January teacher feature: Lexi Elven

Our yoga teachers and studios were adaptable and awesome and have found new ways to connect and further teach and support their students. By locking, technical problems and learning to make adjustments practically via the zoom. This month we will throw a light on you! In January we will offer studios here in the blog and chat with teachers to celebrate those who kept us on the ground last year. Meet the yoga teacher Lexi Elven below.

Can you tell us something about yourself?

Hello, I'm Lexi Elven. I attended a yoga course in 20 years for the first time 17 years ago when I came from my hometown Hong Kong to the University of Great Britain. It was how most people did yoga in Great Britain at the time, in a gym without spiritual roots and felt more like a practice course. However, I was fascinated because my background was in martial arts and dance and I felt that yoga was sitting somewhere in this area of ​​activities. So I continued to practice yoga and started recognizing the real parallels. You see that martial art is not about fighting, but about a way of life. the meditative control of the physical body and mind as well as the use of the river of chi to lead them on a journey of meditation, self -research and (hopefully) enlightenment. Yoga - at least for me and my practice - is very similar.

I decided on a 200-hour teacher training to deepen my practice, and in 2016 I started Blith Yoga as a yoga evening bread club from the living room of my house. Then the Blith Yoga Studio opened in 2018. Blith Yoga is an inviting place that offers high quality, affordable and accessible yoga for everyone in London's most diverse community in Stratford. A variety that is reflected in the teacher.

The love of mental focus and the joy of movement have meant that my classes combine a lot of combined asanas (postures) with an energetic and playful spirit, I firmly believe in learning through play and intuition. As a musician with great interest in pranayama and philosophy, I have always been fascinated by how mind and body can benefit from sound work and meditation. As such, I completed a 200-hour Naad yoga training at Leo Cosendai in 2019 and was certified during the 2020 pandemic.

My yoga practice and my yoga degree have continued to develop in the course of my life, from a sporty and meditative point of view to softening and pregnancy and the birth of my two children. Yoga has really proven to be a transformative and constant practice with many facets. I would like to be a high-spirited old yogi teacher until my twilight years, and I am sure that my repetition will have a different practice!

What challenges were you faced as a yoga teacher in 2020 in a completely different year?

The beginning of 2020 started at a climax. We managed to extend the studio to a larger space and to double our capacity (which we filled). I was included in a business accelerator program to improve the growth of blith yoga as a business. Then I got pregnant ... and there was a global pandemic. It was difficult to close our room with the first major lock in March! We have a small but committed team of teachers and how many studios we focused on live streams. I tried to be as helpful as possible to ensure that everyone is satisfied with the lessons and became technical support if necessary. Of course, I was pregnant every month and had kept my pregnancy secret -like it -but since I taught 17 classes a week until I was 38 weeks pregnant, I finally had to prepare my students on it, listen to my hints while watching me demonstrate because I simply couldn't demonstrate some of the asanas in the later stages of my pregnancy. When we were able to open again, I wanted to make sure that all teachers and students felt as safe and happy as possible during the lesson.

When George Floyd's death triggered a global awakening of racial and social justice, the sadness and anger in our community of teachers and students felt physically noticeable. For me as a teacher and studio owner, it was important to ensure that we are a safe place to listen and support everyone who needs it.

In addition to the attempt to combat the psychological effects of Lockdown and "Zoom Fatigue", the management of the variations of rules within Lockdowns and a variety of levels during pregnancy or the birth of a newborn sometimes turned out to be a node rate.

What did you teach in 2020 and can you find a silver strip in everything?

inconsistency. From a personal and business perspective. If you take nothing for granted, take care of your health and loved ones.

My mother came from Hong Kong to live with us and help our second child. We are currently a household with several generations and are very lucky to be in part of East London, where we have access to large green areas. It was a lifesaver to be able to go out with our dog and a larger budget bubble every day.

From the point of view of yoga lessons there were some ups. By switching to zoom as an online platform, I was able to teach students who were further away when we normally reach. From others, from others Londons and Great Britain to Germany, Greece, Switzerland, to Hong Kong and to Australia. Blith Yoga has teamed up with three other independent yoga studios to collect donations for the UNICEF campaign in Yemen. When outdoor events were briefly allowed, I managed to organize an intimate garden yoga retreat-which I always wanted to do-with which I got together with two other teachers and closed the event with a gong bath.

I never thought that I would be grateful for Zoom. What originally started as a need to keep blith yoga alive became a real connection with other yogis, such as minded groups and activist circles. Sometimes, when loneliness and insulation felt real, the digital connection was gratefully accepted.

to go on maternity leave during a pandemic was discouraging, but by let go of part of my control and put confidence in the team of teachers that I had around me, I was able to look behind the scenes of our team of teachers and slowly restore and gain a foothold again. This made it possible for me to spend valuable time with my family and my new baby and to calibrate again, as I would like to see that my relationship between work and life is developing.

A very personal highlight for me was New Year's Eve when one of my closest friends registered me for spontaneous pregnancy lessons. She used to get contractions a day, but her contractions had stopped and she hoped that some yoga would help to get her contractions going again. So I hurried with his light green elephant IPAD between his toys and books into my son's bedroom and taught a prenatal yoga course via zoom in jeans. Sure enough that yoga and relaxation did their job and the contractions were resumed and her daughter was born later a day.

Sometimes the honor of being able to lead students as a teacher at these moments can feel electrifying, and I feel deeply humiliated and full of gratitude that I can offer.

Where can you find inspiration and motivation?

My mother brought me up as a single, working mother in Hong Kong, who specializes in films and advertising in Hong Kong and is a pious Buddhist. She is an impressive woman who taught me a lot of things and I am sure that I emulate her in more than one way.

I learned with increasing age to be very picky, who I want to be close to, and I have an insatiable appetite for learning. If I find something interesting and want to do it, I try as best I can. I love nature, travel through the arts and I am a big dreamer, but I can't say it better than Angela Bassett: "It is important to surround yourself with good people, interesting people, young people, young ideas. Go to places, learn new things with astonishment - don't be tired."

any wisdom words for someone who is struggling to remain positive and inspired?

As someone who suffers from depression, I would like to say this emphatically: know that you are not alone and that it is okay not to be wrong. Cry, scream and scream, if you have to, but please contact us if you need help.

From a personal perspective, I could not tell me 5 years ago that I would be where I am now. Life continues to develop and changes. Where I am now, the result of many small decisions, more correct and wrong ways and failures! A lot of failure. If you feel stuck or do not work, change your paradigm and your perspective. These do not have to be big layers, small changes like another path on a walk, reading a new book or trying new food. I am researching after the next training session - never stop learning.

When I spoke about the concept of persecution of my own north star during my last teacher training - and what I really pulled out of it is that the goal of the Nordstern is actually high and possibly impossible to live (in this case) if you want to be philosophical), but what really matters is the journey that you take in the direction of this north star.

gratitude. It has been proven that gratitude can increase the feel-good neurochemicals such as dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin. And studies have shown that gratitude not only contributes to the fact that people feel more positive, but that conscious practice enables more progress in achieving their goals.

and in the end: be nice. For others, but most important for you.

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