We were lucky to catch up with Joan Hyman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Joan with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
I grew up in a working class neighborhood right outside of West Philadelphia. Both of my parents worked full time and my brother had a chronic illness and was hospitalized a lot. This met my parents were busy and as a teenager, I learned to be very independent. Money was tight and I had to get a job after high school to help pay for my dance lessons and other things that I wanted, that my parents were not able to afford. I liked working and making my own money, it gave me a sense of independence that my free spirited nature strived for. Ever since I was fifteen years of age, I have always had a job. I started working in a flower shop, moved to bagging groceries, and even worked in a bakery, until I started teaching aerobics and fitness at a Living Well Lady in a Gym near where I lived. Once I started teaching, I knew I had found something I loved and from that very first class at age 15, I have always taught some form of movement and worked with bodies. I graduated from Temple University in Philadelphia with a Bachelors in Exercise Science and a Minor in Dance. I had always been attracted to big cities and loved the energy of New York. I began venturing up to the city to take dance classes and audition during my late teenage years. I worked hard during college to save up money, and literally the day after I graduated, I decided to move to New York City. If I hadn’t had the resilence that was taught to me during my teenage years, I would have never had the confidence to move to a big city by myself at such a young age. Years, later I found my way to Los Angeles where I’ve resided for the past twenty three years. My work ethic gave me a discipline that was needed to thrive in these big cities and it taught me not to give up.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I have been leading yoga teacher trainings since 2010 and currently run a teacher training school called The School of Yoga. We are a continuing education school for anyone looking to deepen their understanding in yoga and wellness and for yoga teachers looking to complete their 300 Hours and move towards a professional path. We partner up with yoga schools worldwide and run trainings in Los Angeles, Switzerland, India, and Austria to name a few destinations. We offer online trainigs and include a wide range of studies from learning to teach beginners, therapeutic yoga, anatomy, the subtle body, and advanced asana, to name a few of our diverse offerings. We have cultivated an international community since we began in 2020 and have almost fifty students worldwide that have graduated from this program.
Our upcoming international trainings in 2024 include:
• A 200 Hour YTT in Rajasthan, India March 9 – 24, 2024
• A 300 Hour YTT at The Center for Yoga in Los Angeles May 2024 – April 2025
• A 300 Hour YTT at So Ham in Geneva, Switzerland April 2024 – November 2024
Our 300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training’s include an international acclaimed line up of yoga teachers all who are highly skilled in their field of study.
For more infomration please check out our website: Schoolof.Yoga
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think one of the most important skill sets to develop is patience. This was something I struggled with early on in my journey. I was ambitious and wanted everything right now. Now that I look back, I know that everything is given to us at the right time and it’s all a match to our vibration. I had to do the inner work to eventually attract success. I had to learn to appreciate when things did slow down in my life as an opportunity to grow. To not be afraid of failures and when things didn’t work out, to look at them as lessons. When I slowed down, I was able to observe what I was being taught and gain insight. What am I putting out there and is it being received? If not, to look inside and shift my energy instead of pushing from an external place. I believe life is always happening for us, and when we slow down and learn the lessons, than growth and expansion can happen.
Follow your joy! I like to live life from a place that is connected to my intution and heart space. Following your heart can be scary, and I find harder as you get older, so it’s such an important reminder to not lose your joy. When we live from our hearts, we are guided towards truth and life begins to feel more animated. Learning to trust the process was deep work for me and has helped me to stay present to everything in my life. When I get caught up with work, or bummed about a situation, I try to re-direct my energy towards something that lights me up and makes me happy. I believe, when I am happy my energy is expanded and then I can attract other things that help me expand.
Authenticity has always been important to me. Being authentic means to be yourself and be real. This can be challenging because it’s apart of human experience to care about what others think of you. I found the less I cared what others thought of me and stopped comparing myself to others, the more confident I became and I gained the confidence to put myself out there. This took a lot of inner work, and I worked a lot on my self esteem by learning to take chances and not be afraid of failing and to look at failures as opportunities to grow. The more I picked myself up, the more I learned to love who I am and the more real I became, with myself and others. I think this is a big ingredient to success. To be yourself, takes courage, and in the world today, were there is so much out there, I think people appreciate someone who has the strength to be who they are and be real.
Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
My teachers have played an important part in my growth. I am very dedicated and devote myself to certain teachers for a long period of time. There are times I would outgrow a teacher and move on to another, but I would find my way back eventually which helped me mark my growth. I have always had strong mentors that walked the walk and encouraged me to do the same. I try to place myself around people that inspired me. I ask a lot of questions and seek inspiration by hearing about other’s journey and their lessons. This helps to see the bigger picture and not get so attached to my own story knowing we are all walking the same path.
Having a teacher student relationship keeps me humble. A teacher can see when a student is slipping from firm ground and having a teacher helps you connect to your own center. They remind me why I chose the path of a yoga teacher and how important it is to continue to seek inspiration and always be a student.
Contact Info:
- Website: Schoolof.yoga
- Instagram: Joanhymanschoolofyoga
- Facebook: Joan Hyman Yoga
- Youtube: Joan Hyman Yoga
Image Credits
Tina Schlmezer
