Morning sunshine brightened the walls of the Aloha Yoga Kula studio in Kailua as instructor Heidi Hopkins, her voice calm and soothing, told her students to breathe.
Warm-up stretches followed, and when her students were limber, Hopkins took them through a sequence of yoga poses designed to build strength and create balance.
Though the 45-year-old Hopkins can do the poses with ease, she reminded her students to work at their own pace and to focus on each breath.
Yoga starts with breathing, Hopkins said. The deeper you breathe, the more your body changes. And Hopkins lives and breathes yoga.
Hopkins took her first yoga class 18 years ago. At the time, she worked as a personal assistant for an entrepreneur who was always navigating multiple projects. Yoga was the perfect way to relieve stress. She was amazed at the peace she experienced in that class and thought, “I want to live in this.”
She studied with master yogis and started teaching in 2001. She teaches all levels of yoga at Aloha Yoga Kula and Vinyasa flow at Open Space Yoga at Diamond Head. She also offers private lessons.
As part of National Yoga Month, a federally recognized campaign each September to raise awareness about the benefits of yoga, Hopkins shared her thoughts on the increasingly popular practice:
Question: What was it about your first yoga class that hooked you?
Answer: My first yoga class was a heated class. It was super challenging. The instructor was amazing. After class I felt so completely spent, wrung out and peaceful all at the same time. The usual busyness had stopped and I was inwardly still, calm.
Q: What should anyone new to yoga expect on their first day in class?
A: New yogis that come to class with little to no expectations have the most fun. Expectations can get in the way of being totally new and in tune with the practice. It’s true for anything we participate in. Beginner’s mind is a beautiful thing. I just started taking voice lessons. It’s something I’m not inherently good at, and it’s perfect for me to be challenged in this way, to be confronted and still be present, awake.
Q: What’s the most common misconception about yoga?
A: For some it’s the idea that you have to be spiritual to practice yoga; for others it’s the idea that you must be flexible; for others it’s a certain look or gender. Misconceptions are everywhere.
Q: Is yoga for anyone, young or old, large or small, male or female?
A: Anyone can practice yoga. There’s not a body type or gender or personality type. It’s for everyone. Yoga’s about the breath; you start with the breath.. … We teach people how to breathe deeper, and the body starts to change.
Q: So is yoga more than poses and stretches? Is it also meditation and mind-body practice?
A: As a new yogini I knew nothing about meditation. Asana practice (a physical yoga posture or position) primes the physical body for letting go, for relaxing into a state that is beyond the mind. So, yes, more yoga can create a quieter mind. They don’t always go hand in hand. I know great yogis that don’t meditate, and the reverse is also true. I fell in love with meditation because it is the most natural way.
Q: What is your favorite yoga pose?
A: It’s hard to choose just one favorite pose. I enjoy twisting when my energy feels scattered. Twisting is fantastic for the nervous system. I also love going upside down to shift perspective; the headstand is a go-to pose for me. Back bends are always a must, a big boost for the day. And forward bends are calming and introspective.
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