Motherhood, like yoga, is a journey. Meet some of our teachers who use the power of motherhood to transform lives and inspire the practice day in and day out.
IVORIE @ivoriejenkins
“Like all the best things in life, parenthood is a paradox- a beautiful mess of contradictory qualities. For instance, you will never feel more alive yet more exhausted. The days seem to go on forever but the years are gone in a blink. You are surrounded by so much love yet some days feel so lonely. Thankfully Yoga has been a refuge. Although most days, making it to my mat looks like a 5 minute sit before the kids wake or a 3 minute round of deep breathing post tantrum. My teaching is richer, more seasoned because life is happening to me and I consistently get to put the tools of the practice to use - or fail miserably and try again the next day!“
EMILY @emilyyoga_
"Becoming a mom has completely redefined what the word "love" means to me! The word "love" has taken on a whole new meaning; it's an earth-shattering, heart-bursting love that oozes and overflows from my heart. Motherhood has transformed me and allowed me to see the excitement of the world through the eyes of a baby. Every day as a mother, I'm constantly learning and expanding, softening and slowing down, and experiencing new levels of joy.... it's helped me become a better person, a more caring friend, a more loving daughter and wife, and a more compassionate yoga teacher."
MARY BETH @marybethlarue
"I became a mother when my phone rang over five years ago. I was on my way to teach a private yoga session and when I answered the phone I was asked if my husband and I would foster a six day old baby boy. We had been to foster parent classes for the six months prior and nothing could ever prepare me for the moment I saw my son's face. He opened his big brown eyes and I fell harder than I'd ever fallen in my life. In love, that is, but there was plenty of fumbling through motherhood as well. We had dozens upon dozens of twists and turns and adopted our boy when he was 2.5 years old. My yoga mat served as a life raft during that time and still does. My practice is messier, more embodied, filled with so much feeling. Becoming a mother has been the greatest gift of my life, especially in the way it happened for us, and my practice has only become more of a gift as well."
LAUREN @laureneckstrom
"I sit with two parts of myself: the one who trusts & the one who thinks she knows how to get there faster, the one who is trying to do things differently & the one who can only see her desired outcome, the one who is so patient & the one who simply wants to rush the process. Mothering is all the things, all the parts & I succeed & fail daily. She runs like the wind, talks like a wisdom keeper, laughs like joy is her birthright (which it is for all of us), & holds her ground staunchly. I am trying. I am slowing down & trying to catch up. This tiny teacher has taught me more about myself than I ever could have imagined.
So hey parents, I know you say it to your kiddos every single day so if no one has said it to YOU recently, let me: “This is hard. I see you. You're doing a GREAT job.”
