Sass is our Desk Angel of the Month for August! While Sass is away in Asheville, NC for the next few months, we could not wait to celebrate and honor her. Sass is normally behind the desk on Monday afternoons and greeting you on your way out of a 12 p.m. Power Hour, 12 p.m. 12 Hot 26, or 12:15 p.m. Beginners/Yoga 101 class. When Sass is not serving our Bella Prāṇa community, she is busy working on herbal remedies and recipes. You can check out her blog here: https://www.botanyculture.com/ and vegan botanical bakeshop here: https://botanybakeshop.com/
What brought you to yoga? How has it impacted your world?
Just plain curiosity and a good bit of stubbornness! Yoga was offered as an elective class my first year of college in 2002. I had heard about all the great benefits and just wanted to find out for myself! And honestly, I thought it was awful. My body was used to contact sports and long-distance running; the slow pace and long posture holds of yoga were so challenging on so many levels that I usually left class annoyed.
However, in true Virgo fashion, I was determined to “crack the code” of yoga, to break through the challenge & find the calm that I kept hearing about. So, I just kept going back.
Twenty years later, I can’t imagine being without yoga. My yoga practice & community has been one of the most constant things in my life, no matter where I go.
What advice can you give to those who are just beginning their practice?
Take the opportunity to drop whatever expectations you may have and meet yoga with an open heart and mind, pay attention to what’s happening on your own mat over anyone else’s, and try it all! Try different styles of yoga, take classes from different teachers, and visit new studios when you travel. Yoga is an awfully small word for such an enormous practice. There’s truly something for everyone.
Why are you a Bella Prāṇa Desk Angel?
Yoga community is one of the first things I look for when I move to a new city and I probably tried 8-10 (maybe more!) different studios in the area before finding Bella Prāṇa. (Thanks, Mary Waugh!) The beautiful space itself, the values it projects and upholds as a business and community space, and the lovely, smiling people… Bella Prāṇa is a true gem! Being a Desk Angel is such a rewarding way to tap in a little deeper to this community & I’m so grateful to be a part of it.
What is your favorite quote or mantra?
Today and in this moment, I’m sitting with “no matter where you go, there you are.” I love simple words that can dig down bone deep if you let them. These are good ones to sit with while on your mat. :)
Bella Prāṇa Wellness Collective is a Yoga Studio in Tampa Florida. If you are interested in becoming a Desk Angel email us at [email protected].