa: I decided to teach yoga because yoga teachers have really been my
support system through the some of the most challenging periods of my
life. I think I owe a lot of personal growth as well as my growing
desire to give back to the larger community of life that I live in to
the practice. I have always wanted to “save the world” and have learned
that each and every one of us have an aspect of this in us that is
waiting to shine. I think teaching yoga may be one of my prime ways of
communicating what my mind-body-spirit knows better than my mind alone.
Any tips for someone new to yoga?
Alexa: Let it teach you something. Whatever you may need to know—it is out
there. You have all the answers in you--you just have to be open
enough to let them come. If you are stressed or frustrated come in and
let go. You will not forget how that feels and if you are lucky that
feeling might spread through you and heal the ‘avidyā’
(clouded consciousness) that you are working through. Yoga has seven
other limbs besides the physical asanas. Though the physical benefits
are unparalleled, you will gain more than you can imagine from accepting
the other aspects that reveal themselves along the way. Most of all, be
conscious of your own body and aware that you make the decisions about
what it will or will not do and for which reasons. Sometimes this is a
really important thing to pay attention to in order to understand the
way you think with more clarity.
What is your favorite pose(s)? Why?
Alexa: I
love poses that combine ‘muscle intelligence’ with ‘pranayama’ (the
life force, breath awareness) and balance. Thus, poses like eagle
(Garuḍāsana), bird of paradise (Svarga Dvijasana), forearm balance
(Pincha Mayurasana) and compass pose (Parivrtta Surya Yantrasana) are
poses I love as a challenging way to get out of my mind, free up my
breath and focus deeply. Let me also point out that I study birds,
including the birds of paradise. Knowing that I am embodying their
amazing grace in a pose is just super thrilling to me.
What do you like to do off the yoga mat?
Alexa: That
is a big question! Well, I love making art and finding myself in my
art. I spend a lot of time observing the world, whether it be through
yoga, art, or biology. Things I do whenever I can include, among many
others: hiking, swimming, exploring caves and forests, surfing, scuba
diving, paragliding, sailing, dancing, singing. I love watching life,
including birds among other animals and plants of all kinds. I love
using my hands and feeling the earth. I have always found great
contentment in experiencing weather and the changing smells, sounds, and
sights surrounding thunderstorms, eclipses, meteor showers etc. I love
reading a good book. I cook a lot, trying to stick to an informed,
local/mindfully produced, mainly vegetarian diet. I love teaching, about
anything related to seeing the world for what it is. I also really
enjoy talking to an audience about something I am passionate about and
hearing global, diverse, perspectives on life. Traveling is a passion of
mine because it gives grace and compassion. New experiences and
perspectives provide a perfect opportunity to practice being more
humble, forgiving, and peaceful, something I am continually working on.
What fuels you?
Alexa: I love being alive and experiencing it all as it comes. I just want to
grow, learn, share, and feel as much as I can! Seeing people realize
they are just like other people everywhere and seeing people realize
that life in general should be honored for the energy it brings is such a
wonderfully simple and beautiful thing to observe. The ‘life cycle’ and
the idea of impermanence has fueled me since I was a toddler playing
with insects I found near my hand-made thunder-storm mud-pool in Tucson,
Arizona.
