Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:12] Speaker B: Hi, welcome to Deep in your yoga practice. I'm Lauren Leduc, owner and founder of True Love Yoga in Kansas City, Missouri. And today you will deepen your yoga practice by learning a little bit more about crow pose via one of our amazing teachers here at True Love Yoga, Maggie Coomer. So Maggie is a teacher here at True Love Yoga and also our community and facilities manager. She's been practicing yoga since she was 13 years old with her dad, which I'm sure she'll talk a little bit about today. And she's a graduate from our 200 hour program as well, and she's really cool and I'm really excited for you to get to get to know her a little bit better today. So welcome, Maggie, to the podcast.
[00:00:51] Speaker A: Thanks. Happy to be here.
[00:00:52] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm so happy you're here. I'll start off with same question I ask everybody. How did you fall in love with yoga?
[00:00:58] Speaker A: Well, it's took a long time and it, I've been working on falling in love with yoga for over 20 years. And yeah, it really started when my dad brought home a Rodney Yee Yoga for Athletes DVD when I was 13 and a turquoise blue yoga mat. I will never forget it. And yeah. And just was like, hey, I think this is a really good thing for our bodies and we should try this. And you know, as that DVD title suggests, it was really geared towards, you know, as a supplement to your athletic activities. And that's really how I viewed it at first, as a very physical activity. But as the years have gone on and I've learned more, I can say that it is really a true love of mine and a big part of my life. So it's just been a slow and steady adoption of a yoga lifestyle and going through teacher training and just a culmination of all those experiences has kind of brought me where I am today. And yeah, I wouldn't, wouldn't be who I am without yoga.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: Yeah. Maggie, I don't think I remember this. I know you're a rock climber now and obviously a yogi. What sports did you do growing up?
[00:01:59] Speaker A: I was a soccer player. I was a competitive soccer player. I played club and rec and then, you know, went into high school and I went to Shawnee Mission east on the Johnson county side and there were a lot of, of girls going out for soccer at that point. And I ended up making junior varsity my freshman year, which was a big deal. It was like one of six freshmen who made junior varsity. It was very, very exciting and I thought I was Going to play in college, it was like my life. It was my social network. It was everything. It's just what I did as I played soccer and. Yeah, so soccer. Until I broke my ankle in high school. It's my senior year, and that kind of changed everything.
[00:02:38] Speaker B: Yeah. So you've been practicing yoga a long time. 20 years, and obviously probably do it for a variety of reasons, and that's evolved and change over the years. How has your practice changed, you know, from Maggie 20 years ago to Maggie now?
[00:02:54] Speaker A: It's. It doesn't look anything like it has at any point in my life. And I think that's just. That's just the nature of. Of, you know, getting older and having different needs and. But, you know, yeah, at first it was. It was just I want to stretch and prevent injury and connect with my dad, who travels a lot, and this is something that he did. So, yeah, I. At first it was just about that. And it wasn't. It wasn't something I was doing like a regular. Like, every day I'm practicing. It was like a couple times a month to supplement with friends or if, like our coaches or whatever had us doing something yogic, like maybe just stretching, I don't know. But when I broke my ankle in my. I think it was my junior year, it was the end of my junior year. And that just kind of like threw everything into a tailspin because, like, it was like the anchor of my life. And. And then I went to college and, you know, like, you just. You turn into. You go from a kid to. To an adult in the matter of a summer. And then I just kind of. I kind of went. I was in, like, a movement purgatory. Like, I gained a bunch of weight in college, and I just didn't really have, like, a lot of healthy. Healthy practices, movement or otherwise. And then things kind of changed. About 2017, I was living in Knoxville, Tennessee, and I actually. I got back into a studio, and it was a hot yoga studio. There wasn't much spirituality associated with it at all. It was very much. I feel like it's. It was par for the course for that area. Um, you know, it's a very, like, Bible belt area. And so, like, when you talk about spirituality or the eight limbs of yoga, like, people clam up and I don't want any ohms with my yoga, you know, and so I. I developed a daily practice in a hot yoga setting. There was a lot of, like, beak room yoga, which we could have a whole conversation about that, but that's where I really Started to develop a daily movement practice, which changed my. Did change a lot about my life. And then we moved and I got pregnant. We had, you know, Covid hit. I was pregnant during COVID and I did prenatal yoga pretty regularly throughout my whole pregnancy.
