Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Greco.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Stephanie. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Absolutely, I’m excited to be featured and share my story with you!
My yoga journey really began when I moved to Los Angeles in 2007 from Florida. I had taken a few classes prior to that but never felt drawn to the practice. In all honesty, I was actually bored by my first yoga class and thought it was too easy! Which is a similar story I often hear from first-time students? But the yoga that I came across in my early days in LA was different than what I had found in Florida.
There was a focus on something deeper, less about the poses and more about how yoga can transform the practitioner from the inside out. Like many others, I initially moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. For me, acting was a way to access and explore the internal world of a character and that is what fascinated me the most. I didn’t realize until much later that yoga fulfilled the same curiosity and desire I had to understand who we are at our core, but even more so because I wasn’t finding it through the lens of a character but through my own personal experience.
Things really shifted in 2013, after I ended a 13-year relationship and fell into a deep depression. I was lost, confused and felt hopeless. I knew I needed to find a way to process what I was going through and to find some peace. That’s when I committed to a daily yoga practice. It was challenging at first but it was the only time during the day when I felt a break from my pain and the constant chatter going on inside my head.
I had lost my identity and my sense of worth in that relationship and yoga gave me the tools to rebuild myself and to uncover what had been there all along. It took about a year until I started to emerge from my fog. And once things began to clear I decided that there was no way I could keep yoga to myself. It was a tool of healing and transformation for me and I was boggled by the fact that most people only utilized the practice as a form of fitness.
I began studying at YogaWorks and was incredibly lucky to find Jeanne Heileman who I connected with immediately. Jeanne’s teaching was so unlike any other teacher I had practiced with because she focused on the subtle body and how to use the breath in a way to elevate the physical poses. She also introduced me to yoga philosophy and inspired me to continue to study and understand the foundation upon which yoga was built.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I think that in any journey worth taking there will always be obstacles along the way. For me, it was more about overcoming my own insecurities and fears of not being good enough. I’ve been super lucky to have some of the most amazing mentors and teachers that I wondered how could I possibly do that? How could I ever be that good? But I quickly realized that just being me and sharing the joy that yoga has brought into my own life was enough.
I had always heard that when you’re living your purpose things just align, but I had never truly experienced that until I made the decision to teach yoga full time. I definitely hustled and put myself out there, which is a funny thing to imagine doing as a yoga teacher since there is this notion of yogis being so calm and collected, but at the end of the day, I still needed to pay my rent and survive. I continued to practice and study and am very grateful that in almost every opportunity I sought things just clicked. I was teaching immediately.
At smaller studios in the beginning but it was exactly what I needed to get my feet wet and become comfortable sharing what I had learned. I had an incredible support system in my family and friends and really the biggest obstacle I faced and still struggle with at times, is trusting that I already know and have everything that I need within me. There will always be something new to learn, but believing that at this moment what I know is enough and that is exactly what I need to share helped me tremendously.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Stephanie Greco Yoga – what should we know?
When I first started teaching it was important for me to understand why I was doing this. I’ve always been a giver and love helping those around me. I felt sharing what I had learned through the practice and teaching it to others could maybe help someone else who was going through a difficult time, whatever that may be.
As I continued to study and teach I met people from all over the world that was going through really challenging things. Death, disease, chronic pain, loss, stress, abuse, you name it. Life presents us with so many challenges and I think we are always trying to make sense of it and sometimes it just doesn’t make sense. But life is also incredibly beautiful and when we can learn to sit and be present with what is, no matter how difficult it may be at the time, we can move through that wave and become stronger. Everything changes that is the only guarantee.
For me, it‘s about holding space as a teacher for people to explore and understand their bodies, their minds and everything that makes up who they are. We live in such a fast-paced world that slowing down and actually looking at ourselves is almost unheard of. It can be scary. We don’t want to see what’s there. We’d rather spend an hour looking at celebrities on Instagram than figure out what’s really going on inside of us. But what greater goal can we have than to understand why we are who we are.
As a teacher, my desire is to help people uncover their greatest self. Who they are regardless of what they look like, their circumstances and any situation that they may have or currently be going through. It’s never been about the poses for me and I truly teach from the heart. My goal is to have students come to class to feel better in their bodies and leave having had an experience that is deeper than just the physical. Even if it’s just a tiny hint of that, they leave feeling better than when they arrived. The practice itself facilitates that, I’m just there to guide and support them.
I think what sets me apart from other teachers is that you’re not going to get a sweaty power flow class with 100 push-ups, but a really individualized, genuine experience that incorporates the many limbs of yoga not just the physical postures.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Special thanks to Jeanne Heileman, Ashley Rideaux and Sarah Ezrin my mentors. As well as all of my teachers that continue to inspire me. My family and friends who support and motivate me daily, and my students who show up to each class with an open heart and a willingness to learn and grow.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stephaniegrecoyoga.com
- Email: stephiegreco@gmail.com
- Instagram: stephaniegrecoyoga
Image Credit:
Jeffrey Miller Photography, Brant Williams Photography
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