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Tyloria CrenshawTeacher

What year did you first start practicing yoga?
October 2010

Was there any particular reason you started practicing yoga?
I was walking every day with my best friend. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer, I lost my walking partner, and my weight and my stress level kept going up!  So I was looking for another form of exercise when I saw a story about Bikram Yoga on the today show. I looked online and saw that there was a studio in Mobile. I walked into the studio, Lucille Allen Moran was the first person I met, and the rest, as they say, is history!

Favorite posture and why?
 Standing Bow Pulling Pose because it took me two years to get into it. I started out at the back of the room on the bar because I couldn’t balance on one leg for the first six months. Then I slowly moved to the center of my mat and towel where I learned to balance but couldn’t grab my foot or my ankle. Slowly but surely I gained my balance and my coordination. One day when the instructor said “charge your body forward,” I did. Then when I realized I had done it, I fell out of of the posture! It is a real testament to patience and perseverance and working a little bit every day. Every time I get into the posture, I look at myself in the mirror and I am reminded of the beauty of yoga practice, not yoga perfect.

Why do you currently practice this yoga?
Because it has been such a gift to my mind, body, soul and spirit. No matter what has happened in my life over the years, there has been my yoga. During the first six months, I dropped 18 pounds and two dress sizes. I have gotten off medications, managed my stress and my focus is clear. I have really come into who I am as a person. I have worked hard to change my body and gained my peace, and I would not trade where I am today for anything in the world!

What do you love about teaching yoga?
My passion for this yoga led me to want to teach it. It has meant so much to me that I started to want to learn more about it. As I read and studied more on my own, I wanted to be able to share the beautiful gift with everyone I know. I never dreamed that I would be a yoga teacher, never in a million years! But the seed was planted in the back of my mind and I kept it there. The more I learned, the more it started to grow. I hope that people can see my passion, love and excitement when I teach. I hope they know some of the incredible things they are doing for themselves just by showing up on the mat! I hope they can see how honored I am to able to share this gift with them. It is really unbelievable!

Two things most people don’t know about you?
Well, I love to talk, so if I love something, there is not much that people don’t know about me. I suppose one is that I am a licensed minister. I have have been since 2000. I do preach at my church, teach Sunday school and Bible study, and I sing in the choir. Number two is that I crochet. It is a hobby I learned when I was about 7 or 8 years old. I have kept it up over the years. It is great stress reliever, and it is a good way to help with being calm and focused. I make afghans and throws for my friends and just give them away. A little bit of homemade love from me.

Yoga Training

Sterling Hot Yoga Works TT6, Summer 2017
RYT 200 Hour

Education

B.A. Communications, Spring Hill College, 1985

Hometown

Always a hard question because I am an Army Brat! I was born at Fort Bragg, NC. We moved to Mobile when I was in second grade and I started attending St. James Major.

Favorite Pose

Standing Bow

Hobbies

Reading would be number one. I am in a book club with some of the most incredible ladies you would ever want to meet! I also love theater — and of course, there is yoga; and did I mention yoga?