And then after, I was trying to maintain any type of movement practice that you can in those, like, early 8 months, 9 months, 10 months old baby. Like, you're just trying to, like, do anything you can to forge a new relationship with this new body. It feels like a new body. At least for me it did. And so I was doing, like, online practices with, like, yoga with Adriene, Move with Nicole, and, yeah, just leaning into, like, the YouTube yoga space. And then we moved back to Kansas City. And that was in September of 2022. Yeah, right before 2023, right before teacher training. And I was just. I. I had been gone for more than a decade. I came back new baby, you know, a new partner, and just, like, hadn't maintained any relationships in the area. And I was just, like, really desperate for community.
I ended up contracting the flu in, like, late December, early January of that year. And I managed to, like, get my parents to watch Finn so I could just, like, slowly die on the couch for a few hours. And I just, like, I had the thought. I was like, you know what I need? I need something. Like, I thought about a yoga teacher training back in the 2017, 2018 days. I ended up not taking the plunge because I was like, it's too expensive. Like, I don't want to invest in myself like that. And so I had the thought again when I was, like, lying on the couch sick with the flu, and I was like, no, I didn't. I'm not asking for permission. This is it. Like, I just. It was just like, one of those moments of, like, I know this is what I need to do.
[00:06:27] Speaker B: It's.
[00:06:27] Speaker A: It's kind of hard to explain, but, like, that's exactly what happened. And so I just, like, popped over my laptop and I started researching the studios in the area. And, you know, you can't. You, you, you, you, you. There's an abundance of studios of programs and all that. But, like, once I found True Love Yoga's website and I saw the. The pay what you can mentality, the. It just. It just hit. It clicked. I had inquired about a work trade at that former studio was talking about, and they balked at the idea of a work trade, of me giving my time and effort in exchange for being able to practice in the space. And, like, that's very much at the core of true love Yoga, like you very much honor people's devotion to the space, to the practice and to each other. It's a community driven space and I knew that right away. And so I applied, got accepted and yeah, it's like nothing has been the same ever since.
[00:07:18] Speaker B: There's definitely this through line of your story, obviously of yoga being with you for a long time, but of shifting identity and how you're coping with that in different ways and then finding clarity in moments that feel really low as well. Because sometimes identity just gets strips stripped of us entirely when we're really sick or we break an ankle or we just don't feel like ourselves. But in a way, like that's what yoga is getting to the heart to anyway or to the heart of, is who we are without all of that.
[00:07:52] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:07:53] Speaker B: Right. So it's interesting how it is sprung up during these moments in your life that maybe feel dark, but it's like this little light point. Not to digress too much from your, from what we're getting here to talk about here in a little bit. But thank you for sharing that. I think it's really beautiful and I hope it provides hope to anybody who is practicing amidst a dark period, essentially.
I'm so happy you did our 200 hour training and that it became accessible to you. I'd love to know like if you have any big takeaways from it or transformative moments that you've had.
