Peachy the Magazine April May 2014 | Page 128

Yoga in the Queen City Mara Healy Instructor at Enlighten Yoga 9852 Rea Road 704.543.8000 Why do you practice Yoga? I practice because I no longer have a choice of not practicing! It has shaped me to be who I am today and without it my life would cease to have the same quality. I found yoga as I was thrust into the hard work and chaos of raising three kids. I needed to be all things to all people while struggling with progressive degenerative spinal arthritis. It has helped me become less overwhelmed with the complexities of life. Which yoga teacher has made the biggest impact on your life? Grace Morales taught me to move my body skillfully while enjoying music, 126 PEACHY my breath and her pearls of wisdom. Chandra Om gave me profound experiences of purification, yogic diet and serving God and the Divine through yoga. Andrey Lappa (creator of the Universal Yoga System), has given me teachings and practices that have made me realize the true depth and profundity of yoga. What inspired you to teach? I would never have been a teacher if someone at Charlotte Yoga (back in 2002) hadn’t suggested that I enroll in teacher training. They saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. I have been super lucky to be surrounded by supportive, generous people who have provided me with opportunities to fail and then get back up and try again.