Pauline Villanueva - Trilogy Sanctuary Yoga Teacher Highlight

Pauline is one of our yoga teachers here at Trilogy. She teaches the 7am Power Hour bright and early on Tuesdays and Thursdays! Let's get to know her a bit better...  

How and where did your yoga journey begin?

I first stumbled onto yoga at a charity yoga event in 2013 to benefit the New Children's Museum. I wasn't there for the yoga--I was actually there to hopefully network with other attorneys! Little did I know that that one event would change so much. I've been hooked ever since. 

When not teaching yoga, how do you spend your time?

Working at my grown-up job as an attorney, reading, drinking craft beer, and playing with cats. Also probably napping.

What quote inspires your life and practice?

"Ego says, 'Once everything falls into place, I'll feel peace.' Spirit says, 'Find your peace, and then everything will fall into place.'"

What words do you have to offer for new yogis?

Remember that yoga isn't about the crazy ridiculous Instagram poses--it's about finding your practice and your peace. It's a constant journey and everyone has their own path. That being said, don't be afraid to try things! Our bodies are so much stronger and smarter than we realize most of the time and they'll tell us what we need to know. Trust yourself and your body. 

What is one of the things you are most grateful for?

One of the things I'm endlessly grateful for is that my life didn't go the way I thought it would. I'm grateful for all the twists and turns of the past several years that allowed me to realize that the only thing I can control is myself and how I respond to things. But I am also the one who controls my own happiness. It has been a very liberating lesson and one I keep learning.

Pauline's yoga teacher bio:

Pauline first stumbled upon yoga in 2013, during a fundraising event for the New Children's Museum downtown, and immediately got hooked. Since then, yoga has been a passion which has changed her life. She completed her 200-hour teacher training in April of 2016. Her focus is on the accessibility and sustainability of a yoga practice, as well as exploring new things and having fun! She hopes to share her experience with others, in the hopes that they will find their own path and discover the same benefits from yoga. Off the mat, Pauline is an attorney who enjoys reading, drinking craft beer, and hanging with her cats. 

Our power hour classes are held in our infrared heated Moon Room, learn more about infrared yoga HERE.

We offer infrared and aerial yoga classes throughout the day, everyday! Take a look at our schedule to see all of our classes. 

Yoga to Benefit the Body

There is no doubt that practicing yoga improves your strength and flexibility (which has a plethora of benefits in itself), but it has even MORE amazing effects on the physical body! Here are 5 benefits for your physical body that result from practicing yoga... 

Perfects your Posture

Yoga teaches you to be mindful of your body and how you hold yourself. Small correction in how you hold you head, shoulders and hips can create huge improvements on posture. Also building strength in the spine and back allows you to sit up straight, with more ease, rather than slumping or hunching forward. Good posture over time prevents may injuries and degenerative diseases.

Protects your Spine

Spinal disks—the shock absorbers between the vertebrae that can herniate and compress nerves—crave movement. That’s the only way they get their nutrients. If you’ve got a well-balanced asana practice with plenty of backbends, forward bends, and inversions in the aerial hammock you’ll help keep your disks supple. Inversions in the hammock with minimal pressure on the joints help to decompress the spine and neck relieving back pain and helping to heal injuries.

Betters your Bone Heath

It’s well documented that weight-bearing exercise strengthens bones and helps ward off osteoporosis. Many postures in aerial yoga require that you lift your own weight. And some, like inverted pencil pose, help strengthen the arm bones, which are particularly vulnerable to osteoporotic fractures. In an unpublished study conducted at California State University, Los Angeles, yoga practice increased bone density in the vertebrae. Yoga’s ability to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol may help keep calcium in the bones.

Prevents Cartilage and Joint Breakdown

Each time you practice yoga, you take your joints through their full range of motion. This can help prevent degenerative arthritis or mitigate disability by “squeezing and soaking” areas of cartilage that normally aren’t used. Joint cartilage is like a sponge; it receives fresh nutrients only when its fluid is squeezed out and a new supply can be soaked up. Without proper sustenance, neglected areas of cartilage can eventually wear out, exposing the underlying bone like worn-out brake pads. Aerial Yoga is especially good for the joints as with the aid of gravity, much less pressure is applied on joints like the knees over time.