[00:08:31] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, there's too many to count. I mean, first of all, the, the relationships that I built, like these, the friendships that I've built, I mean the people that I are, I'm closest to. These really important relationships that I have in my life now all kind of stem from this community and many from the True Love Yoga, you know, yoga teacher training program specifically. I'd say the biggest takeaway for me is this is when I went into the philosophy side. So it was very physical for a long time. Stretching, injury prevention, a supplement to whatever else I was doing. But when I started the teacher training program, I felt spiritually devoid. I'm disconnected from this, from the world, from everything. I'm. I feel like a stranger in this body. I feel I'm not strong, I'm not this, I'm not lots of knots, lots of preconceived notions. And this will actually really be a nice segue into talking about crow and why I love crow pose and why it's so important to me. But yeah, it's this, it's the, the philosophy, the introduction to the eight limbs of yoga, the yamas, the niyamas. These are the two biggest pieces of spirituality that are playing out in my life right now. And, like, what I'm most interested in, deep diving at this very moment. The thing I love about yoga is that you can never get bored. Like, there's just thousands of years of things to draw on, and it's basically like you cracked open an egg and then all of a sudden I see like, this amazing, complex thing that I had no idea. I had no idea that this is what was behind the stretching that I was doing, you know? And so, yeah, I would say for anyone who's, like, curious about it, I don't think there's a downside. Like, I think that you're going to learn a lot. You're going to make some really amazing connections if you're open to that. And there's just so much to be gained and there's so much worth stripping away, which is what you're talking about, which, what you were mentioning before, having that identity kind of stripped away. You know, we're just a culmination of all, everything that we've been told, taught, seen, thought, everything, all of this. We are a culmination of that and that. And we've, we've developed a lot of expectations and notions about ourselves based on those experiences. And so when you step into a program, like a yoga teacher training, where it's like, let's get back in contact with our most basic self, our truest form, that's really powerful. And I, I'm actually thinking of a quote I saw on meditation the other day. And I'm, I'm blanking on who, who it was attributed to, but it was like, it was like, meditation helps you pause the story in your mind long enough that you're always telling yourself a story. And that is exactly what I discovered when I started digging deep. And yeah, I mean, it feels corny to be like, it's life changing, but it is, because it just is, you know? Yeah, dude, I would, I would love to relive it again. Like. Like it's the first time to go in and, you know, because it was really scary. And I remember, like, after each, like, Sunday session that we would do, I'd have like, this intense feeling of vulnerability and anxiety and I'm like, oh, my God, what if everyone hated what I said? And like, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then the next day I'd have to be like, hold on, check that. Right, right there. That's the whole point of what we're doing. It's not about other people's experiences. We're coming together in community to experience what's happening here in ourselves. And that was a lesson that I had to learn every single. After every single Sunday session, you know. But, yeah, it's intense and amazing and so worth it, even if you never teach. It's just a beautiful thing. Even though I have. I taught. I did. I've, like.
That's like, the only thing I don't get bored with is. Is teaching yoga.
[00:12:16] Speaker B: So, yeah, I feel you. Well, thank you for sharing that experience. It's really beautiful to hear it from your point of view, and it's very cool that you do get to experience it again this year, but as an assistant in the training, which is a lot less pressure than being a student in the training, I think. And it's funny you say there's no downsides, but I wonder sometimes if it feels like it in the process, because once you crack the egg open, there's no putting it back together, because we are building a foundation not only to teach from, but really for life. And like you said, interacting with the yamas and yamas, or the first two limbs of yoga are something you're really into and interested in right now, and that never ends. That is. Is an ongoing process through, like, every moment and interaction in our life. So it really does help us see things a lot differently and expand what it means to practice yoga. It's not just handstands and downward dogs and crow poses, although crow is mighty fun. So I know for me, it was the first arm balance that I learned. It was. I have a whole, like, chapter in my book Embody youy Inner Goddess that talks about learning crow pose in a chapter about strength. Because learning that pose was one of the first times I truly felt strong in my life, and it was very empowering for me. And I don't think Lauren, at age like 27 or 28, when I learned that pose, would have any idea the things I'm capable Now in my 40s, which is really cool. So I shared a little bit about why I love crow. But for you, why crow pose? What draws you to it?
[00:13:55] Speaker A: So generally, I love crow pose because it's a foundational arm balance. And when I'm looking at it from a teacher perspective, I love it because it's a gateway. It just takes you to. Once you figure out how to do crow pose in your body, it unlocks things. It just unlocks a lot of different Arm balances and teachers cue it a lot in public classes. So, like, once you figure out how to make the shape for you, you can practice it all over the place because it is so foundational and people love to teach it.
