Meet Kelley Curran…
A New Yogi at Tenth House
I have had the pleasure of getting to know Kelley over many months. We did that thing that nobody really does, we turned an Instagram cold call into a real friendship. Here's a little insight into the serious side of Kelley.
J: When did you start practicing yoga?
K: I started practicing when I was 19 years old in college. I found out, as many young people do, that my body could move in all kinds of ways. The challenge of it brought me into the practice, but the reason I stayed is because I felt so much better after class than when I arrived.
J: What has changed over time?
K: My practice grew beyond the physical. Mental clarity is a big thing and so is body awareness. I try to remind everyone at the beginning and end of class, not only to tune in, but to ask themselves how they’re feeling. Curiosity about our body, our emotions, and our minds keeps people coming back.
J: What keeps you teaching?
K: I want to be able to bring people into yoga who might not necessarily have thought it was for them. That could be someone who's an athlete, a person with arthritis, folks who are skeptical, someone who has flexibility issues. Yoga is not about making shapes, it's about being in touch with your body so that you can care for it well and do all the things you want to do in life.
J: How do you bring new students into the fold?
K: I try to reinforce that the experience with me might be different--this is a vinyasa style but with nuance. We go at our own pace and have freedom to adapt as needed. I give a ton of variations and that's the opportunity to make the class your own. Your practice doesn't have to look like anyone else's. If you want to lay on your belly the whole time or do one-legged chaturangas, there's room for both as we create the container together.
J: What would you say the biggest impacts of yoga are on Arthritis?
K: Having acceptance. With other physical modalities, it's easy to compare ourselves to others. Being able to accept where we are, not in defeat, but in the recognition that our practice can grow with us, allows us to feel supported in all stages of our life. Working with my own arthritis is a continuous learning process. I wouldn't be as rich of a teacher without it.
What is the edge of your own practice?
I came into covid with the old school version of vinyasa where we were doing all the hard core poses all the time--more, more, more. The deprogramming happened in the last 2 years where I came to see the beauty of doing less, spending time with the poses, and being with the practice in a really genuine way. My default was push, push, push and my edge is the opposite. It isn't jumping into handstand: it's knowing that my practice is good enough even if it doesn't look like Yoga Journal covers.