YOGI OF THE MONTH

June 2020 - Julie Zimmerman

What first brought you to yoga and how long have you been practicing?

The simple answer to the first part of this question is community. I wanted to connect to a group of women whose approach to life and care for each other I respected. As for practicing, well, ah, I have to confess: I'm not sure the verb applies to me in the traditional sense. I came to the philosophy of yoga on my own through an early understanding of what constitutes happiness. I toyed with the idea of having a practice, but lacked two things: discipline and the desire to do it on my own (classes never seemed to align with my work schedule).

What is/are your intention(s) for your yoga practice?

Nothing noble or unselfish, like world peace. It used to be to stop moving for an hour, to honor the mat, which sounds funny, but also to try to pick up on something subtle or new each practice. Currently, it is to reverse the forward-leaning posture of Zoom in-between teaching middle school classes. Getting to lie on the floor 3,000 miles away and listen (for the first time ever) to Susan's voice through her YouTube classes is a much-appreciated silver lining of the pandemic.

What is your favorite pose and why?

Vrksasana (tree pose). It sounds so dopey, but I really feel this one, like I'm very grounded, like I have roots and I can visualize the line between them and my crown. Everything Susan has ever taught me about stacking joints, being simultaneously calm and alert, and feeling the breath, I can realize in this pose. Plus, it's easy for me, which says a lot (about what makes something a favorite for me!).

What is your favorite class at InsideOut Yoga?

Vinyasa Flow. It was my first introduction to yoga and it appealed to me because it reawakened muscle memory from decades back when I was a gymnast, and it reminded me of all the gifts gymnastics brings to one's life, which are similar to yoga: an awareness of balance, strength, flexibility, agility, and poise.

How has the practice of yoga influenced your life?

Most importantly, it succeeded in bringing me into a community of people who continue to awe and inspire me, even from a distance. Secondly, it reminds me of how much control we can have over our well-being. Thirdly, it has shown me, by being a witness to the evolution of InsideOut Yoga from its inception, how passion, curiosity, and "time on the mountain" can turn a teacher into a master.

What advice would you have for a beginning yoga student?

This one made me laugh out loud because I can't imagine the advice is ever anything different than "just do it."

What is your occupation?

I teach 8th and 9th graders together (a band of social animals known as "The Wolves") at The Sage School, near Sun Valley, Idaho. The school is an anomaly in that it eschews normal assessments, dedicates a good portion of the day to collaborative work and the week to community service, and is designed to honor adolescents on their most important tasks: skill development and identity construction. Teaching at Chesapeake Academy is hard to top, but this place is over the top. Here's the best single example I can come up with to illustrate this truth: When researching rite of passages around the world (as an intro to the physiological and morphological changes of adolescence), we found they were mostly non-existent outside of religious or tribal practices. Within weeks of realizing this societal deficiency, my Head of School gave me a $20,000 budget and assigned me the responsibility of designing and leading a two-week rite of passage experience for our ninth graders departing in the spring. I was given free rein to start a tradition, so I designed a trip that put me and a dozen or so astute, outdoor-ballsy, mountain kids on a tall ship in the Pacific Ocean...annually. :)

What activities do you enjoy?

Finding newness through road trips and international travel, planning my writing curriculum, hanging with my boys, family and friends (anywhere, but also in the Sawtooth Mountains), attempting to learn the ukulele, recreating on skis in any type of snow, trying to understand geology by staring at rock formations, birding, making my two Idaho best friends' new babies laugh, mountain biking, making my colleagues laugh, looking for silver linings, paddle-boarding spring-fed trout streams, singing while hiking, trying to catch my breath.

What is your favorite thing about living in the Northern Neck or Middle Peninsula?

Before moving to Sun Valley six years ago, I lived in a funky, campground-like neighborhood adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay in Reedville, and my social and working life was happily centered in Irvington. My favorite things about living in the Northern Neck were the proximity to water, having a network of good friends tied to my sons' upbringing, and the feeling like home was entrenched in the land of pleasant living. I waffle yearly on where to call home now as I straddle two distinctly different states: Idaho and Virginia, but I'm leaning more and more towards Idaho. My favorite things about living in the Wood River Valley are proximity to the cabin I built nearly two decades ago under snowcapped peaks, a network of good friends tied to my work, the jaw-dropping landscape that is my extended neighborhood, and the way you can visit the overlap of season by changing your elevation.

Is there anything you want to add?

I am a lucky, lucky human being.