Yeah. What I love about it, again, a similar situation. I had told myself a lot of stories about what I was capable of. I have no upper body strength, I have no core strength, I can't do this, I can't balance, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so I had to, I had to unlearn a lot of stuff. Yeah. Once I understood that it's not necessarily about strength, though there's a strength component. Once I understand, understood the weight distribution aspect, once I understood how to engage certain muscles through my back, through my shoulders, through my core. Once I understood that I can't look at my toes to see if they're coming off the ground, I'm going to hit the ground, you know. Once I understood all these things and I practiced and I practiced and I practiced, then all of a sudden I was able to make this beautiful shape. And it was the feeling of elation and the feeling of elation and joy that I see on students faces when their toes come off the ground for a breath, maybe two breaths, three breaths, is like, oh my God, I was wrong about everything. You know, like, you can just see that moment of like, I was wrong about what my body can do.
[00:15:29] Speaker B: I did that.
[00:15:30] Speaker A: And that's just. I feel like that's just dipping your toe in that beautiful thing about yoga when the next pose, that challenging pose that you're working on and you work on it for so long and you, you get a breath and you're like in that pose and you're like, oh my God, like everything has changed. So, yeah, a similar thing. It's the first time I really accepted that I had told myself stories that weren't true about my physical shape, about what I was able to do. So, yeah, that's. I've touched on a little bit a lot there. But yeah, there's like, what's not to love about it, to be honest?
[00:16:01] Speaker B: Before we get more into it, I realize we should probably describe what it is for anyone who has not seen or practiced crow pose before or even what arm balances are.
[00:16:13] Speaker A: Yeah. Oh, CRO. Crow pose or bakasana is we'll call a foundational arm balance. Is an arm balance. Both hands come down to the ground, fingers spread wide, creating your hasta banda, your hand lock. Then you try to shift forward ever so slightly as you try to Move your knees toward the upper edge or upper arm, your tricep as close to your armpit as you can get them. And then as you shift forward, you lift your gaze toward the top of your mat. Maybe you lift a toe off the ground, maybe you lift two, maybe you fly, or maybe you just protract your shoulder blades and press the ground away from you and make the shape. But ultimately, you might be able to lift the legs up off the ground, the feet up off the ground, heels come towards your seat, and you're flying. And it's just a really amazing feeling.
[00:16:57] Speaker B: Yeah, it's amazing because you're not doing it, and then suddenly you are. It does. Does feel very interesting and cool and. Yeah, basically an arm balance. Anytime the hands are on the mat and the feet aren't, it's. You're making some sort of shape with the body that looks impossible and interesting. That's typically an arm balance. And a lot of students want to learn these types of postures because they're challenging and because there is this sense of fun and play. But I think they can also be really intimidating for students. Would you like to maybe expand on why people might feel intimidated by them and how they can alleviate that?
[00:17:34] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. So I think people, most people think arm balances are all about strength. And yes, there's a strength component to it, but it's just one component. And I don't even think it's necessarily the most important component, because the truth is that the stability in that pose comes from a variety of things that I touched on. Engaging the right muscles in the shoulders, back, and core, proper weight distribution, I. E. Shifting forward on the hands, the gaze where you're looking. And this is a big one. And I think this is the biggest thing that people find that creates the fear. And it's the trust and. Or confidence that you know where your body is in space. It's the proprioception piece. So if you ever see a yogi who looks like they're flying and. Or they're just moving with this incredible grace or whatever, that's like that development of proprioception over time. And so, you know, when you're looking back to see if your toes are coming off the ground, that's. There's a lack of trust in where your body is in space. Right. And that's just a natural thing. Everybody does it. It's not a big deal. But most of the time, what I hear in class is I'll hear a squeak of fear as people are starting to move forward. You know, and it's that fear that you have to almost make friends with.
