Taking 5 with Kathleen – Learn More About Your BPY Yoga Teachers
Kathleen Celano is a graduate of Balanced Planet Yoga’s first teacher training. We took some time to sit down with Kathleen and get her answers to the following five questions:
1. What are some of the challenges you have experienced in your yoga practice and how did you work through them? I’m always experiencing new challenges in my practice. For me, one of the biggest challenges is making the time to get on my mat. I work full time and often need to work overtime. After a stressful day, I find myself not wanting to practice – but I know that when I don’t want to practice is really when I need to be on my mat the most. I’m still working through this challenge, constantly reminding myself that I need to dedicate this time to me, to my mind, to my body, and to my spirit.
2. What is your favorite posture and why? My favorite posture is baby grasshopper! It’s one of the first arm balances I learned, and I love it because it looks complicated, but with the right cues, it is so accessible. Trying it on my own, I could never get it. And then something that a teacher told me just clicked, and I was able to hold the pose. That’s actually what led me to my teacher training. Realizing that the right cues could really help people in and out of poses. I wanted to share that with as many people as possible.
3. Do you have a favorite book on yoga? What’s it about? I’d have to say I loved The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. We read it as part of our Yoga Teacher Training at BPY. It’s all about how so many things that we believe to be true are actually limiting us and causing unnecessary suffering in our lives, and the freedom that we can find when we let go of those beliefs. Thinking about it makes me want to read it all over again!
4. Do you remember your first yoga class? What drew you to try yoga? I don’t remember my very first yoga class, but I do know that it was with my mom. My mom has been doing yoga and pilates for as long as I can remember, and I first started going to classes with her a few years ago. I went on and off for a while, but really started to fall in love with yoga when I started to realize how yoga was positively affecting my life. I was happier and more energetic.
5. What’s your favorite quote and why? My new favorite mantra is “Sky above, earth below, peace within.” To me, it speaks to how finding balance in life leads to peace. But also, when things start to get crazy, it reminds me that life will move on. The sky will always be above, the earth will always be below, so it serves as a reminder to find peace even in the crazy moments.