Meet our March YogaDownload Teacher of the Month, Alanna Kaivalya! Alanna is a master yoga instructor, author, and musician whose vibrancy and wisdom comes through in every class that she teaches. Read on to learn more about this radiant teacher!
1. When did you start practicing yoga?
I was in college studying physics and some good friends encouraged me to go. I had been struggling with thyroid disorder and they said it would help, but I was SO resistant at first! It took about a year before I finally went to a class. But, once I did, I was hooked.
2. What has yoga brought to your life?
It's funny, I look at that question and all I can think is "yoga is my life." It's not even a matter of what it has brought to it, yoga has pretty much infiltrated everything that I do…not in a weird way, though! It has made me comfortable in my skin so that I enjoy my life and go through challenges with a much more balanced disposition. After a while, once the yoga has gone deep enough, it changes your habits and patterns so that whatever happens in life, it happens with a little more ease and grace.
3. Why did you become a yoga instructor?
To be perfectly honest, I initially became a yoga instructor because I graduated college two months after 9/11 and I couldn't find a job, which meant I couldn't afford yoga classes! I got certified because I knew that way I would at least be able to take yoga classes at whatever studio I taught in. It also gave me a lot of flexibility to go on job interviews. But, after a year and a half of teaching yoga, I knew I was in deep, and so I started taking it much more seriously and chose it as a career path.
4. What impact can a regular yoga practice have on a person's life?
Well, this depends on everything. It depends on what kind of impact it needs to have on a person's life, and on what that person will allow the yoga to transform. It's a symbiotic relationship. While the yoga will always do it's job, it works it's magic more quickly and efficiently on those who also give their efforts and energy to the practice.
5. What advice would you give to someone that is just starting yoga?
Find a VERY good teacher. Ask about their qualifications and background. In the same way you research a doctor before you go, do the same with your teacher.
6. What is special about the style of yoga you teach?
Well, I ended up coining my own style of yoga in 2009 because it seemed like a necessary next step. I spend a lot of time teaching about the mythology, philosophy and mantra, and have developed some teacher trainings that encourage people to be liberated by the practice -- as in, to be themselves. I focus on a non-dogmatic and non-guru based approach where the most important thing that I teach is that the student be able to stand on their own two feet within the practice.
7. What is your favorite yoga posture to teach, and why?
I'm gonna take a pass on this one and say that my favorite things to teach are the mythology and the mantras! They go well with every posture.
8. Please share some words of wisdom or advice for your yogadownload.com yoga students.
Everything is awesomely okay.
9. Do you have a favorite quote you'd like to share?
"God breaks the heart again and again until it remains open." - Hazrat Inayat Khan
10. What do you like to do "off the mat"?
These days, I'm attending grad school, so all my "off the mat" time is dedicated to my studies in mythology. It may sound like a grind, but it's my bliss and I couldn't be happier than when I'm studying, reading and writing. Though, anything that involves hanging out with my dog, Roxy, is pretty much also on the top of my list!
Alanna Kaivalya, has a mission: to convey a sense of joy and freedom through harmony and synchronicity, which she does beautifully through her classes, workshops, writing, and music. Alanna is known for her ability to translate the ancient practice of yoga into a modern day context.
Visit Alanna's website and learn about the Kaivalya Yoga Method at AlannaK.com.
Click here for Alanna's complete listing of classes available at YogaDownload.com!