GROWTH 🌱 + EMPOWERMENT 🫶 + MOVEMENT 🧘🏻♀️
Meet Lila, based in the United Kingdom; she’s a practical and energetic yogi whose passion for yoga goes beyond her personal practice. She is a thoughtful leader who loves to mentor new yoga teachers and help them discover the transformative power of yoga.
Q: How has yoga impacted you personally?
A: I’ve always been an active person since childhood. I’ve dabbled in sprinting, fencing, dance, and trapeze. All have come and gone with different seasons of my life. But yoga was different. It stuck with me, and felt like coming home whenever I wanted to move. It’s not something I have to try to do, check box, been there and done that kind of thing, and it’s just a part of who I am.
Q: How do you take your yoga off your mat?
A: Life is an opportunity for constant growth & evolution. The practice of yoga has taught me mindfulness and self-awareness. I take that quality of attention into self-inquiry no matter what I am doing. And because it’s a practice that never ends, I never get bored. There is always another more profound level.
Q: What are some of the challenges of being a yoga teacher?
A: When you start teaching, it can be scary to think that you don’t know enough. It is a huge responsibility to guide people through movement and breath. But the good news is that precisely what you are teaching also applies to you. Take it one breath at a time, keep practicing & enjoy the journey even when it’s hard and uncomfortable.
Q: Can you share your most embarrassing or funny teaching Moment?
A: Unfortunately, I’ve inherited my Dad’s sense of humor & lack of a filter sometimes. It was an exceptionally crowded hot yoga class, and everyone was in a line down in their straddle-forward fold. I queued everyone to “inhale & halfway lift,” You can imagine what everyone looks at when they come to the halfway lift. That’s right, their face fully up their neighbor’s butt & I cracked an ‘it’s a human centipede moment’ joke, but NO ONE laughed… except me. It was tumbleweed vibes. But I stand by comedy, and you must know the reference!
Q: How do you handle stress and pressure?
A: Usually, it’s feeling overwhelmed, and the stress of “too much to do in too little time gets me stressed. My approach is to break down all the tasks at hand. First, I brain dump and then prioritize according to the deadline, complexity, and requirements. With all this in front of me, I can plan and plot my next steps. By then, I usually realize that I only have one big thing to tackle daily, and it’s much easier to handle.
Q: What gives you a sense of purpose in your life?
A: Not only do I teach yoga, but I mentor yoga teachers. Teaching yoga can be daunting and lonely, fraught with fear and uncertainty. I have found profound meaning and purpose in my offerings by supporting yoga teachers along their journey to success. I love to inspire self-leadership, confidence, and personal power in new yoga teachers. If you enjoy my classes on Pracytce, please message me @lila_whiting on Instagram, as I love connecting with students worldwide!
April 4, 2023
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