[note — this is part 1 of 2; here we focus on Lowitz’s journey as a student of the practice; part 2 (coming soon) is about her experience as a yoga professional]

Yoga is a holistic experience for many — mind, body, spirit — but did one element or another first draw you to the practice? That is, were you seeking to settle your mind? Have greater physical flexibility? Explore your spiritual nature?

I wanted to feel grounded, more settled

How about now: does yoga feed your mind or your body or your spirit more, or are those elements more in balance than when you started?

it always helps me come home to myself

How frequently do you practice Asana yoga?

about twice a week

And heart yoga?

daily

If you’re not leading a session with others, are you more likely to attend classes at a studio or practice yoga at home?

home

Do you have a preferred yoga style?

hatha/restorative/yin

When you were starting out, what came easiest and what was more challenging?

it was challenging to let go of perfectionism, some idea of what a pose should look like — now I just feel, breathe, and enjoy

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?

self-love, compassion

Apart from yoga, do you practice other techniques of mindfulness or meditation?

yoga is a state of being in union with yourself and the universal energy flow — yoga is every breath

Do you regularly do other forms of exercise?

mostly walking in nature — walking meditation

Outside of a yoga session, do you ever just assume a pose and stretch? If so, which pose(s) and where?

yes, all the time — side stretches twists, heart openers — if my body speaks to me, I respond intuitively — animalistic

If I gave you an expenses-paid yoga retreat, where would you go?

somewhere tropical, near the ocean — anywhere, really — Hawaii, Bali, Japan, the American Southwest — where the land is sacred

—interview © Marshal Zeringue

Mind, body, spirit — yoga is a holistic experience for many. But did one element or another first draw you to the practice? That is, were you seeking to settle your mind? Have greater physical flexibility? Explore your true, spiritual nature?

I don’t know if I believe in past lives, but I knew yoga was for me before I ever tried it — so, even though it was the physical aspect that drew me, there was a spiritual element to it

How about now: does yoga feed your mind or your body or your spirit more, or are those elements more in balance than when you started?

my practice has mostly shifted to Pilates, so when I choose to do yoga, it’s usually because I’m seeking longer, deeper holds or a more meditative experience

How long did you practice yoga before you started teaching it?

I took my first yoga class in college about 30 years ago and got certified about a year later

When you’re teaching regularly, can you lead classes too often? How many times a week, and a day, might be too much?

at my peak as a freelancer in NYC, I taught 15 classes a week, which was verging on too much with the subway commutes — when you’re teaching that much, you have to warm up properly — it’s also important to develop your verbal cuing skills so you don’t burn out your body demonstrating everything

now, my friend and I run Knockout Pilates in Brooklyn — when you’re teaching a lot of Pilates sessions, the key is to be mindful of the way you’re changing springs and handling the equipment so you don’t strain your wrists or back — I’m almost 50 now — the older you get, the more you have to take care of your beautiful body!

Do you have a preferred yoga style?

it’s more about the teacher than the style for me — I’ve learned a lot from good teachers in Iyengar, Astanga, Kundalini, and Kripalu yoga — recently, I discovered the Anti-Gravity Yoga Lab run by a wonderful teacher named Christopher Harrison — you hang from hammocks, and the traction feels wonderful on my spine

When you were starting out, what came easiest and what was more challenging?

I was always flexible in forward and backward bends — inclined plane was very hard, as were inversions — I have short arms and legs so had trouble binding in twists and still cannot wrap my legs and arms in garudasana

From your experience as a teacher, can you generalize about what comes easiest for beginners and what is more challenging?

this is a huge generalization but men often struggle with forward bends and anything involving hip mobility or hamstring flexibility and women often struggle with upper body strength poses like chaturanga — everyone struggles with remembering to breathe during difficulty

What are the more difficult poses for beginners to execute?

headstand and plow are challenging for beginners to do without a feeling of compression in the neck — I also see a lot of lumbar compression in up dog if students haven’t learned to access their abdominals — in general, I think the sun salutation is taught too quickly without enough attention given to the transitions and to shoulder safety if jumping

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?

it’s given me awareness of the power of my breath and has allowed me (as basically an atheist Jew) to cultivate a feeling of devotion

Apart from yoga, do you practice other techniques of mindfulness or meditation?

I sometimes sit at a Zen center in Brooklyn and have done a few Vipassana silent meditation retreats — I was lucky enough to study Sanskrit chanting back in the day with the amazing Vyas Houston and still play my harmonium and chant when I’m feeling blue

Outside of a yoga session, do you ever just strike a pose and stretch? If so, which pose(s) and where?

Ragdoll throughout the day to release my back — Malasana to stretch my hips and ankles while I wait for the subway — I always hide out back by the bathroom on planes and do various asanas to the amusement of the flight attendants

If I gave you an expenses-paid yoga retreat, where would you go?

again, it’s about the teacher for me, not the place — I’d follow Patricia Walden anywhere she went

—interview © Marshal Zeringue

Yoga is a holistic experience for many — mind, body, spirit — but did one element or another first draw you to the practice?

I believe I had the thirst for all three — they are so interdependent I couldn’t point to one over the others, though, moment by moment I do draw on different sources for sustenance

How about as your practice evolved: did yoga feed your mind or your body or your spirit more; were those elements more in balance than when you started?

yoga fed all three and yes, again, yoga helped to balance me

How long have you been practicing yoga?

