{"id":284,"date":"2023-08-20T03:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-20T08:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/12yogamalibu.com\/?p=284"},"modified":"2023-08-19T12:02:21","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T17:02:21","slug":"leza-lowitz-pt2-writer-yoga-instructor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/20\/leza-lowitz-pt2-writer-yoga-instructor\/","title":{"rendered":"Leza Lowitz, pt2 \u2014 writer, yoga instructor"},"content":{"rendered":"

[note \u2014 this is part 2 of 2; here we focus on Lowitz’s experience as a yoga professional; part 1 is about her journey as a student of the practice<\/em>]<\/p>\n

As a yoga professional, what aspects \u2014 mind, body, spirit \u2014 do you pitch to someone who has never done yoga but is open to the possibility?<\/p>\n

I have never in my life pitched yoga \u2014 people come when they are called<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Do you have a particularly strong relationship with any teachings or text?<\/p>\n

Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

How long did you practice yoga before becoming a teacher?<\/p>\n

five years<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

How long have you taught yoga?<\/p>\n

30 years \u2014 I can’t believe it myself<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When you’re teaching regularly, can you lead classes too often? How many times a week, and a day, might be too much?<\/p>\n

when you feel tired, or that the inspiration is gone \u2014 everyone has a different limit and gives a different amount of energy \u2014 holding space for others can take a lot out of you but it can also feed you<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Do you have a preferred yoga style? Do you teach others?<\/p>\n

Hatha \u2014 Vinyasa Flow \u2014 Yin Yoga, Yin\/Yang Yoga Mix, Restorative Yoga \u2014 Tibetan Heart Yoga, Yoga Nidra is the bomb<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

From your experience as a teacher, can you generalize about what comes easiest for beginners and what is more challenging?<\/p>\n

being in the moment is difficult for beginners and advanced practitioners \u2014 letting go of perfectionism\/exhibitionism<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

What are the more difficult poses for beginners to execute?<\/p>\n

Savasana \u2014 hands down \u2014 people find it incredibly difficult just to relax and let go<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Apart from yoga, do you recommend other techniques of mindfulness or meditation?<\/p>\n

any kind of mindfulness or meditation is so liberating \u2014 watching the thoughts come and go, you learn that you are not your thoughts, which are ever-changing<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Say you have a beginning student who has come to yoga for help with a bad back. They are already pretty chill, and you intuit they are only looking for the physical benefits from yoga. Do you leave it at that, or do you look for opportunities to promote the non-physical benefits?<\/p>\n

yoga needs no promotion \u2014 if you are practicing yoga asana and the other limbs, it works on you in the ways that are needed<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Do you have a favorite sutra or mantra or koan that you like to share with those in your classes?<\/p>\n

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926 \u2013 2022) taught a powerful simple mantra: \u201cBreathing in, I calm my body \u2014 Breathing out, I smile \u2014 Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment\u201d \u2014 \u00a0not wonderful in the sense that everything is great, but wonderful as in awe-inspiring \u2014 just to be alive \u2014 here \u2014 now<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

You have a choice: lead a yoga class (1) outdoors on a beautiful day, overlooking the ocean, or (2) in a well-designed, very comfortable minimalist indoor space. Which do you pick?<\/p>\n

nothing beats doing yoga outside, tuning in to the rhythms of nature \u2014 definitely overlooking the ocean \u2014 infinite space outside reflecting infinite inner space<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014interview \u00a9 Marshal Zeringue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[note \u2014 this is part 2 of 2; here we focus on Lowitz’s experience as a yoga professional; part 1 is about her journey as a student of the practice] As a yoga professional, what aspects \u2014 mind, body, spirit \u2014 do you pitch to someone who has never done yoga but is open to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":324,"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions\/324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/12yogaredondo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}