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?

curiosity about the practice in general, wanting to learn something new

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?

feeds my spirit the most

How long have you practiced yoga, and how long did you practice before you started teaching it?

practicing for 19 years, teaching for 11

Do you have a preferred yoga style?

love them all — Hatha if I have to pick one

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

easiest — breathing; more challenging — full presence in the practice

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?

experiencing life with greater ease, grace & purpose

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

easiest — exploring poses; more challenging — settling the mind

I understand you work with sound healing, particularly Crystal Alchemy Singing Bowls. Is that a regular part of your yoga sessions?

yes — they provide a lovely atttunement

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

yes, many! — mindfulness has become this way of moving through the world for me — I also love metta meditation and heart coherence

Do you regularly do other forms of exercise?

hiking, cycling, weight-lifting, and stand up paddle boarding

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

standing crescent moon pose whenever I need to perk myself up a bit — I’ll do this anywhere

You have a choice: lead a yoga class (1) outdoors on a beautiful day, overlooking the ocean, or (2) in a well-designed, very comfortable minimalist indoor space. Which do you pick?

how about an open air studio overlooking the ocean — there’s something magical about weaving the elements of the natural world into a practice

—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’d hurt my back doing Shakespeare and after occupational rehab had succeeded some, I decided to give yoga try in addition

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?

feeds them both equally — and they’re more in balance when I’m practicing regularly

How long have you been practicing yoga?

since 2010…. though I first dabbled while in acting school back in 1985

How frequently do you practice yoga?

very irregular —  I like to do it twice a week — I do a few yoga stretches every day, but sometimes (like now) a month might go between sessions

Are you more likely to attend classes at a studio or practice yoga at home?

at a studio in a gym, though I did it at home during Covid (via an online instructor)

Do you have a preferred yoga style?

any style works

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

easiest was breathing and settling my mind —  most challenging was I’m just not very limber

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?

it’s great for my back, my spirit, my flexibility, and it seems to help me with weight loss

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

I walk and swim a good deal, but the meditation which occurs only comes naturally while doing for the most part

Do you regularly do other forms of exercise?

yes: swimming, weightlifting, walking

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

not really, though like mentioned before, I do a few yoga stretches every morning…. most involving my low back and legs, plus the cow and cat

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

I’m easy — wherever’s expenses-paid — the whole world’s interesting to me

—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?

none of the above — I simply attended a class at my local health club because a good friend who moved away had loved yoga and I was missing her — it was love at first stretch as I realized it was what my body needed

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?

I think those elements were in pretty good balance when I started, and the discipline of yoga has kept them that way, but the huge additional benefit I have from yoga is the pleasure and satisfaction I get from teaching it to others

How long have you been practicing yoga, and how frequently do you practice now?

I started practicing about 10 years ago and I practice (or teach) almost every day

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

only a couple of years — very soon after discovering how good yoga was for my aging body, I wanted to learn more and did a course of teacher training, never intending to teach, but just to get deeper into the practice — to my surprise, I loved the teaching side of it and began forging opportunities to teach people of my own age (seniors) — I think I have been on a mission ever since to show people my age and older how much they can benefit from the practice physically and mentally

Do you have a preferred yoga style?

Hatha yoga has always been my favorite but I also love experimenting with all other styles

When you first took up yoga, what came easiest and what was more challenging?

the most challenging part for me is the yoga philosophy — as a scientist, I am always questioning, and sometimes have trouble accepting some of the spiritual concepts

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

in my experience teaching hatha and chair yoga to seniors, I find that the first challenge is always overcoming their tendency to feel they “cannot possibly do that” — once they realize nothing has to be done to perfection, each student seems to take away something different from the classes — to paraphrase a well known saying, it is sort of “trom each according to their ability; to each according to their need”

What are the more difficult poses for seniors to execute?

that is impossible to generalize because in the age group I mainly teach (65-90+ yrs), almost everyone has at least one physical limitation or another — I emphasize equanimity, balance, posture and strength and offer lots of modifications for any poses that might be difficult, while not being afraid to encourage the students to go deeper

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?

certainly yoga provides me with a calmer mind and greater flexibility of mind and body — it is a great way to keep the body feeling young(er)

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

no

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

yes, often a balance pose, and any number of stretching poses

You have a choice: take a yoga class (1) outdoors on a beautiful day, overlooking the ocean, or (2) in a well-designed, very comfortable minimalist indoor space. Which do you pick?

