Lumi Love Launches with Natalie Smikle

Good morning yogis! And welcome to the Lumi Power Yoga blog!

We have plenty of ideas and treats in store for you, so we do hope you will check in from time to time and see what we’re up to. But to kick off, we thought we’d celebrate the blog launch with a little Lumi Love on this beautifully sunny, Sunday morning.

As you may or may not be aware, due to popular demand our recent teacher training graduates are being let loose on the class schedule with some low cost yoga bliss! And the time is now – Lumi Love is here! For just £5, get on down to the studio at 2:30pm today and get loved up with Lumi! First cap off the ranks is Natalie Smikle who will burst into the studio with her big, beautiful heart. So we sat her down beforehand for a little chat about life and about yoga and discovered a few things that this little yogi just cannot live without…

What first brought you to the mat?
I first came to yoga for the physical benefits it offered but then I kept returning to the mat because of the mental challenge, clarity and self-awareness it offered. I believed that if I could survive the heat and humidity of a 90 minute Bikram class then I could survive most things. After 5 years of regular Bikram practice I discovered Lumi and Power Yoga. I signed up on the opening weekend and have not looked back since.

Best and worst teaching moment to date?
My worst moment also led to my best moment. I was one of 7 teacher trainees and after only 9 days of training we had to lead our first public class. We were called upon one by one to teach a section of the sequence and my name was called first. I opened the class but, by the time I got to the Sun Salutation A part of the sequence, my nerves got the better of me and I went too fast. I really felt I’d let myself down.

My best moment was everything else about that class: the energy in the room, the connections and friendships I made with my 6 fellow trainees and the fact that both my mum and my sister were there to support me. During Savasana, Ari tapped me on the shoulder and asked me to close the sequence. As I walked to the front of the room and sat down, I looked over at my classmates who were all lying there and holding hands. It was such a beautiful and powerful image because it was a culmination of all we’d been through, experienced and shared. Between seeing that image and hearing Jason Mraz’s song Life is Wonderful playing on the stereo I just burst into tears. That class will always be a teaching highlight for me.

Crow Pose or Revolving Triangle?
Crow Pose. Don’t get me wrong both poses are still works in progress for me, but I struggle more with Revolving Triangle.

Who has been your greatest influence and why?
Susan Jeffers via her book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. I’d never have done the teacher training and become a teacher without having read that book. It’s my bible and has helped me face a number of fears.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Both. I wake up far too early and go to bed far too late.

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 5 things would you want with you?
1. My cat. I’ve no doubt she’d abandon me the first opportunity she got but no one else would have her. She’s a feisty one.
2. My yoga mat and towel, obviously.
3. Tissues. I’m quite emotional and if stranded I guess I’d have plenty to cry about.
4. A good coat. I hate being cold and it doesn’t say that the island is tropical.
5. A high-sensitivity GPS receiver. If it’s good enough for Ray Mears…

What would your epitaph say?
At least she tried.

You can also catch Natalie’s regular classes at Lumi every Friday 12:30 – 1:30pm.

See you on the mat!