Today we’d like to introduce you to Lotem Porat.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a native City of Angels “valley girl”, born and raised in Los Angeles. My parents grew up in Israel; my dad was born there and mom was born in Morocco and raised in Israel. I grew up speaking Hebrew and attending Hebrew School all the way from Mommy and Me until grade 6. My parents came to California on their honeymoon and stayed. Growing up, my sister Noie and I learned many of the Jewish traditions and spent summers visiting our extended family in Israel. Since I was six years old, I also celebrated Christmas, as my stepmom came from a Catholic family. My dad and her considered themselves more “spiritual” than religious. For Noie and I, holidays were spent celebrating Hannukah, Christmas and attending shamanic drum circles or visiting Buddhist temples.
My background led me to question religion and my identity. I became very curious about what was mine to take and to leave behind from the traditions and beliefs I learned growing up. I switched from attending private Jewish school to a more diverse middle school. By nature, I felt a rebellious urge to expand my horizon and longed for a sense of freedom from attending a private conservative school. When I entered public school, I was hit hard with a new reality—I was made fun of for my name, the Moroccan food my mom would pack me, and my various Jewish attributes. This caused me a lot of pain and confusion regarding who I was. It also spurred my desire to feel a sense of belonging without denying my roots and to find a way to embody who I was without religious restrictions. I felt confined to the limitations of religion and knew that there was something bigger out there than me. Whether it was God, the Great Spirit or mystery, the Universe, etc., I did not know. This formed my quest to be a lifetime seeker and inquirer and opened me to the path of yoga. I wanted something rather than “Jewish” or “Christian” that I could call my own, that would connect me to something bigger without dividing me from anyone of another background.
I didn’t necessarily seek yoga out but I felt as though it found me. In 2011, I was studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain. In the cobblestone plazas of Barcelona, I came upon a little studio called Yoga Bindu. It was then that I learned the saying “wherever you go, there you are.” It turned out that in my suitcase, I brought all of my lack of identity, anxieties and depression with me.
Looking back, I truly believe that yoga found me to remind me of the essence that we each carry from birth beyond social conditioning. In Indian Philosophy and Sanskrit Language, this one constant is called “Purusha”. The candle-lit classes became my refuge, where I could begin to discover the woman who was underneath all of the labels. Not only did I learn the name of body parts in Catalan, I found way to know myself deeply, beyond the labels. Now, I’m less concerned with separating black from white and more with integrating all the different pieces of my roots and how they make up who I am today.
Yoga became my pillar, alongside various healing art modalities that I had also immersed myself in since like Transpersonal Psychology, meditation, Reiki, Yoga Nidra and more. Having been raised in a confusing cultural upbringing and experienced childhood trauma from other difficult circumstances that were out of control, I needed a sense of stability, something that I could come back to for my mental health and to feel safe in my body.
That candlelit yoga class changed my life and my path’s healing trajectory. Although I always carried the seeking spirit since I was a child, I now had an anchor I could soften into through all the ups and downs from my past, present and future. Now wherever I went, I would have these ancient healing practices deep in my bones and heart as a lens in which I could walk, talk, act and see through; for this, I am forever grateful.
Now, I am especially passionate about helping others delve deep into themselves through yoga, meditation and Reiki; my aim is to create a self space for others to feel and through that heal in a non-linear spiral like way that gives permission to fall down and picking ourselves up over and over. My hope is that I can assist others in connecting deeply with themselves and their bodies so that they feel empowered to find their own sense of a rooted foundation that comes with them wherever they are and is forevermore their own.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been a smooth road, yet one that has been very worthy of taking. I’ve gotten to where I am today through many trials and tribulations and much blood, sweat and tears. I wouldn’t have been able to get to this point though without the scary, lost, and shaky moments. In my pursuit of becoming a yoga teacher, I’ve hit rock-bottom and burnout more times than I can count. Though some thread has kept me going from one patch to another. Overcoming self-doubt has been one of the most significant triumphs as a yoga teacher. There have been many times I’ve felt like a fraud asking “Am I really a yoga teacher or am I just faking it?” The parts of me that felt like I didn’t know anything would creep up time after time and were toxic as opposed to the genuine humility of knowing I’ll always be both a student and a teacher. What got me to where I am today is that I kept showing up through the seemingly failures and mess-ups, sometimes gracefully and more often than not limping my way through. Sometimes being a yoga teacher gets glorified through social media, and from my own experience I’ve found that it’s a lot of work and a whole lot of chopping wood and carrying water. This inner and outer work is so rewarding and it takes discipline and consistency; it keeps me oh so humble.
My favorite part of what I offer in my teachings of yoga, meditation and Reiki is providing people a safe space for deep self-care, for others to get in touch with themselves and to feel comfortable in their own skin. I have spent much of my life wanting to escape my body, struggling with body image issues, deep insecurity, and lack of self-worth. For me, these practices have allowed me to access a space of healing and refuge within myself. I have learned that I cannot heal anyone, though I can assist them in finding that the healing is already inside each person, this capacity for each individual to be their own healer and teacher.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I love to infuse all of the various healing modalities I have studied and experienced over time in my public and private offerings which include yoga (Yin, Restorative, Vinyasa Slow Flow & trauma-informed yoga), meditation, Reiki, Yoga Nidra, breathwork, and more. I have taught internationally and am currently based in Los Angeles where I teach in different public yoga studios, Equinox gyms, mental health centers, recovery centers, corporations and also one-on-one private sessions that are either done locally in person or on zoom. I especially love to offer Yin and Restorative Yoga Sessions in which I include Reiki as well as individual Reiki sessions, as this is where I really get to experience students rest and recover. Our nervous systems are so jarred in our fast paced go-go-go society and from the effects of the pandemic in additional to other global crises that I have become very passionate about helping people slow down and soften into their feminine nature, which we each carry regardless of gender.
These are intense and also exciting times, where the Divine Feminine is rising across cultures and continents and there is so much capacity for us to heal on a global collective level. I am grateful that I get to work with practices that help others connect to their innate feminine nature which already lives in each one of us naturally. As we activate these energies through these practices, this can enhance our ability to access our inner wisdom, intuition, nurturance, creativity, sacred power, softness and fierceness and so much more.
I am committed to helping people struggling with trauma or mental health difficulties, body image / identity/ lack of self-esteem, or anyone that is open and willing to grow mentally, physically, emotionally, energetically and spiritually. We can only truly care for others and be active participants in the world when we ourselves are filled up, recharged and balanced. This is why I especially love to focus on self-soothing and self-care practices that allow us to move with more ease, grace and centeredness in our everyday lives.
What makes you happy?
Alongside my obvious love of yoga and meditation, hiking, cooking, dancing, traveling, spending time with friends and family, painting, writing, walking by and jumping in the ocean, and reading makes me happy. These activities remind me that despite hardship, it is essential to remember our innate joy, love and creative expression and tend to the inner child that lives inside. Since I had to grow up very quickly in my early years, I didn’t get a chance to play and explore as children are meant to. I now find it imperative for my well-being to take the time to nurture my inner child who wants to enjoy the world especially through connecting to nature and surrounded myself with people who I love and feel loved by.
Contact Info:
- Website: lotemporatyoga.com
- Instagram: @lotemyogini
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LotemPoratYoga/
Image Credits
Molly Haas Elina Dmitrieva