Because that fear of falling on the face, I mean, yes, like, that's a, that's a fear. That's a legitimate fear. But that, that fear, it used to scare the hell out of me. I. I had to learn that I wasn't going to break if I fell. And that's a powerful lesson that applies to broader life. But being able to practice on the mat so that you can be more courageous in life is a. Is a big deal. But yeah, I think it's learning to sit with that feeling of trying to shift forward, trying to lift a toe off the ground, letting that pit of the stomach, fear, oh my gosh, can I do this? Am I gonna fall? Being able to sit there with that for a moment and then go, I can trust my body and space. And that's a process. But I think that's the biggest part that I see people struggle with. I'll just like what I said before where I'm like telling myself stories about how strong I am. I hear people talking to me about this workshop specifically. I don't know if I could do that. Like, I don't know if I'm strong enough. I don't know if I have the core strength for that. Like, it's the same conversation. We're all having the same conversation with ourselves. And that is when you learn that it does connect you to your fellow practitioners. Because you're like, I feel you. I understand. And I can feel your mindset in this moment right now, before you've achieved this thing or before you've felt comfortable in your body in this, in this shape. But yeah, it's making, making friends with the fear. I think that's, that's the bottom line, making friends with the fear. Because eventually that fear will turn into elation. That fear will turn into exhilaration, I think is the best way I can say it. All right.
[00:20:09] Speaker B: You know, we're both moms of littles. You have a three year old and I have a four year old. And we get to watch them play because they don't really know how to do a lot of things just yet. They. You're not, you're not bored knowing how to stand or walk or balance on your hands or anything like that. It requires a. Fires an intense amount of play for them truly to learn anything new. And that's something that we forget as an as adults. So we're lucky we get to see them going through that process as kids. And it reminds Us when it comes to things like arm balances or anything challenging in yoga, really, that it doesn't have to be that serious. And it requires typically for us to look really silly. And it can be really scary to look silly in front of other people. But that is just part of learning these more complex postures. Something I tell some of my students when I'm teaching poses like crow or more advanced arm balances is that, yes, I've learned a lot of these things in the classroom, but I've also learned them by flopping around my carpet at home and letting my cats just walk watch me fall all over the place, because that's been a requirement to learn these things. So what I like is Maggie has an upcoming workshop for crow, which we'll talk about soon. But it provides this container for people to play and explore in a really safe and fun and no pressure way in order to master this skill. That is, yes, somewhat difficult because there are a lot of components that need to be put together for it to work correctly physically. So I would love, before we get into the meat of the workshop, just what your mindset of play is for teaching and how you incorporate that into your approach.
[00:22:00] Speaker A: I say this in class all the time, but I'm like, it's literally just practice. Like, you're not. There's no award for this. It's, it's. The prize to be won is inside of you and you can only realize that prize after consistent and sustained practice. And so we might as well have fun while we're doing it. And you're right, like, we make some really silly looking shapes and we laugh. And I love it when people just like will laugh and giggle and because it can get so serious, it's like, I've got to nail this. And it's like, why, you know, it's okay, because the path to nailing that is looking ridiculous. It is, it's just that. And it's, you know, I think I try to. When I notice that everybody gets really serious in class and usually it's happening in a balance of some sort, standing, arm, whatever. People are focused, you know, and that focus is beautiful and necessary. But it's also when people get too attached to the focus, then they start telling themselves stories in that, in that moment, like, stop falling, don't fall, don't fall. You know, instead of being like, all right, press the ground away, take a breath. You know, it's like when we, when we cling too hard to it, it's that it's a whole non attachment Thing you know, we practicing non attachment being okay with being in the journey in this moment that requires a little bit of relaxation, that requires play, that requires us to just let it go. It doesn't matter what's happening at the end of this road. What matters and the only thing that matters is this present moment here. We might as well enjoy it. So that's what I try to bring to every class. Because what, what's the point otherwise? Like I don't. Yeah, I've been serious and hard on myself for a very long time and it's just you don't win that way. Like there is no winning with that. There's just disappointment from expectation. So letting go of that and being free, that is very freeing in and of itself. Does that, does that answer the question?