I have been away from my mat for three years now — I was a five to six day a week practitioner for five years

How frequently do you practice yoga?

these days my practice is focused on the breath — which I work on almost constantly — and walking meditation

What do you miss most about yoga in the studio?

the community — the satisfaction of dedicated effort — the teachers’ insightful spiritual offerings even as we moved through rapid flows

What’s the greatest obstacle to you having a regular yoga habit?

I am my biggest obstacle when it comes to my practice, as I am in most of my life — but this questioning, I believe, is giving me a tender push towards my mat — deep bow

When you were starting out, what came easiest and what was more challenging?

inversions were always tough for me — balance poses, I’d say, came more naturally

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?

patience — when practicing I was less tight in all ways, more roomy, and that allowed me to flow with all more healthily and gracefully

Apart from yoga, do you practice other techniques of mindfulness or meditation?

Vipassana and most consistently offer and recite Metta

Do you regularly do other forms of exercise?

I am a long distance walker and have walked the Camino De Santiago three times, Offa Dyke in Wales and trekked the Himalayas — I was regularly walking 6-10 miles a day — then came pickleball — obsessed!

Outside of a yoga session, do you ever just strike a pose and stretch?

yes — are you watching me?! — I’ll spontaneously strike a Warrior 2 pose or a Tree pose

If I gave you an expenses-paid yoga retreat, where would you go?

Chiang Mai, Thailand — I’ll just need a moment to pack

—interview © Marshal Zeringue

Yoga is a holistic experience for many — mind, body, spirit. But did one element or another first draw you to the practice? That is, were you seeking to settle your mind? Have greater physical flexibility? Explore your true, spiritual nature?

I sought out yoga for my body — as I was aging I needed more flexibility and stretching in my exercise routines

How about now: does yoga feed your mind or your body or your spirit more, or are those elements more in balance than when you started?

now, I realize that yoga feeds my mind and spirit as much as my body and I relish the overall sensations and balance

How long did you practice yoga before you started teaching it?

about 5 years

When you’re teaching regularly, can you lead classes too often? How many times a week, and a day, might be too much?

teaching yoga is tiring and to be the best teacher I can be, I must limit how much I teach — 1 or 2 classes a day are best for my psyche

I understand you used to practice Power Yoga and now focus on Yoga for Everybody. When you were practicing Power Yoga, what came easiest and what was more challenging?

I was teaching yoga to college students when I began — they wanted (I thought) a very physical practice and they wanted challenging poses — as I matured in my yoga practice I realized that teaching them pranayama was more important — it was a hard shift but I’m glad I took the hard route for the students — as I I got better at teaching breath and slower movements, I got a better response from the students — at 20 they already have enough physical demands and movement but few know the power of breathwork

From your experience as a teacher of Yoga for Everybody, can you generalize about what comes easiest for beginners and what is more challenging?

balance is often what brings the clients into the Yoga for Everybody class — as they learn Warrior and hip openers and they begin to lengthen their calf they find the balance — arm strength is very hard — easiest are the movements they do daily Warrior 1, lunge sagittal plane — opening the side body brings about nice change — sitting on the floor is hard for many new yogis — moving with the breath is hard for beginners — they rush the poses unaware how to match it to their breath

What are the more difficult yoga poses for beginners to execute?

Downward Facing Dog is the hardest pose for most beginners — Chatarange and arm strength, properly executing sphynx for older clients

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?

calmer — more present, willing to forgive and forget — yes, better sleep

Apart from yoga, do you practice other techniques of mindfulness or meditation?

no

Your classes are described as “musically eclectic.” Will you share two song titles that demonstrate that?

ha ha — that would be my barre classes, I think, not my yoga — barre is done in time with the music — two fun barre songs are “America’s Sweetheart” by Elle King and “Got To Give It Up” by Marvin Gaye

for Yoga — in Happy Hour I use songs like “Wish You Were Here” by Bliss, “Makambo” by Geoffrey Oryema, and “Easy in the Early” by Uncle Earl (a great spiritual!)

Outside of a yoga session, do you ever just strike a pose and stretch?

all the time — on a paddle board, before and after riding my horse — after dancing — I can’t get through a day without joyful movement

If I gave you an expenses-paid yoga retreat, where would you go?

awesome, let’s go! — any of the Blue Zones — Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Icaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California

—interview © Marshal Zeringue

Yoga is a holistic experience for many — mind, body, spirit — but did one element or another first draw you to the practice? That is, were you seeking to settle your mind? Have greater physical flexibility? Explore your true, spiritual nature?

I was battling severe gastrointestinal issues, and my doctor recommended trying yoga

How about now: does yoga feed your mind or your body or your spirit more, or are those elements more in balance than when you started?

body for sure

How long have you been practicing yoga?

7 years

How frequently do you practice yoga?

a few times a week

How long did you practice yoga before you started teaching it?

3 years

Do you have a preferred yoga style?

Vinyasa

When you were starting your yoga journey, what came easiest and what was more challenging?

the most difficult part was learning all of the poses on a vocal cue, the easiest was getting into the stretch

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?

less body pain & greater lung capacity

Apart from yoga, do you practice other techniques of mindfulness or meditation?

I’d like to go on walks

Do you regularly do other forms of exercise?

I run marathons and lift weights — I also enjoy cycling

Outside of a yoga session, do you ever just assume a pose and stretch? If so, which pose(s) and where?

yes! I am always going into a wheel pose, wide legged forward fold, staff pose, crow pose for fun — truly anywhere

If I gave you an expenses-paid yoga retreat, where would you go?

Bali!

—interview © Marshal Zeringue