Teacher Spotlight

Every month we will spotlight one of our teachers and you will learn how yoga inspires them everyday!

Susan Laskoff

How does yoga affect your day to day life?

I lead a very busy life.  I am the mother of two twelve year old children who also have busy schedules.  I teach yoga, blog, assist in the Harmony Yoga Teacher Training Program, do pro bono legal work with at risk youth, and will soon be PTA President at my children’s middle school.  Thank goodness yoga has taught me how to balance, because my life is a balancing act!  In all seriousness, yoga keeps my body healthy so I can physically keep pace with my life.  Like so many people, I sometimes get stressed out.  Yoga has taught me how to calm my mind and my heart rate when I get anxious or overwhelmed.  When my mind is calm, I am clear and confident in my decisions, and I also sleep better.  Sometimes during the day, I will simply shut my eyes and focus on my breathing in order to bring myself back to center.

What is your inspiration for teaching yoga?

I love yoga.  It has helped me in many ways.  Simply put, I want to inspire or guide others to explore what yoga can do for them. I used to struggle with unrealistic aspirations of perfection.  Yoga has helped me to appreciate my body, trust my mind, and connect to my spirituality.  I am happier, more secure, and even a better person when I practice and teach yoga.  I only hope that by sharing yoga, I can help other people on their personal journeys.

How do you incorporate your practice off of the mat?

As a yoga teacher, it is awe inspiring to watch students practice.  Every single practitioner comes to the mat with different life experiences and different levels of health and fitness.  No two people walk in the same shoes.  All students have their own unique and incredible story, and therefore, no one responds to the same yoga pose in precisely the same way.  This appreciation of people’s differences, learned from teaching yoga, has taught me to be more tolerant and accepting of people in general.  Instead of being annoyed, angered, or flabbergasted by people, I find myself wondering what experience, kind of day, or life a person must have had in order for them to react that way.  Teaching yoga has made me a better, more enlightened person.