Hometown: Hebron, Indiana – there’s literally only 1 stoplight in the town.
Favorite Place: My house – I love being home in my own space with my small family
Favorite color: Blue everything
What’s your sign? Virgo
Most embarrassing moment?
Most empowering moment? Realizing that I am not my thoughts, but I am a witness to thinking. All of a sudden there is a choice in which thoughts to follow – I ask myself which will lead me ahead in a positive path? It’s a choice, and I now choose to feed the light instead of the dark.
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? I grew up dancing, and that was my first career- a professional dancer. It was my ticket out of small town Indiana, and I never looked back. You can see me in the dance hit – STEP UP. And I’ve also been a working electronic music producer and if you look you can even find a few of my tracks for sale…- Dance music for life! utz utz utz utz
When you aren’t at the studio where can you be found (favorite past time)? If you don’t find me practicing yoga or teaching, I’m probably hiking somewhere, hanging with my dog Frances and husband Blake, or making music in Ableton Live.
How do you define yoga? Yoga to me has been about changing my relationship with my small self, my higher Self, and the entire outside world.
Why do you teach? In teaching yoga, I hope to help share the shift that I have experienced in my life with as many people as possible. Through yoga I have learned to treat myself with the same compassion and kindness I shared with other people.
What brought you to become an instructor? Same as previous answer….
What is your favorite song to play in class? That’s impossible to answer – it literally changes daily. You will always get a mix of current tunes and my kirtan jams! ( CHECK OUT HIS SOUNDCLOUD – DJ’ing MAY 19th at ODD – https://soundcloud.com/user-987305689 )
What is your favorite pose or flow? Why? My favorite yoga pose is my meditation seat. It’s what this practice is all about. As physical as the asana practice might show up on your mat, yoga is the stilling of the mind. And each of these physical postures strengthens or opens the body to sit for prolonged periods of meditation. If you haven’t found your meditation pose yet, meet me at 6:15 on Mondays in SL – let’s meditate together!
Memorable yoga moment? – This might sound cheesy, but a few months into practicing yoga I had a moment in savasana where I think I truly surrendered for the first time in my life. My physical body relaxed completey and in that surrender, the exact opposite of what I thought would happen, happened when I let go. I felt completely supported in that moment, and I still carry that inner support with me now.
Where did you first hear about One Down Dog? Where didn’t I hear about One Down Dog. I met Brianna, Ellina, and Bobbi all independently of each other. It was so sychronistic – One Down Dog is where I was meant to be! My husband works in television, and worked with Brianna’s husband – Brianna’s where the connection was first made. To make a long story short, I met Ellina and she asked me to DJ her store opening of Mairtri in Culver City. Bobbi was there helping with Ellinas party and we became friends. It was a natural progression that kept leading me back to ODD. It’s my LA yoga home and it’s where I was allowed to find my voice as a teacher. I have so much gratitude for Jess’ open arms.
What is your favorite yogi prop or piece to wear or use? (favorite mala etc) I always have my mala close – but you’ll only see me wear it, if I haven’t meditated yet that day. It’ll be my reminder, but I don’t like to wear it as fashion.
What special causes or non-profits do you hold dear to your heart? Anything to do with no-kill shelters….We used to support North Shore Animal League in NY, but haven’t sought out anything here in LA.
BABY FRAN!
Are there any links, @names, and #hashtags you would you like us to use in promoting you and your happenings? My website – adamgericke.com Insta – @wakeupmeditate
Each month we bring a teacher into the #ODDlight and illuminate their interests, practices, and who they are. There is a real person behind those teachers and it’s their knowledge filtered through their own experiences that make them that person that pulls you into class.
Name: Katherine Bradshaw
Nick Name: Kate (but only allowed by my mother) (Look at these great family photos – Mom and brothers!)
Hometown: Redondo beach, CA
Favorite Place: Hawthorne Valley farm in Ghent, NY – a tiny biodynamic farm where I have led retreats. I even walked a sheep once! On a leash!
Favorite color: crimson
What’s your sign? Gemini
Most embarrassing moment? N/a
Most empowering moment? Moving from NY to LA solo
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? I’m left handed
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? I’m learning to teach yoga in español – pronto!
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? I try face my terrible fear of heights. just looking at someone sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon puts a wave through my whole body. So, At least a few times a year I make a pointed effort to do something extremely high up and semi-dangerous whether it bungee jumping, walking across a slack bridge, or parasailing. Pretty soon I will one day work up the nerve to skydive. Maybe. Yes. Definitely maybe I want to.
