I am so excited to introduce you to Lauren Gowers, who will be assisting on the 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training in May of 2024 in Bali!
Lauren came on the Sober Girls Yoga Bali Retreat in January 2023, and fell in love with Bali, so much so that she signed up to come on the Yoga Teacher Training a few months later! Since then Alex and Lauren travelled to the Maldives together and have become great friends.
Lauren has also completed an Online Teacher Training and taught yoga in her community since she left Bali in 2023. She is positive, kind and grounded. We are so excited to have her back!
Read on to learn more about her!
1. What led you to start yoga in the beginning? How long have you been practicing and what have been your favorite styles?
I fell in love with yoga totally by accident. A good friend took me to a class when I was going through a particular tough time back in 2016. To be totally honest, I only really went along to the class in an effort to keep her happy, as she had been so supportive of me. It was during that class I felt some profound emotional shifts, and I knew there and then this was going to be something that changed my life.
My favourite styles are Yin Yoga and Vinyasa.
2. What brought you to Bali for your retreat/ytt?
To be transparent I’m not 100% sure what brought me to Bali. It was totally by accident that I came across The Mindful Life Practice Community, and I suppose now that I am being asked this question, it has actually given me the opportunity to take the time to pause, and reflect on the decision I actually made twelve months ago.
I do know that the choice I made back in December 2022 was definitely one out of desperation, desperate because I knew there was more meant for me, I was unhappy and I wasn’t living my life authentically. The decision to go to Bali was probably one of the bravest decisions I have ever made, I know for sure it was definitely spontaneous, I didn’t consider it much (if at all), and I’m glad I didn’t, because it was listening to my gut that pushed me to jump and embark on the path I truly believe I am destined to be on. Personally, in the past it’s only when in a state of darkness, when I have been left with no choice but to trust the magic of my own power, that I have leaned in to my gut, believed I have the answers, and had the faith that I know what’s best for me. I suppose, after answering the above, I now like to think that Bali was my coming of age in trusting myself, and I am pleased to say I actually listen to my gut the majority of the time now, not just when in ‘survival mode’.
So long story short, after picking the question apart, my gut instinct brought me to Bali for The Sober Girls retreat, and I thank everything that it did.
3. How has practicing yoga enhanced your sober journey?
Yoga has enhanced my sober journey because without yoga I would have never been led to sobriety, and explored a sober lifestyle. The two for me are integral. I wouldn’t have had sobriety without yoga.
Aside from that, practicing yoga has enhanced my sober journey because it has given the gift of personal growth.
4. What has your yoga teaching looked like since you finished your YTT?
It has been busy! Great and busy. I feel very lucky. I teach yoga weekly for an online sober community, I am following my hearts work of teaching yoga to children in both primary and secondary schools local to where I live. I also teach regular IRL yoga classes, and assist for the MLPC, which I adore, and is too, very much my hearts work.
5. How did doing your YTT with Alex and the Mindful Life Practice make you a better teacher?
It made me a better teacher in so many ways, but ultimately it helped me to find my self-confidence and my voice. As I have eluded to already in this interview, it is thanks to doing first the Sober Yoga Girls Retreat and then the YTT with Alex and the Mindful Life Practice, that I really began to trust in myself, and all that I am.
6. Why did you decide you wanted to return to Bali in 2024 for the YTT as an assistant?
As mentioned above this is some of my hearts work, helping other sober curious and sober women on their path. I am so grateful to Alex and the Mindful Life Practice Community. Assisting on this YTT I feel is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing, and giving back to what has given me so much. The primary quest of a yogi is to discover, follow, and live their dharma. This is my dharma.
7. What are you most excited about for being on the teaching team in Bali in 2024?
Meeting the 2024 students. It’s going to be utter magic!! Trust me!
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