Meet Teri Roseman of LiveYoga Wellness in Westchester

Today we’d like to introduce you to Teri Roseman.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Teri. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Yoga saved my life. At the pinnacle of decades in a high-powered corporate career, the ending of a long-term relationship, and the death of my father, I was diagnosed and then treated for breast cancer. Faced with what felt like an insurmountable amount of stress, I began to increase my once a week yoga practice, because I found relief and calm on the mat. Yoga became my “therapy.” That was 15 years ago. In the ensuing years, I have been in pursuit of the wisdom yoga brings, to live it, and share it with others.

There’s a cliché about silver linings, and while at the time, I did not want to hear any of that, I’m grateful it turned out to be true for me. A life of health and wellness? A second chance? An encore career at 50+? Bring it on! So, how did I get here from there? Yoga. One day at a time, one practice at a time, one subtle change, addressed simply by becoming more mindful. I took my yoga practice to heart; it is the road to awareness, to center, to balance…

While still working in a fast paced corporate environment I took a 200-hour teacher training with Tamal Dodge, now of Yoga Salt, primarily to deepen my personal practice. My thoughts were ruminating about a possible future wellness business, and I wanted to understand what it took to be a yoga teacher, especially if I planned to hire any. The journey unfolded from there.

In late 2008, the fortuitous “invitation” to leave my corporate position came at a serendipitous moment. It was just before training began for Prime of Life™ Yoga (POLY) training developed by Dr. Larry Payne, PhD, who is Executive Director and Founder of the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) Yoga Therapy Rx (YTRx), and Prime of Life™ Yoga programs. My introduction to the concept of “Yoga Therapy” led me into the LMU Yoga Therapy Rx program.

Conflicted by my desire and passion to pursue yoga as a lifestyle, and profession, and the realities of being a householder in Los Angeles, I took a month-long sabbatical from job hunting and the YTRx program, and went to the Himalayan Institute, where I confirmed my commitment to transforming my life and livelihood to health and wellness through the philosophy and practices of Yoga and Yoga Therapy. I returned and completed the YTRx program.

So enthused by Yoga and Yoga Therapy as a healing modality, I went back to college (after an absence of 35 years) to complete my Bachelor of Science degree at California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), which is based in San Francisco. The program at CIIS is fundamentally based on the yogic principles of jnana (discriminative knowledge), inclusion, kindness and compassion, all with an eye toward social justice. I was making up for lost academic time. It was important to me to finish what I once started, and prepare myself to qualify to apply for future post graduate work.

Concurrent with my undergraduate studies, to deepen my understanding of yoga philosophy I studied with Dr. Chris Chapple, Doshi Professor at LMU, and Founder of the LMU Yoga Studies program. My academic pursuits continued with the inaugural fourth year of the Yoga Therapy Rx program. Since graduating, I joined the faculty of the LMU YTRx Level IV clinic internship, at the Simms/Mann Health and Wellness Clinic of Venice Family Clinic (S/M VFC), and recently joined the faculty at the Yoga Yoga School of Yoga Therapy in Austin, TX as well. Other trainings ensued, including a 1000-hour liv-INg-yoga yoga training developed by Jasmine Lieb, Certified Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist, which today strongly influences my practice and teaching, along with a blend of learnings that comes gratefully from all of my teachers before me. Clearly my passion for deepening my practice and learning is a lifelong pursuit.

Has it been a smooth road?
One of the few guarantees in life is that it will change. After dealing with several major life events simultaneously, I was on the precipice of taking a big risk instead of a job…what came up? Fear, ageism, lack of self-confidence, vulnerability, financial instability, going against the “norm,” and on and on…yet I knew in my heart and gut, this was my calling.

What became abundantly clear immediately was the need for help. With limited resources I needed to put together a leadership team to run the business. Being an independent business owner does not mean you have to wear every hat and do everything. Simply that it gets done. LiveYoga Wellness has an incredible leadership team and teaching staff that collectively make up the heart of our community. There is a Buddhist concept of “sangha”, defined as “a community of friends practicing…together in order to bring about and to maintain awareness.” I am so very grateful for mine!

