Lincoln woman finds ‘little treasures’ through teaching yoga
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
BY COLLEEN KENNEY / Lincoln Journal Star
Karuna. This Sanskrit word means “one who embodies the compassion that arises from experiencing oneness with all.” Mother Teresa was the embodiment of karuna. And karuna is what a young local woman, Lezlie Abbott, wants others to experience too.
Her studio — Karuna Yoga Studio — is in the back of a building at 2722 N. 48th St. in the Uni Place neighborhood.
“It’s a pretty nifty little hole in the wall that nobody really knows about,” Abbott said.
Up the street is the coffee house she and her husband have owned for the past 12 years, Mo Java Café & Roasting Co.
Abbott is 33. Most of her students are over 40. Her oldest is in her 70s. Age is irrelevant, she says. It’s all about what you have to offer in life.
Abbott also teaches private classes and corporate yoga classes.
Her goal is to help people find balance in their lives and realize they have the power inside them to be healthy and happy and radiate that happiness to others.
“If you’re practicing true yoga, you’re practicing all aspects of yoga — the eight limbs of yoga. You’re practicing the mental aspects by keeping your mind healthy and by keeping your emotions and relations happy and your heart happy. You’re letting go of anxieties. It means working on every aspect of your life, not just the physical.”
So once you’re able to control your mind, she said, and you’re able to get completely quiet, then you can control what you think. You can banish thoughts such as “I’m fat” or “I’m worthless.”
Many people think yoga is a religion, she said. But it’s not. It’s a tool for incorporating people’s spiritual beliefs and can help strengthen those beliefs.
The best part of her job, she says, is hearing the positive changes in her students’ lives.
“It’s the little tiny treasures. One student has gained a half inch in her height. And with other people — suddenly their knee pain is not there anymore or they can stand on one foot and get their socks on again.
“Those little tiny treasures, I take them home with me.”
Abbott was self-taught. She read yoga books and went to yoga classes. In 1997, she got in a serious car accident and broke her tailbone. She was in a lot of pain and wasn’t able to do yoga for a year. A friend told her she should get back into yoga and even teach it. She studied up on it and taught a Saturday morning class at a gym.
“What I found was, as I continued to practice yoga, my body started finally healing. All these nagging pains that wouldn’t go away, like my shoulder issues, slowly went away.”
She started down the path of Iyengar yoga, which is a more rigid, structured type of yoga. Recently, she completed a monthlong course in Mexico on Integral yoga, which is a softer way of doing yoga that she’s found to be even more beneficial.
It’s very soft and flowing and introspective, she said. It’s easier than Iyengar and anyone can do it.
“After 11 years of practicing yoga and nine years of teaching it, my body has responded in a way it never has before. I’m more flexible. I’ve lost the weight and I’ve become more balanced and more peaceful.”
The key to gaining benefits from yoga, she said, is to do it for a long time. And to do it frequently.
Her new program, Relax and Renew, is a half-hour class for businesses. She goes into businesses over the noon hour or breaks and teaches workers how relax their minds.
“The idea is that if you can relax at some point in the day, you’ll end up being a better worker and more productive and more balanced.”
And maybe experience karuna.
Reach Colleen Kenney at 473-2655 or ckenney@journalstar.com.
Quips
Pet peeve: People giving up too soon in areas that have a lot of meaning in their lives. Surrendering is different. Surrendering is a good thing. But giving up is not.
My friends think I’m: Funny.
Best childhood memory: When my dad would go out of town for work, it was sad without him around so my mom would make special dinners for us. She’d have an hors d’oeuvres game night. She’d make lots of little hors d’oeuvres and we’d sit on the living room floor and … we’d play Sorry and Scrabble. And she’d buy Martinelli’s sparking apple juice and we’d drink it out of champagne glasses.
Food I could eat every day for the rest of my life and not get sick of is: Indian food. Especially the little crispy lentil wafers called papadam. They’re like Indian potato chips.
Best part of my job is: Listening to the little things that happen to my students, hearing their positive changes.
If I could have a super-human power, it would be: To fly. I would definitely love to be able to fly.
Post Your Comment
Standards and RulesYour posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.