When you aren’t at the studio where can you be found (favorite past time)? At the Hollywood Farmers Market
How do you define yoga? Yoga is the healing process of calling the chatter in the mind.
Why do you teach? I teach because I believe in the Effects. Yoga is a healing modality. Mindful movement and breath lets the spirit take off stagnant layers of energy.
What brought you to become an instructor? I was 17 and I knew this was my passion and I wanted to share it in a bigger way.
\
What is your favorite song to play in class? Any other name by Thomas Newman
What is your favorite pose or flow? Why? I really enjoy Surya namaskar C in truth. Slow and delicious – perfect for invigorating or winding down.
Memorable yoga moment? Striking my first hand stand in the middle of class is the feeling of Sweet victory.
What is your favorite yogi prop or piece to wear or use? (favorite mala etc) I like to have a cushy bolster beNeath my spine during final resting pose. And! And eye pillow! I never take savasana without one!
What special causes or non-profits do you hold dear to your heart? (We will want to be more non-profits and would love to do so on your behalf) uprising yoga is an organization that helps teach teens in central juvenile hall downtown. I also teach in men’s central jail downtown with an organization called present yoga and meditation.
Are there any links, @names, and #hashtags you would you like us to use in promoting you and your happenings?
Each month we bring a teacher into the #ODDlight and illuminate their interests, practices, and who they are. There is a real person behind those people you see in class!
Name: Bianca Cueva
Nick Name: Binky, Bonky, Binks, Biancs, B. :))
Hometown: The Philippines
Favorite Place: The beach. And wherever friends and family are. <3
Favorite color: Blue-Green (the color of the ocean approaching the shore)
What’s your sign? Sagittarius
Most embarrassing moment? I fell…not tripped, more like…ate the floor, at prom.
Most empowering moment?
When my little siblings were born. Being a big sister is the biggest and most empowering responsibility. I have a younger sister and brother who mean the world to me and who I am so proud of.
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you?
I used to be really into spinning fire. It’s a flow art known as “poi” spinning. I’m also an actress! Why else would I have moved to Los Angeles? 😉
CHECK OUT HER NEW NATIONAL COMMERCIAL!!!! –
Share a story or anecdote with us – something magical, changing, funny, or adventurous. Something that you love to tell.
On a trip to Bangkok with some of my closest friends, I was almost stranded at the airport on the way home. Long story short (because it is a LOOONG story), I am dual citizen (Filipino-American) and at the time did not have the right documentation they required to prove that I was a Filipino resident. They thought I was just an American, and asked me how long I planned to stay in the Philippines when I had been living in the Philippines for majority of my life at this point. They wouldn’t believe me because I didn’t have the “right dual citizenship documentation” they needed. I presented my driver’s license, birth certificate, a document proving I was born of two Filipino parents, an authorization letter saying I was allowed to travel, and other major IDs, but nooooo. I had never made so much effort to convince people that I was who I claimed I was. It was crazy, felt a little like identity theft. :))
When you aren’t at the studio where can you be found (favorite past time)?
I love going to the beach when I can! And I love that California is perfect for that. When I have extra time and money, I also enjoy watching concerts and shows, seeing new places and attractions (like museums, record stores, book stores), or going out of town with friends. When I have good money and even more time on my hands, I love to travel whether that’s back home to the Philippines or to an entirely new place I’ve never been.
How do you define yoga?
Yoga is a relationship, a connection, a FRIENDSHIP (I like to think) that you have with your physical body, your spirit, your breath, your mind…with people, and strangers, and living things, and unforeseeable circumstances, and opportunities, and trying times, and victories, and embarrassing moments (I can go on and on)…that enables you to live joyfully. Yoga happens wherever you are, as you are. Yoga for me today is taking an ancient practice and philosophy and using these beautiful, universal values and practices to see life through the lens of light, compassion, kindness, and joy.
Why do you teach?
I teach because it makes me happy to share something beautiful with others. I can simply practice yoga on my own and keep the awesomeness all to myself. But there is something about sharing the yoga experience with other people in the room, helping to facilitate movement and breath, guiding students through a flow, meditating in stillness together, sharing stories, laughing and giggling together that makes my heart warm. I mostly teach families and kids, so I have a soft spot in my heart for that type of yoga. Seeing parents, children and their friends or siblings practice together, having a fun time doing it, connecting with each other as a family and sharing that moment with the other students in the room with them reminds me why I do what I do. Family and community, coming together and being open. I’m all about it.