I realized while I had a big vision, I had to start with what I could manage on my own with a small team. We opened with 25 classes a week, and quickly learned that was not sustainable. By process of research, trial and error, we came into balance over time with the number and types of classes.

As with any obstacle or challenge, I turn to my Yoga practice for guidance. Breathe. Pause. Listen. This is how I stay true and in tune with my authentic and vulnerable self. Only then can I respond and ask for help when needed.

Here are a few truths I learned along the way. We overestimate what we can do in a year, and underestimate what we can do in five. “It takes a village”. Unlearning is a big part of learning. Allow your heart and breath to guide you. When we listen, and nurture our own nature, love and healing happens.

Breathe in, breathe out; you are loved, cared for and not alone…I’m a Yoga Therapist, I can help.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the LiveYoga Wellness story. Tell us more about the business.
In the midst of my academic and philosophical journey, I opened LiveYoga Wellness (LYW) in 2010, nestled in the village of Westchester, near LAX.

LYW combines the physical and philosophical teachings of yoga to empower each student on his/her journey of personal growth, physical recovery, and healing using meditation, pranayama (breathing techniques), and asanas (postures). I sought teachers who had the depth of knowledge and education in Yoga and Yoga Therapy to provide students with the tools they need to achieve a greater sense of well-being.

Our community is comprised of yogis of all ages and physical abilities who understand that yoga and wellness can be practiced at some level by everyone regardless of age, health, or physical ability on and off the mat. LiveYoga Wellness offers a dozen different yoga and tai chi classes suitable to different needs each week, and workshops on weekends. In addition to group classes, our Corporate Wellness division serves a roster of businesses, and our Integrative Healthcare group works with healthcare institutions, and I see clients privately by appointment.

Join us in experiencing the benefits of Yoga and Yoga Therapy from teachers professionally certified in a variety of styles.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
During a recent trip to India with a delegation of Yoga Therapists from LMU, where I studied at both Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and Research (CYTER) and Kaivalyadhama, I had an epiphany, my mission became clear. The science validates the ancient wisdom. Self-care is health care. From peer reviewed articles in the Harvard Medical Journal to newspapers like the Huffington Post, people are talking about the benefits of Yoga and Yoga Therapy. The movement has begun…Healthcare Meets Yoga Therapy.

Our healthcare system was set up to deal with infectious and acute disease. Today we are experiencing an increase in non-communicative diseases related to lifestyle choices, including diabetes, heart disease, cancer and chronic pain. My goal is to bring a broad awareness to Yoga Therapy as a holistic “Lifestyle Health Integration Toolkit” that can bridge the healthcare crisis we are experiencing today. Altering the landscape of healthcare with the recognition of the value and benefits of Yoga Therapy gives hope to the future of medicine. At the same time, as a businessperson and educator, I am compelled to further support this burgeoning healing profession and help develop business best practices that assure Yoga Therapists earn a compensable income to their level of education and expertise.

My current pursuit to meet these critical “needs,” defined as “necessary for an organism to live a healthy life,” is a new business venture, “YogaSolve Therapeutics™ launching this year. An early stage startup, YST: where healthcare meets yoga therapy,” is a nationally branded technology enabled health care services company providing therapeutically oriented yoga, individual yoga therapy sessions, and health & wellness programs based on time-tested yogic wisdom that improves the quality of lives. YogaSolve Therapeutics™ gives practitioners a viable business model to work within, and it brings Yoga Therapy to individuals, businesses and healthcare institutions everywhere.

Pricing:

• http://liveyogawellness.com/pricing/

Contact Info:

• Address: 6700 W. 83rd Street
  Los Angeles, CA 90045
• Website: www.liveyogawellness.com
• Phone: 310-835-6700
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liveyoga_wellness/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/liveyogawellness/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/liveyogawellnes
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/liveyoga-wellness-los-angeles
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teriroseman/

Image Credit:
Teri and Izzi Photo: Pamela Beere Briggs

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