[00:23:47] Speaker B: You think? Oh for sure.
[00:23:48] Speaker A: Okay, cool.
[00:23:49] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a practice. There's no recital at the end. We're not holding a competition. And if we were, it would only be for fun. Like it's, it's just fun and it helps us do life better. Yep, that's agreed.
[00:24:04] Speaker A: Really?
[00:24:04] Speaker B: What yoga's for.
[00:24:06] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:24:06] Speaker B: So let's get into your upcoming workshop a bit. So you have let's Fly Bakasana workshop on May 17 at True Love Yoga from 2 to 3.30pm what can students expect from this workshop?
[00:24:20] Speaker A: So we're gonna have a lovely invigorating Vinyasa style practice. But I will be building in time for warm up drills, strength building exercises and just drills that you can take home. So if you're starting from scratch with the pose and you've never experienced the pose, I'm going to give you the foundation to be able to build and practice practice over time. If you have been working on the pose for a long time and you've got a pretty decent foundation, there's going to be time to practice to, to work on that. With my instruction helping you fine tune alignment, fine tune what you're engaging, where the gaze is, all of that. The things that it would be really nice to have at home when you're practicing someone just to have a second pair of eyes and be like hey, I noticed this. Try this. If you are already flying and you're a studied practitioner of crow and it feels really comfortable for you, then you can just come and experience a really nice 90 minute practice in community with others where you get to practice the pose a bunch of different ways. We'll be taking it on the back. I'll offer options for baby crow if you have wrist issues or side crow if you're feeling more like you want to twist a little bit, it's going to be a lovely 90 minute practice that encompasses the major elements of creating the shape with your body and you're going to find the right way to express that shape with your body. So it's not going to doesn't need to look like anybody else's. You can find your own shape.
[00:25:44] Speaker B: I love that. That sounds like so much fun. For anyone in Kansas City, this is an in person workshop May 17th. It's $25 and for our members it's $5 off. If you're not in Kansas City, you can catch Maggie on our on demand service. Actually she has several classes on there and right now a lot of receptors restorative classes which is a whole different side of yoga than this. But you can practice with Maggie from anywhere. You also have tons of your morning classes on there as well. So lots of, lots of opportunities to practice with Maggie near and far. Maggie, thanks so much for sharing all of that. I'd love maybe your thoughts on how our listeners could deepen their yoga practice.
[00:26:26] Speaker A: For me it's about time spent. So devoting time to your practice, if that, it looks like a pretty physical practice right now. Devote time on the mat. If that looks like I'm reading about the Yamas and the yamas or the a limbed path and I'm studying, devote time to that. If it's learning meditation or breath work, devote time to that. You devote time and effort and you will naturally deepen your skill, your practice, your connection with yourself. It's time spent and like full stop for me.
[00:26:55] Speaker B: Yeah, that's absolutely true. It's not going to happen by osmosis because we wish it happens. It's because we are investing time, time which is our most precious commodity into our practice. I love that, Maggie. Where can people follow?
[00:27:09] Speaker A: So I'm pretty Instagram heavy so you can find me at Poetic Poses at Instagram.
[00:27:14] Speaker B: All right. And before we close today, is there anything else that you'd like to share with our listeners and students?
[00:27:21] Speaker A: Come take class at True Love Yoga because like you're sleeping on one of the best places in the city.
[00:27:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I'm biased, but I agree. All right, Maggie, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom and for letting us get to know you a little bit better today. Again, Maggie's Crow Workshop is coming up May 17, 2025 and you can sign up at True Love Yoga kc.com and you check out all the other really awesome workshops and events we have going on this summer. Maggie, thank you so much for your time. And thank you, everyone, for listening. Om Shanti Om. Peace. Until next time.