What brought you to become an instructor?
I have always worked with kids and I’m passionate about that. I was a preschool teacher and a performer for kids’ events before I moved to LA. I knew I wanted to teach kids, but never considered teaching Kids’ Yoga. What brought me to being a yoga teacher is simple. I wanted to grow more in my practice and learn all this information, so I joined ODD’s 200-Hour Teacher Training in 2015. I didn’t know if I wanted to be a teacher then, but the training definitely made things clearer as I went through it. I knew then that I wanted to integrate what I learned and use this powerful practice to bring families together and to teach kids the magic of stillness and quiet as well as spontaneity, fluidity, and movement in order to help them become more confident and comfortable in themselves and their dreams. 🙂
What is your favorite song to play in class?
Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles. It was one of my mom’s favorite songs and it immediately reminds me of her.
What is your favorite pose or flow? Why?
Gotta stick to tradition here. I love flowing through Surya A. I’ve done it plenty of times, but it teaches me something about myself every time I practice it. It sheds light on how balance comes to play in yoga: effort and ease, structure and spontaneity, strength and grace. There’s something about flowing through that Vinyasa: starting out lifted, then taking it to the ground, opening the heart, activating the back, inverting in Downdog, and closing out with Urdhva Hastasana—an upward salute to the sun, sky, universe, to life or love, what have you. It’s like my moving metaphor.
Memorable yoga moment?
I was teaching one my kid students in her home and we were practicing Warrior 3. We were pretending to be airplanes, balancing on one leg and with our arms stretched to the side like wings when she says, “This is your captain speaking. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight. And those of you in Coach, you don’t get any free food.” :)) I cracked up!!! That’s why I love teaching kids. They are unpredictable and really do say the darndest things. 🙂 Teaching kids teaches me to see fun and silliness in everything.
What is your favorite yogi prop or piece to wear or use? (favorite mala etc):
My favorite prop is a yoga block or bolster. There are so many possibilities and cozy modifications you can use them for. And my favorite yoga piece is a mala (I wrap it around my wrist) that I made myself out of a mala-making kit that one of my co-teacher trainees gave us during our last day of training. It reminds me to keep learning as I did in my teacher training, to always be a student of yoga.
What special causes or non-profits do you hold dear to your heart? (We will want to be more non-profits and would love to do so on your behalf):
My mom, who was my best friend in the whole world, passed away from cancer on November 12, 2013. I would love to support non-profits, organizations, or any cause that supports cancer patients and works towards cancer awareness and research. PS.: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!
Are there any links, @names, and #hashtags you would you like us to use in sharing you and your happenings?
Favorite Place: Any where with my boys AND tropical islands…Thailand and Bali to be more specific
Favorite color: I don’t have just 1…I prefer rainbows!!!!
What’s your sign? Aries
Most embarrassing moment? When you get married and have kids I feel like embarrassing moments disappear and you learn to laugh and enjoy every situation! But one time in yoga class….
Most empowering moment? About 3 years I attended an Advance Teacher Training in NYC. There was a specific moment when I was yogaing, of course, Where I realized my true path and really stepped into my own spirit authentically for the first time. Man, this was so empowering!
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? Japanese food is my jam. Could eat it 24/7
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? I can make the best veggie spring rolls
Share a story or anecdote with us – something magical, changing, funny, or adventurous. Something that you love to tell. Gosh, there are so many! One of my fav adventures was with my hubby. We traveling to Thailand, Cambodia, and Bali for our honeymoon for an entire month. The last stop was Bali, where I taught at The Yoga Barn. The most magic I’ve ever experienced happened on that trip. It was the trip of a lifetime and I fulfilled a dream of teaching in Bali. I will be back teaching in Bali one day soon!
When you aren’t at the studio where can you be found (favorite past time)? Hanging with all my boys, Bodhi too! Preferably on the beach on or by the water! Playing in yoga class with all my #yogafriends!
How do you define yoga? Yoga is what YOU need it to be. Every time you arrive on the mat you get something so different.
Why do you teach? I teach for one reason. To help heal the hoop of the people. Yoga heals and there is so much wisdom and medicine that happens when we are on our mats. All humans can benefit from some form of the practice.
