Lisa Abernathy: Teacher Feature May 2010

What got you into Yoga? When? Where? Why?

I first did Yoga back in the '80s when Yoga was just Yoga. There didn't seem to be so many varieties and flavors. After a long sabbatical, and a child, I started taking classes again as a stay-at-home mom. I ended up in a Bikram studio, The Tampa Bay Yoga Center. I found a community and fell in love with the practice all over again.

When and why did you start teaching?

After about a year of steady practice, I was asked to join a training that launched there. I started teaching after the training. That was over 12 years ago.

Briefly describe your training and influential teachers.

That training fueled my thirst for more. I completed a 200-hour Integrative Yoga Therapy training at the Kripalu Institute. I taught the first non-hot Yoga class at TBYC.

And being the perpetual student, I didn't stop there. I found an Iyengar training in Asheville, which was the deepest I'd experienced yet. It was a pleasure to spend time there. And finally, I found Anusara and completed Garden of the Heart's 200-hour training in Sarasota.

I teach a blend of all that. My most influential teachers are my trainers, Iyengar, John Friend, Rodney Yee, Erich Schiffman, Sarah Powers and Tias Little. Really, I learn from anyone I take a class from.

What was your experience as owner of the Tampa Bay Yoga Center?

It was an honor to take over the studio in 2000. It was a small studio with a loving and dedicated teacher base, which made my job easy. Our studio was an extended family. I passed the studio forward to it's current owners in 2007. TBYC evolved into Yoga Village with owners Jamie Luber and Linda Wilkerson. 

Briefly describe your own practice.

I have a dedicated home practice. I go really deep into the messages and sensations of my body to learn and practice receptivity.

Describe your part in the hatha teacher training taking place at Yoga Village this fall?

We are pooling talent and resources to make this as comprehensive and professional as any in the state. It will be very interactive. As my first experience as a teacher of teachers, I anticipate learning throughout the process. I look forward to working with a dynamic group of teachers and students. Potential trainees should know that this experience will benefit you even if you do not intend to teach afterward. Yoga is a true experience of ourselves in the world and that goes with us everywhere.

Lisa teaches intermediate classes on Mondays and Wednesdays at 10AM and Tuesdays at 6PM. She teaches a basics class on Wednesdays at 5:30PM.