I am Laura Reed. By day, I am a librarian, with a special affinity for children and teens. I’m a devoted daughter, a steadfast sister, and a faithful friend. I’m a cat woman, a movie lover, a live music enthusiast, a proud spinster, and a feminist. I am also a yogi. I am a big yogi, by which I mean big, heavy, curvy, fluffy, fat or whatever way you would describe someone who is above average size.
Yoga changed my life. I have been big as long as I can remember. For most of my life, every physical thing I did was with the goal of becoming smaller. Even as a child I remember that motivation. Then I found yoga. Yoga allowed me to move my body, and my mind, without shrinking either. It was about expanding - expanding my breath, expanding my boundaries, and expanding my world view. It allowed me to get to know my body, to become friends with my body. It is a powerful relationship, and one for which I am very grateful.
I began studying yoga seriously about eight years ago. I studied with Cheong Ng, formerly of Blue Skies Yoga. Cheong taught me confidence and patience and set me on my path. I then did a yearlong intensive in yoga and Ayurveda at the Vidya Institute. It taught me a lot, about yoga and about myself. I loved my practice, but I had a deep yearning to talk to other big yogis. I wanted to share my experiences and listen to others. Thankfully, I found Anna Guest-Jelley, the founder of Curvy Yoga. She drew me to Nashville, where I completed my 200hr Yoga Teacher Training in May 2014. It was amazing to study with other women, women of all shapes and sizes, who all wanted to spread the message that yoga is for every body.
Now I am a yoga teacher. That is not a sentence I would have believed I could write. I am so proud to be a teacher, and I want to share with others all of the amazing things yoga has brought to my life.
Yoga changed my life. I have been big as long as I can remember. For most of my life, every physical thing I did was with the goal of becoming smaller. Even as a child I remember that motivation. Then I found yoga. Yoga allowed me to move my body, and my mind, without shrinking either. It was about expanding - expanding my breath, expanding my boundaries, and expanding my world view. It allowed me to get to know my body, to become friends with my body. It is a powerful relationship, and one for which I am very grateful.
I began studying yoga seriously about eight years ago. I studied with Cheong Ng, formerly of Blue Skies Yoga. Cheong taught me confidence and patience and set me on my path. I then did a yearlong intensive in yoga and Ayurveda at the Vidya Institute. It taught me a lot, about yoga and about myself. I loved my practice, but I had a deep yearning to talk to other big yogis. I wanted to share my experiences and listen to others. Thankfully, I found Anna Guest-Jelley, the founder of Curvy Yoga. She drew me to Nashville, where I completed my 200hr Yoga Teacher Training in May 2014. It was amazing to study with other women, women of all shapes and sizes, who all wanted to spread the message that yoga is for every body.
Now I am a yoga teacher. That is not a sentence I would have believed I could write. I am so proud to be a teacher, and I want to share with others all of the amazing things yoga has brought to my life.