Releases Tension in Your Limbs

Do you ever notice yourself holding the telephone or a steering wheel with a death grip or scrunching your face when staring at a computer screen? These unconscious habits can lead to chronic tension, muscle fatigue, and soreness in the wrists, arms, shoulders, neck, and face, which can increase stress and worsen your mood. As you practice yoga, you begin to notice where you hold tension: It might be in your tongue, your eyes, or the muscles of your face and neck. If you simply tune in, you may be able to release some tension in the tongue and eyes. With bigger muscles like the quadriceps, trapezius, and buttocks, it may take years of practice to learn how to relax them.

At Trilogy we practice yoga on the mat and in the sky! We have yoga and aerial classes everyday of the week! Take a look at our SCHEDULE to sign up... First time practicing with us? We offer a $39 for two weeks of unlimited yoga! 

References: 

http://totalhealthyoga.blogspot.com http://www.energycenter.com http://kineticvigilantes.com http://www.lostartofhandbalancing.com http://www.evolutionhealth.com http://sitincomfort.com http://www.livestrong.com http://www.yogajournal.com http://www.rebekahleach.com

Yogi's First Books

By Rachel Lubich

Lead Teacher for Trilogy's Spring 200 Hour Teacher Training

A dear friend of mine from Austin requested that I compile a reading list for Yogi’s who are interested in enriching their yogic understanding outside of the studio setting. I LOVE when students ask me for yoga text recommendations! When a student approaches me for book recommendations, my energy soars and my eyes sparkle with delight! It’s such a joy to know that the practice has inspired a quest for more breadth and depth of knowledge in another Yogi. So, here is my carefully selected “Yogi’s First Books” reading list complete with short descriptions as to why I chose each of them.

Yoga Beyond Belief by Ganga White (Amazon)

This book was gifted to me as I left the country for my Yoga Teacher Training 7 years ago. It was the first yoga book I ever read and truly shaped my approach to the practice and philosophy as a teacher all these years later. It’s a great introduction, written in accessible language for the modern reader and briefly touches upon a breadth of information regarding yoga philosophy and yoga in practice. This book is my top pick to get a Yogi started on their journey and has been recommended and loaned to many people within my community.

Living with the Himalayan Masters by Swami Rama (Amazon)

This book was also gifted to me (I’m noticing a trend…) by my friend and yoga studio owner when I was leaving Philadelphia to move across the country. This book contains short stories of experiences and lessons Swami Rama noted from his time studying with the Master Teachers of yoga in India. I love the way the stories bring the teachings to life and offer insights into the hidden teachers of the ancient science and art of yoga.

The Heart of Yoga by T. K. V. Desikachar (Amazon)

This book resonates with me because of the material included and the conversational language with which it is written. It offers a wonderful foundation of yoga philosophy with great clarity and encourages the adaptation of the practice to suit the individual. Written by T. K. V. Desikachar, he includes insights into the life of his father, Sri T. Krishnamacharya, the “father of modern yoga”, who was the Guru to Sri. K. Pattabhi Jois, Indra Devi and B. K. S. Iyengar, among others.

Happy reading, yogis!

Interested in joining Rachel in our Yoga Teacher Training this Spring? You can find more information HERE

Bliss in the Air - The Extreme of Grounding and Flying

By Hannahsita Smyth,

a Trilogy Sanctuary aerial yoga teacher 

The greatness of who you are, is directly related to how you tell your story. In order to tell your story, you have to know who you are. To know who you are, you have serve in society.

Mental : overcoming narratives and barrier limitations

Physical : working strength, stretching and body awareness

Spiritual : creating, surrendering, supporting, trusting, believing in yourself. (Being who you are, is the person you were, when you stopped being you).  To be a kid again understanding open space is needed.

I don’t believe in balance. I believe in counterbalance. Living life at the edges, so you have more range of motion for growth and discovery. Play with opposites. If you sit all day, then your movement practice must meet the opposite of your sitting practice. Find the edges of each extreme. Inactive to active. If you are stimulated and very busy on the computers all day, the body will be still and not wasting energy. So switch to the other extreme. Still the mind and get motion and movement into the body. The physical body and mental mind love the extremes.

We are all movement makers. Rediscover this edge. Live bigger through life with movement.

Hannahsita is a leader of our aerial yoga teacher training and our aerial kids program. She also teaches aerial yoga classes of all levels.