March 14, 2017

Meet Laura Rebecca of Laura Teaches Yoga in Hollywood

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Rebecca.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was a career educator for over 25 years, teaching English and Theater in high school and college on Long Island. Back in the mid-1990’s I began training in Martial Arts, and thanks to my teaching experience I began teaching just a few years later. I was fortunate to travel with my Sensei to teach at seminars all over the US, and in 2002 I earned my black belt and became a full instructor.

In 2003, I attended a seminar and was injured during some freestyle sparring. I discovered when I returned home that I had ruptured 2 cervical vertebrae, and following my diagnosis I went through a long period of physical therapy, acupuncture, and chiropractic care. The worst part of this experience was hearing that I could no longer practice martial arts: I took a leave of absence from my dojo, and soon became very depressed. I was unable to do any exercise, gained 40 pounds, and felt disconnected from my martial arts family of 15 years.

A few years later, my chiropractor (whose family was very involved in the martial arts school I trained with) suggested I try Hot Yoga at a local yoga studio; I was skeptical at first, but he explained that many of his patients who were experiencing pain and mobility issues found great results with hot yoga. I took my first class and was hooked: it was more physically challenging than my black belt test, but at the same time I could almost immediately feel the change in my body from the heat and the postures. I continued to practice traditional Hot Yoga for three years before I moved to Los Angeles in 2012.

In search of a hot studio once I arrived in LA, I was fortunate to discover Core Power Yoga (corepoweryoga.com). I was immediately impressed by the heat, the cleanliness of the studio, and the skill of my first instructor there, Amanda Larson-Mekler (yogasomething.com). Having left behind my full-time teaching career in NY, I made the decision to shift my career focus in LA to become a full-time yoga teacher. I enrolled in Core Power’s Hot Power Fusion Teacher Training program in 2013, and by June of that year I was a Yoga Alliance certified RYT-200 and teaching yoga classes in the San Fernando Valley.

I was nervous about such a late-life career change, but seeing (and hearing) feedback from my students about how much yoga had changed their lives kept me motivated. I continued to teach and learn as much as possible, going on to become certified to teach Power Yoga, Yoga Sculpt, and Restorative Yoga.

Since I started teaching in 2013, I have had the honor of coaching and leading about ten teacher training programs, taught at local schools, taught students in alcohol and drug rehab centers, led classes at The Grove shopping center, and was an instructor at the 2016 YogaExpo LA.
Today, my focus is helping students heal through yoga, specifically hot yoga and restorative yoga. In addition to my own personal experience, I hear testimonials on a daily basis from students who have been amazed and helped by the healing power of yoga.

I currently have my own business teaching privately to students throughout the Los Angeles region, as well as teaching group classes at Core Power Yoga Hollywood, Set and Flow Yoga (setandflow), and White Heat Yoga (whiteheatyoga.com). I also continue to lead teacher training programs at Core Power Yoga to help people transform lives through teaching yoga.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Los Angeles may very well be the Yoga capital of the country: this can be both a blessing and a curse. While the LA community is very open to embracing Yoga as a legitimate means to attain wellness, the yoga community is saturated with studios and instructors, and everyone is an “expert”. It’s particularly hard for older instructors, or instructors who don’t fit a particular body type or “look” to market themselves, especially when Instagram and Snapchat are so important for promotion and visibility.

Please tell us about Laura Teaches Yoga.
Laura Teaches Yoga focuses mainly on yoga for healing and recovery. Beginner yoga students, athletes recovering from injuries, people recovering from or struggling with chronic illness or physical ailments are most likely to benefit from my services. While Hot Yoga and Restorative Yoga appear to be on opposite ends of the spectrum as far as styles, they both have similar benefits: these are practices that de-stress, detox, and heal just about every system in the body. My firm belief is that yoga is for EVERYONE; not only the young, the fit, the healthy, or the flexible. What also sets my sessions apart is that yoga can’t be so serious: if you don’t smile or laugh at least once during a session, you’re missing out on one of the most important aspects of yoga: joy. I’m proud of the fact that I *usually* can get even the grumpiest yogi to at least crack a half-smile.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have started sooner! Seriously, though, I would have had more confidence in my ability to market myself as a private instructor and not be so self-conscious. Negative self-talk is a goal-killer: telling yourself you’re not experienced enough, good enough, bendy enough, etc. will stop you dead in your tracks every time.

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