ODDlight Teacher Feature: Cindy Godell

Like your grandma at BINGO or a swap meet, Cindy can pop up at the studio and every single person will know her name and have a favorite Cindy moment to share. Perhaps one of the most Aries to ever Aries, Cindy's passion, confidence, and determination are – the good kind of – infectious. Always doing the most, Cindy's teaching style can be described as the sweatiest SWEAT, strongest FLOW+, and the deepest YIN – all with a side salad of play!

Off the mat, you'll often find Cindy...ummm, back on the mat, actually. As lead teacher, Cindy's passion gets translated into fun, thoughtful, and beloved class programming, as well as one of the most well-rounded 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training programs in Los Angeles. If you're interested in deepening your practice under Cindy's stellar leadership, be sure to join the next 200 Hour YTT info session and learn more about the program from one of its creators. If you somehow don't know Cindy, read on for a casual Q&A or ask her about her middle name – IYKYK.

What are your "Big 3?" 

Aries sun ♈ Sagittarius moon ♐  Gemini rising ♊

Five words to describe yourself?

Loyal, bright, kind, passionate, and silly

What's an ODD fact about you?

The spoon is my dominant and favorite utensil!

One thing you're working on in your personal practice right now?

I'm working on being more consistent with my meditation practice. Physically, I've been having a lot of fun with forearm stand!

Where are you when you're not on the mat?

I'm exploring the LA food scene with my partner, spending time with friends, going to shows, enjoying hobbies (calligraphy, crosswords, dance), and traveling when I can

Favorite food or restaurant?

Staying true to my roots for this question - Indonesian food (Simpang Asia in Culver City is delicious) and Tex Mex

Something that inspires you?

Hard to pick one thing, off the top of the dome: family, friends, teachers, story-tellers, eastern philosophy, and the ODD community

What initially inspired you to become a yoga instructor?

Yoga helped me through some major life transitions, and I felt the call to share this practice with others and pay it forward as a result. The physical practice is what drew me in, but the heart of yoga is what continues to inspire me (and hopefully the folks who take my class, too)...

Where are you inviting play into your practice/day to day?

I used to be very serious about yoga, and would do at least 4 strong asana practices per week. Now, in addition to yoga, I like to play with a variety of movement modalities like our fitness classes, cycling, jogging, and dancing. This also inspires me to get creative with sequencing! In life life - my Aries sun loves any kind of game and friendly competition. And my Sag moon believes the world is a playground - there is so much to explore! I try to keep a curious mind and open heart... I know I know... a classic LA yoga teacher answer lol

If your students take home ONE lesson from your class, what do you hope it is?

You are capable of anything, and all of the joy that you seek is already inside of you

What song/album/playlist do you have on repeat right now?

Waxahatchee's most recent album Tigers Blood

One affirmation you always come back to?

May I be happy and peaceful (Replace the "I" with "you" "we" or "all" depending on what the heart needs that day)

How are you feeling good these days?

I used to push against moving my body on the weekends because my job is so physical and I workout during the week - but wowowoww it feels good to move when there is downtime. Movement is medicine! So movement AND meditation, neighborhood walks, watching shows on the couch with my partner, having thoughtful conversations with friends, teaching the awesome ODD community, making plans (extrovert here *raise hand emoji*), and doing things spontaneously

Get to know Cindy more by finding her on the class schedule!