Teacher Spotlight: Beth Donnelly
Do you remember your first yoga class? What was it like? Why did you enroll?
I remember the first time I took a Yoga class at the Integral Yoga Institute in NYC; I had always done “Yoga” but this was the first time I was in a classroom with 20-30 other people, practicing together, as a community, breathing together, chanting together, moving together, practicing deep relaxation relaxation together - people from all walks of life. That had a big impact on me.
Are there any preconceived notions you had about yoga that changed over time?
Yoga was something that I did or practiced from an early age (I used to watch Lilias Folan - Lilias, Yoga and You on PBS in the 70s when I was a kid) - I always loved and needed to be in my body to find ways of discovering, feeling and expressing who I was, but when I was in my 20s and started practicing at Integral Yoga I discovered how essential the Sangha - the community of other people - was. That there is a community of support - of people who are seeking a similar path and truth and alignment with the world and are willing to come together for practice in search of that path.
What have you gained from your yoga practice?
I have become more accepting of myself and others. I have found a way to make it a daily process and a practice of being present and accepting. I have found ways to laugh at myself instead of taking myself so seriously. I’ve come to learn that we’re all on a path of discovery and to be patient and allow that process to unfold.
Why did you want to become a teacher?
I never had any intention of becoming a Yoga teacher, but after taking classes at Integral Yoga for a year or so, the teachers there were just such regular people who practiced this body-based form of meditation and that appealed to me at a core level! Taking the teacher training just kind of happened very organically.
How would you describe your teaching style?
My teaching style is easeful….I want people to practice how they want to walk in the world - not so much to stand on their heads but to learn to walk with balance and alignment on two feet (or however many feet they have). Not that I don’t practice headstand (well, not in a prenatal yoga class), but the emphasis in my class is learning how to be and breathe in your own body and being. I hope that my teaching style is practical, easeful, comfortable, steady and inviting. This is what I am searching for in life and what I want to share with others.
How do you want a student to feel after your class?
I hope that students’ feel more comfortable, confident, courageous being who they are!
How does yoga inform your activism work?
Yoga helps me to feel a sense of alignment from within and within the world around me; injustice sits in my body and doesn’t feel right and that informs my activist work. Health care is where I direct most of my attention in activist work: that is why I became a registered nurse - to try to give myself and other people tools to tend to their health and well-being and find ways to integrate that with the medical system. It is a balance and not about surrendering care entirely to the dominant medical system. Our day-to-day activities influence our overall wellness. Again, I feel like Yoga - in its many forms - can be a perfect day-to-day activity, a way to check-in and support a sense of wellness on the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social levels.