Yogi of the Month: February 2016
HI, I'M VERDIE AND THIS IS HOW I KICK ASANA!
Name: Verdie Culbreath
Occupation: Writing Instructor and Doctoral Student
Favorite yoga pose: Sphinx pose
Yoga is...a journey from the self to the self through the self.
What do you love most about yoga? What I love most about yoga is that it teaches me new things about my brain and my body every day. Recently, I've noticed that on days that I go to yoga it is easier for me to be patient in my daily life, while I tend to get more anxious and tense during long stretches without practicing. Yoga allows me to look at things in the moment, one piece at a time--I then try to carry that with me into the world.
What fuels you? I keep motivated with the thought that work or practices that I'm going through in the present moment might help to shape positive changes on a larger scale.
My NON-guilty pleasure is...baking! I love making and giving food to friends and family. Food is a great way to show people you care and to build community.
What makes you Mighty? All of my past experiences--both periods of struggle and moments of success.
How's your February Challenge going this month? February challenge has been going great! I'm working towards building a daily practice, even if I don't go into the studio. My goal is to make yoga habitual because something that the challenge has taught me is not that yoga takes time out of my day, but that it creates time by making me more motivated, relaxed, and happy once I return to work after practicing.
What’s your yoga story? How did you start practicing? I started practicing Yoga when I started graduate school. It was a way for me to step outside of my mind and focus on my body for an hour or two every few days.
If you had a super power what would it be and why? I would love to be able to teleport--because I love traveling and most of my family lives in the South--I would love to be able to visit them whenever I wanted or when we needed each other.
When I wake up in the morning, I always do these two things...take a few minutes to set an intention for the day and to try to let go of expectations about what I should or should not do/accomplish. Then I take 10 or 15 minutes to play with my cat, Zelda.
What's the best advice you've ever received? The best advice I have ever received is to realize that I cannot do everything--there will always be things that I don't know right away and will have to work towards getting better at or understanding--the process is what's important, not being perfect right away (or ever).