What brought you to become an instructor? Yoga was and still is the thing that connects me to self and the universe. Yoga continues to heal and help me. When I took my first teacher training I knew yoga was my new journey and it makes me so happy and humble to share the practice, the space, and time with others! I left that teacher training quit my corporate job and started teaching immediately (thanks to Ducky Punch:)
What is your favorite song to play in class? That changes on the daily
What is your favorite pose or flow? Why? Honestly, that so changes on the daily too. But I always love to invert!
Memorable yoga moment? Arriving on the mat; yes that memorable moment when peace washes though every cell tissue of the body!
What is your favorite yogi prop or piece to wear or use? (favorite mala etc) The roll…see attached pic #forrestyoga style:)
What special causes or non-profits do you hold dear to your heart? Yoga for Youth is a great non profit that literally saves children’s lives by bringing worthiness and happiness to children that have had a really rough start
Are there any links, @names, and #hashtags you would you like us to use in promoting you and your happenings?www.JanineGlassYogaCo.com, #j9yogaco #forrestyoga Follow my social media to see update of all yoga happenings and my boys!
Anything else? (feel free to add literally anything!) My workshop Unraveling the mysteries of the Neck, Shoulders, and Hips 8/27
Each month we bring a teacher into the #ODDlight and illuminate their interests, practices, and who they are. There is a real person behind those teachers and it’s their knowledge filtered through their own experiences that make them that person that pulls you into class.
Name:Ellina Kim
Nick Name:Elle or E.K.
Hometown: Los Angeles
Favorite Place:My bed with my dogs.Favorite color: pink and gold
What’s your sign?Cancer
Most embarrassing moment?It was when I was demo-ing a peak pose and ended up almost falling on my face and a good student of mine commented, “So she is human.”
Most empowering moment? When I opened up my own yoga store in Culver City, Maitri Yoga Store.
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? I grew up in the Happy Days house.
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? I was on a couple episodes of Full House.
Fun Fact most wouldn’t know about you? I own a cool yoga store in Culver City, Maitri Yoga Store. Maitri means “loving-kindness”in Sanskrit.
Share a story or anecdote with us – something magical, changing, funny, or adventurous. Something that you love to tell.
I like telling people how I manifested my now fiancé. I was ending a frustrating relationship when I decided to write down what I really wanted in my future partner and then began to chant in Sanskrit mantra that attracts your ultimate masculine partner. After chanting for a couple weeks and then stopping to take a break, I met Bryan after a transformative yoga teacher training in Guatemala and fell head over heels with him. I knew after our first chat after yoga class that he was the real deal. I had manifested my future husband. (Let me know if you want that mantra 😉 )
When you aren’t at the studio where can you be found (favorite past time)? If I’m not at the studio, I’m at Maitri Yoga Store. If I’m not at Maitri, I’m probably hanging with my dogs and fiancé. If I’m not doing any of those, I’m most definitely sleeping.
How do you define yoga? Yoga is defined as union with God and the self. I interpret this definition to be that yoga is the practice of aligning with your higher-self which the higher-self is an aspect/reflection of God. We would call this a state of bliss/excitement/love. So that being said, Yoga=the practice of following your bliss.
Why do you teach? I teach because it feels good to make others feel good. Not a super philosophical reason other than, I love it when I get to connect with others.
What brought you to become an instructor? I never intended to teach although I was open to it. I became an instructor through synchronicity. It was presented to me.
What is your favorite song to play in class? I don’t have one because my music always changes!
What is your favorite pose or flow? Why? Right now, my favorite pose is Yoganidrasana because I think it’s funny looking and makes me want to fall asleep.
Memorable yoga moment? A memorable moment was when I was taking a class with one of my favorite teachers and she told us to stand still in Tadasana and like magic, utter stillness was felt through the whole body. It was an amazing moment of internal and outer peace.
What is your favorite yogi prop or piece to wear or use? (favorite mala etc) My favorite is a block. Not only can you use it for restorative postures but it’s a great tool to strengthen the body and play with handstands. Very multipurpose.
What special causes or non-profits do you hold dear to your heart?Any animal non-profit is something I’m all about!
Are there any links, @names, and #hashtags, or happenings you would you like us to use in promoting you and your happenings?@ellinayoga #ellinayoga #growyourpractice @maitriyogastore
Come to my workshop! – Law Of Attraction – 3 Fridays starting 6/16. Let’s manifest what matters to you!
\
