Meet Leigh. The All Star for July, August and now September. During lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic Leigh was keeping her yoga practice through online videos, until one day she and Alex crossed paths in a Facebook group. She became very interested in the idea of the MLPC and found that the aspect of connecting with a community to be a great addition to practicing online yoga along with the variety of classes offered on the platform.
Leigh quickly became an integral part of the community and a familiar face. Not only does she enjoy taking the live classes, she also finds the archives to be very handy when she can’t make the live ones. She likes to do the intermediate to advanced classes such as power vinyasa, mindful barre, HIIT yoga, and meditation.
She found that maintaining her practice helped her a lot with her injuries as well as made her more calm. We are thankful for the opportunity to have asked her the blog questions and here’s what she had to say....
Hi Leigh! Tell us a little bit about yourself! Who is Leigh?
Leigh: I am originally from outside of Philadelphia, PA, but currently live in Cincinnati, Ohio. My husband and I are thinking of moving now that we are empty nesters. I am married with 3 grown children, and work as an occupational therapist with children who have sensory processing difficulties (like attention deficit and autism spectrum disorder). I love to run and workout, but have been injured this year so yoga is perfect for me. I Hiking and backpacking are also new passions. Spending as much time as possible in nature has been key during Covid. I started eating vegan - whole foods plant based - almost 3 years ago and have been sober most of 2020.
What inspired you to start practicing yoga?
Leigh: For strength and flexibility for running, but quickly realized the mental and spiritual benefits.
Have you ever had any experience with yoga before joining the MLPC?
Leigh: Yes, I used to practice at various studios around Cincinnati off and on. During the pandemic I did a few 30 day challenges on Youtube with Yoga with Adriene before I found MLPC.
What’s your connection to the MLPC?
Leigh: I met Alex via Facebook through One Year No Beer.
How did you end up being so committed to yoga?
Leigh: I am always pretty passionate about one thing or another. For a while I was passionate about triathlon training for full and half Ironman distance, now my focus has shifted to passion for yoga and hiking.
Did you face any challenges during the month of September?
Leigh: My husband and I went on a backpacking trip for a weekend in September. It was hard for me to figure out how to do yoga in the woods with no mat.
What are the biggest benefits you’ve reaped from your yoga practice?
Leigh: Alex always teaches about staying calm in the chaos, and that has stuck with me. On my performance review for work, two different people who reviewed my performances stated that I seem calmer!!
What’s your favorite posture?
Leigh: I love inversions! I love to do headstands, handstands, crow, and side crow. I was doing a headstand challenge for a while during lock down.
What’s your most difficult posture?
Leigh: Grasshopper - I am almost there, but not quite. Sarah always finds something in her power yoga class to throw in that I cannot quite do, but I love the challenge!!
What is your favorite type(s) of yoga? And why?
Leigh: I love power yoga, vinyasa flow and gentle yoga. Power to build strength and stamina, vinyasa flow for the movement, and gentle for the relaxing restorative element. I also love HIIT and Barre for strength.
Any words of wisdom to those just starting out?
Leigh: Don’t forget to breathe through the postures, and you can do things that are hard!!
Thank you Leigh for your answers!! I hope you all enjoyed learning more about one of our committed community members. Make sure to leave a comment if you liked this interview.
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Until next time, may you all be safe, happy, healthy, and free.
Yasir