I love teaching classes outside and take my individual practice outside whenever I can — I have no problem with distractions and I find the sounds of birds and insects and the sight of trees in the breeze highly meditative — I would love to practice near the ocean to feel the rhythm of the waves echoing my breath and often use this imagery in my classes — feeling a part of nature and inhabiting your body in a mindful way are part of what yoga is all about for me

—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 sought out yoga initially for the exercise in addition to my daily walks — I still appreciate how great I feel physically after I’ve stretched — but I’ve come to love how practicing it quiets my mind — it’s not unusual for the answers to problems I’m having with my writing to pop up in savasana

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 still feeds my body most but that might be because I’ve been doing yoga long enough that I take the mental aspects of it for granted — I was amazed for the first few years at how well it cleared my mind and opened my spirit — I depend on those things now

How long have you been practicing yoga?

about twenty years

How frequently do you practice yoga?

I go to a class at least once a week — I’m not going to lie: my home practice is brief and undisciplined

What are the benefits of classes at a studio vs practicing yoga at home?

see above! — I’m too easily distracted to practice alone — during Covid, my instructor switched to zoom, which we still mostly do, with good results

Do you have a preferred yoga style?

hatha

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

for me, in the beginning, getting the postures correctly was the hardest — settling my mind enough to enjoy savasana took a couple practices, too — I’m still impatient with breathing — guess I’ll always be a work-in-progress

What have been the greatest benefits of yoga for you?

favorite benefit: less body pain — I also enjoy how it helps to calm me, and to settle enough to receive answers to my writing puzzles

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

I think the act of writing is a sort of meditation when I’m in the flow — I strive for that writing flow every day though I don’t always achieve it

Do you regularly do other forms of exercise?

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

of course! I do leg lifts while watching TV and pull myself into a good standing posture whenever I think about it

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

Costa Rica or Hawaii would be nice, but honestly, I’d go just about anywhere on a yoga retreat!

—interview © Marshal Zeringue

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

As a yoga professional, what aspects — mind, body, spirit — do you pitch to someone who has never done yoga but is open to the possibility?

I have never in my life pitched yoga — people come when they are called

Do you have a particularly strong relationship with any teachings or text?

Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism

How long did you practice yoga before becoming a teacher?

five years

How long have you taught yoga?

30 years — I can’t believe it myself

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

when you feel tired, or that the inspiration is gone — everyone has a different limit and gives a different amount of energy — holding space for others can take a lot out of you but it can also feed you

Do you have a preferred yoga style? Do you teach others?

Hatha — Vinyasa Flow — Yin Yoga, Yin/Yang Yoga Mix, Restorative Yoga — Tibetan Heart Yoga, Yoga Nidra is the bomb

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

being in the moment is difficult for beginners and advanced practitioners — letting go of perfectionism/exhibitionism

What are the more difficult poses for beginners to execute?

Savasana — hands down — people find it incredibly difficult just to relax and let go

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

any kind of mindfulness or meditation is so liberating — watching the thoughts come and go, you learn that you are not your thoughts, which are ever-changing

Say you have a beginning student who has come to yoga for help with a bad back. They are already pretty chill, and you intuit they are only looking for the physical benefits from yoga. Do you leave it at that, or do you look for opportunities to promote the non-physical benefits?

yoga needs no promotion — if you are practicing yoga asana and the other limbs, it works on you in the ways that are needed

Do you have a favorite sutra or mantra or koan that you like to share with those in your classes?

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926 – 2022) taught a powerful simple mantra: “Breathing in, I calm my body — Breathing out, I smile — Dwelling in the present moment, I know this is a wonderful moment” —  not wonderful in the sense that everything is great, but wonderful as in awe-inspiring — just to be alive — here — now

You have a choice: lead a yoga class (1) outdoors on a beautiful day, overlooking the ocean, or (2) in a well-designed, very comfortable minimalist indoor space. Which do you pick?

nothing beats doing yoga outside, tuning in to the rhythms of nature — definitely overlooking the ocean — infinite space outside reflecting infinite inner space

—interview © Marshal Zeringue