I recently have become inspired by Donovan Manning, Master Yoga and Pilates Instructor, to begin exploring a practice in Yoga. Last week, I decided to interview him and get a closer look inside the world of a true Yogi. Here’s what he had to share.

1)What does teaching Yoga / Pilates bring to you and to your life?

Whenever I teach before a class or a client, it is a great humbling experience to lead and to know that these individuals have trusted me to do so. To lead them into poses that will ease their mind, strengthen their muscles and heal their bodies is a great contribution to their lives and it brings me a sense of reward and peaceful responsibility in knowing how much I bring to them and that they choose me to help them to achieve this.

2)What inspired you to get trained and do what you do? (give a little background on your training)

Yoga is not an overnight certification process. It takes years to complete. At first, I wasn’t inspired to teach, I only wanted to be taught and was just going through the motions. The saying, ‘I came to you, Yoga, to stretch and ended up living’ held fast here.

I didn’t know back then that being a teacher means always being the student. It was one day Sonita Abrahams, the Director for Afya, saw my practice in class and asked me why I don’t teach. I hesitated at first then Stephen Shawnaar, my best friend, dared me to become certified. And I did it. Within six months I did my Pilates certification and started my yoga training. I am currently mat-certified by American Fitness Professonal Association and Reformer certified by David Brown. Then I had class with Master instructors such as Rod Stryker, Pagan, Amrit Yogi Desai, and other international instructors. I am certified by Yoga Angels, an international yoga certification programme based in Los Angeles that is owned and operated by Subhadra Bowman where I still continue with certification and training and classes with her.

3)How does what you do benefit people?

I use my talent in a therapeutic way to teach people to listen to their bodies through a physical practice. But also on a more spiritual and psychological level, it brings a sense of peace, and literally slows down one’s mind, movements and actions: something that is termed mindfulness through movement meditation. The clarity and peace that comes from this state is invaluable for people’s perspective on living. To provide the space and the discipline that it takes for people to pull themselves from their madness and the pace and weight of their lives, to pull them into this state, is a gift that I give to my students every day.

In yoga therapy, it is said that the muscles in the body hold and store tension, negative energy and stress. By mindfully breathing and stretching we focus our attention on breathe and release, in turn, easing the muscles and stress, thereby, leaving the person relaxed, contented and in a better state of mind.

4)How do you feel you have helped others?

A sense of accomplishment to me is seeing a client/ person before class with brows knitted, limping and wincing and then spending little over an hour with me, to leave smiling, walking upright and literally floating on cloud nine after class to have a great night’s sleep. Or saying to me that they have been in discomfort for the past such and such a time and this is the only time they get relief.

I aspire to use my talent to effectively heal, ease and inspire those who need it most. I believe that people should not stop living just because of a physical or emotional uneasiness! Where this takes me, I don’t know, but I have picked up on a scent, so to speak, and I am following it.

5) Draw a picture of what it looks like when you are in a hard pose and what comes out of holding and breathing. What do you get out of the “challenging” bits? (teaching and practising)

Breath is steady and my body is ready to delve into a new pose. A pose that challenges me to not only balance on my arms, but through space and life. Physically, I know the pose strengthens my muscles, promotes equilibrium and stamina and brings freedom to the breath.

Having the weight on the arms allows for the bones in the legs, arms and spine to be fully activated.

Knowing that balancing brings a steadier mind, as I fall out of the pose, I pick back up and try again even holding it for a few seconds. By learning to stay balanced and focused in the pose I am bringing awareness into my life, on and off the mat.

In dwi pada koundianyanasa (two-legged arm balance) this is what comes up for me: Being present, aware and I smile.

I love back bends, they allow me to open my heart fully to whatever the universe has in store for me while remaining rooted in earth, strong, capable and ready for anything.

I personally use back bends when I am upset, hurt or in a space of uncertainty in my life.

On a physiological level these poses open up the central nervous system and hence energise the whole body. They help to alleviate headaches, hypertension (high blood pressure) and nervous exhaustion, as well as enhancing the functioning of the endocrine system, the kidneys, pancreas and liver. Energetically these poses create opening and space for the breath to move freely and therefore lighten the mind.

Sometimes after coming out of dwi pada viparita dandasana (two-legged inverted staff pose), I would cry from the release and opening I get. Knowing that everything is as it should be and that what life gifts me with, with my flexible spine, I can move though the labyrinth of life.

When I see students struggle in a pose it tends to mean that they muscle their way through life. I would come by then and say, “Let’s try again,” offering support. It’s amazing how offering kind words and a compassionate voice and gentle touch offers a sense of security and it allows the virtue of trust to blossom. As adults we do have the ability to trust, but being hurt so many times, we lock our hearts up and close off to the world of miracles and opportunity out there just ready for us.

A challenging concept for me as a professional in my field is the ignorance of other medical professionals who haven’t experienced what Yoga and Pilates have to offer. They have the amazing benefits of strengthening the body, by improving precision in muscle control, strength and flexibility, and they enhance circulation, hence accelerating the healing process up to twice as fast.

6)Why do you practise on your own (what do you get?)

To stop and explore oneself, the body, mind and emotions in a decisive, caring and significant way, which is safe, secure and fun is probably the best gift you can give to yourself. You have to be ready to be brave, you have to be willing to feel, to confront and experience the liberation of you.

I practise what I preach! I get to come face to face with my personal issues and challenges and it takes me on a journey on the mat. For example, I always know when I have emotional issues. My hips literally seize up. In Yoga, it is said that the hip is a storage house for the emotions. So if I move into a pose during my personal practice that requires me to move through the hip joint, and I feel tightness in the joint, I am like, oh yes! I end up going through my issues, and say to myself, “Let’s explore what’s going on here”. You must be brave and breathe through it. It will ease, it will open up. It always does. And knock on wood, after about two days I am like, “Wow, I have passed through and I am alive.”

So to answer your question, I get to come face to face with Donovan and his issues, I get release and I get a safe, secure place to enjoy me.

Yoga and Pilates are techniques that require patience, practice, determination and respect with self, and then it will ripple to others. If I am with a client who is impatient with him or herself, I am charged with the responsibility to reassure him/her that’s it’s okay to be where you are. Be present, I always tell them. Just feel it. Always reassuring them in a calm, loving manner. Then I always finish by saying, “Release and move on!” Hence in the classes I teach, my style is to keep people moving, “Move through the poses, yes stop, look, listen. Go inside and feel, now move on.” Life is not static, why should your Yoga/Pilates practice be?

For more information on what Yoga is check out www.yogajournal.com/ and for information on Pilates, visit www.pilates.com/BBAPP/V/index.html.

Selena DeLeon has been a certified personal trainer, kickboxing instructor and spinning instructor for six years. She is also a weight loss consultant and councilor. An active mother of two, she has a passion for fitness and health, languages, travel and the anatomy. Over the years, she has helped many persons find their full physical potential through sharing her training and motivation.