Juliet Richardson
I discovered yoga 12 years ago while working in the fashion + music industry of NYC. Having heard that yoga could shape + tone the body, I picked up a very basic Hatha Yoga vhs tape from Kmart. At 19 years old, I did not understand what I was trying to do or why my hips would not move the way the ladys' in the blue unitard did.
I could only get about a third of the way through the tape but would practice twice a week, on carpet, as I had no idea where to find a mat. Ukatasana was the bane of my existence, I could not reach my arms and torso up and away from my trembling thighs no matter how much I wanted to. After a few weeks, I shelved the tape.
Two years later, I moved to Philadelphia and met a great circle of friends some of which practiced Yoga. I began to take classes with them at the boutique gym a few doors down and bluffed my way through my limitations. My very first yoga teacher was a rad chick from California. She was sunny and got us to work hard and it felt good. Moving to London a year later, I bought two Gaiam dvd's: Ashtanga Yoga for Beginners and Basic Pilates. I could not make it through 5 minutes of Pilates, so I began to learn and practice the Ashtanga series regularly, reveling in the fact that I heard the same complete alignment cues over and over. A year later, I took my first Bikram Yoga class in Tel Aviv. The class was taught in Hebrew, but I got it, I loved the heat, knew some of the poses and was hooked.
Moving back to the East Coast, I serendipitously found a Bikram studio 15 minutes from my house and began to practice there. This is where I began to understand and experience the union, the yoking of mind and body. Slowly, but surely I began to change, from the inside out. I continued to practice. Two years ago, I was asked to teach a group of women in the Wasatch Valley of Utah. I realized it was something I could do and completed my teacher training at the University of Utah in 2009 under one Ashtanga master and one Forrest Yoga devotee. I began teaching full time and have enjoyed crafting a flow which appeals to all levels.
There are so many reasons and ways by which we come to Yoga. The variety of influences that help us step on to a mat can also keep us from it. Half way through my journey I realized, that on and off our mats, we get what we give.
The energy, breath, effort, concentration, emotion and intention that we put into our practice is directly related to the flexibility, contentment, relaxation, centeredness and joy! that we get out of it. This realization is what made Yoga less of a science and more of an art for me.
This is the place from which I teach. There is a freedom within, that inspires me to give you my best. That we all might grow, express, enjoy, create and experience together. I ask you to give yourself, your best. To breathe. To trust. To listen. To follow and make a (valiant) effort. See you Soon.
