Aerobics

Yoga

Barre

Anonymous

IP location

Pattie Wagner, E-RYT 500 and YACEP®, took yoga when she was four years old with her flower child mom. Yoga found her again when she had her second son and needed a release from a demanding career in a foreign city. Over 20 years, she has practiced a broad variety of yoga styles including Power, Bikram, Hatha, Ashtanga, Restorative, Yin, Iyengar and "crappy work yoga" and infused them all into her teaching style (minus the crappy parts, of course). My teaching style is: Very hands on, fun, upbeat and spiritual. I love assisting my students, so be prepared for adjustments, neck rubs and guidance. My favorite yoga pose is: Padahastasana! I love the release that Gorilla pose provides. It’s a simple forward fold that is accessible to all levels of yogis. It also calms the mind, helps with digestion and improves circulation in your hands and wrists. It’s great for people who work on computers all day long. Yoga has helped me overcome: Wow, so much. I began practicing when my 2nd son was born to help with post-partum depression. From there, I fell in love! Anything is possible on a yoga mat. My favorite music to teach to is: I have extremely wide tastes of music and love to mix up fresh playlists for my students. I also get help from my sons who help keep my music cutting edge ... I love offering a brand new sound or unknown artist to my students. I love my: Eyes and hair. My eyes are hazel and can turn to a beautiful complex green/gold. My hair? I rarely blow it dry and (WHEN) I bother to style it, it looks AMAZING! My favorite goddess is: Akhilandeshvari. She is the “The Always Broken Goddess”. Basically, she celebrates that we are always just a little broken, a little on the edge. This allows us to try something new and unfathomable in our lives and break away from our toxic routines or attachments. And she rides on a crocodile … How cool is that?! There is a great article about her on Elephant Journal by JC Peters. Check it out! You must try this healthy snack: Well, I'm not sure how truly healthy Skinny Pop is but I can devour a whole bag on my own! My favorite Sanskrit phrase is: "Om Namah Shivaya". Chanting this mantra is incredibly powerful and helps me reset my energy. My advice for beginning yogis: Focus on building the very basics of your practice. Your breath is everything and will guide you both physically and spiritually. Don’t worry about how flexible or strong you are … And don’t worry about the heat, Release has plenty of options! I’m most grateful for: My wonderful family who supported me when I took on the major life change of starting my own yoga studio. I may be crazy, but I’m loved! The most exotic place that I’ve practiced yoga is: Hmm, I've been fortunate to experience travel to many places. The Great Wall of China, India, Costa Rica or Kripalu are some of my top places. If I could practice yoga with anyone, it would be: Harry Styles! I am obsessed. I want to take my yoga to the next level by: Assisting all of the fabulous Release teachers and students in reaching their full potential. My heroes are: Anita Roddick (founder of The Body Shop), Maxine Clark (founder of Build a Bear) and Oprah (founder of everything). They each built profitable businesses from the core of their passions, took immense risks, and focused on giving back to their employees and communities. And they did it with kindness, compassion, fun and profitability. My one wish for the world is: "Be Happy, Be Healthy, Be Whole."

Pattie Wagner (E-RYT 500/YACEP)

Instructor at Release