Meet our October Teacher of the Month, Alex Cordoba! Alex is an inspiring yoga instructor and writer who expresses fully from her heart. Read on to become inspired by her poetic and heartfelt words about yoga, what it means to her, and what it has to offer all of us.
When did you start practicing yoga?
I started practicing yoga when I was a freshman in college. As an athlete in transition, I had just decided to leave behind my collegiate career – I was searching for something more holistic to replace the years and years of formal athletics. In all that I had been doing physically prior to my introduction to yoga there had always been something missing, in that deep internal space. So when my cousin said, "Alex, I think you'd like yoga," I thought "why the heck not?" From that very first class I fell in love. And although perhaps I couldn't quite pinpoint it that day when I left the studio drenched in my sweat and exuding a newfound shade of reddish, purple in my face, something inside me just knew that what I had just done was different - that unbeknownst to me, my life was about to radically change!
What has yoga brought to your life?
Freedom, joy, love, daring adventure, my voice, power, strength, softness, peace, love, hope, equanimity, loneliness (that I'm now okay with), empowered choice, new perspective, creativity, laughter, presence (most importantly with my son), openness to the whole spectrum of what it means to feel and be alive (the sweet and the bitter, the light and the dark, the hard and the soft), appreciation for this sacred gift called life, love (have I said that already?), passion, femininity, community, blessed and unforgettable teachers, the most open-hearted, willing, and brave students, the ability to see and honor the sacred thread that weaves us all, and it gave me...ME!
Why did you become a yoga instructor?
Because the quiet whisper one day became a LOUD scream! Because if even one person's...
heart could be opened, life altered, perspective changed, hope reignited, love (for the Self and all others) restored and embodied, forgiveness found, strength possessed, beauty embraced, compassion offered, Svadharma lived, passion wielded, smile shared...
If any of these things could one day be a possibility for any and every student of mine simply from my taking the seat of teacher and our collective willingness to vulnerably and radically hold the conversation of life, well, then it will have been worth it! Being a part of peoples' realizations that this life was meant to be lived as fully as possible is the greatest gift I have been given. It's why at a certain point I couldn't do anything but be a yoga teacher.
4. What impact can a regular yoga practice have on a person's life?
What awaits you, if you let it, if you really dive into the sacred and rich conversation that is your life, is truly something unbelievable and indescribable. One day this 'yoga thing' will become so much more than a physical practice. It will become a way to live, a way to breathe, a way to love, a way to create, a way to embrace whole-heartedly this gift of embodiment that you've been given, a way to hold gratitude equally for both the light and the dark spaces within and around you, and a way to radically, inexcusably and authentically be YOU.
There is a word in Sanskrit, Mumukshutva, which refers to the real and everlasting freedom that comes when you're willing to trudge through the muck at any and all costs to one day know the unconditional and unscathed living breathing essence inside you. This, my friends, is what awaits you if you're willing to let this yoga thing take over and envelope you.
What advice would you give to someone that is just starting yoga?
T.K.V. Desikachar said, “We begin where we are and how we are, and whatever happens, happens.” Thus is the path of yoga. To all of you amazing people just starting this crazy journey called yoga, may it be for you exactly what it is suppose to be. Open to it. Enjoy it. Revel in its sweetness. Trust it. Never let it go. Know once you step two feet in you will never be the same! Oh, and have so so so very much FUN! And laugh. Never stop laughing.
What is special about the style of yoga you teach?
I'll let my students answer this one for me:
"Alex manages, with humor and humility, to transform the yoga studio into a sacred space wholly amenable to the development of a spiritually AND physically transformative yoga practice. I think this is largely due to her willingness to share her vulnerability, and herself. This is not only deeply endearing, it is her offering, her gift, to her students, because it invites them to step into their own vulnerability, for a shared experience that is something quite powerful."
"Alex inspires us to embrace the dark in order see the beautiful light as we all strive to live whole-heartedly."
"I find myself going beyond my edges to find my true power, strength, and wisdom because that’s what Alex will inspire you to do; she invites her students to go into their own light to find the truth and beauty that rests in the self."
I have the greatest students in the world!
What is your favorite yoga posture to teach, and why?
I really don't have one. I absolutely love them all! However, what I love most is the creative process of putting a whole class together; the dharma with the apex pose, the poses in between and after, words to hone in on my theme, meditation, chanting and whatever else feels right. At a certain point, the process of creation feels as if I'm writing a story. And I absolutely LOVE stories! It's how I stay connected to the artist within.
Please share some words of wisdom or advice for your yogadownload.com yoga students.
If you've ever felt that 'something', that inner twinge of hope, of possibility, of being able to breathe just a little bit easier after class, or the softening and newfound spaciousness around your heart space after a deep backbend, or a strength unrecognizable when you accepted the encouragement to go deeper and fly higher than you ever have before, then please, don't stop! Listen! That's the yoga's language of invitation. That's the beginning of your awakening.
Do you have a favorite quote you'd like to share?
"You only have to touch the elemental waters in your own life, and it will transform everything. But you have to let yourself down into those waters from the ground on which you stand..." -David Whyte
In Alex’s classes she weaves together yoga philosophy, asana, pranayama, laughter, messages to inspire and uplift so that she can offer a unique and creative journey to her students every time they come to the mat. She encourages her students to practice compassion and patience towards others and themselves, to invite breath in, to find laughter, humility, and grace on the mat, and to be open to the possibilities and the adventures that arise when one dances with uncertainty.
Yoga has taught Alex that we need look no further than inside ourselves to see our own divinity and grace and to feel the universal pulsation alive! It has taught Alex to breathe and to find comfort in the fact that everything is as it should be and to embrace her life just as it is, to step into the current of grace and trust the ride. Visit Alex's Blog at AlexCordoba.com
Download or stream one of Alex's inspiring classes today:
Ground into Essence
Infinite Freedom
