Seattle Yoga News is on a mission to find and highlight all of the hidden, and maybe not so hidden, gems in our yoga community and beyond. We want you to learn about their experiences and perspectives, but also a bit more about their personalities, so we have a few fun questions for them. This week’s spotlight is turned towards Casey Petersen.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WITH YOGA?
My freshman year of college my volleyball coach wanted me and a teammate to enroll in yoga through the university to see if it would impact our ability as athletes. The only class that fit into our schedule was “yoga for dancers”. We did it. It was weird, but enjoyable. I then found yoga at the various gyms I went to over the following 7 years until a teacher encouraged me to go to a studio.
WHAT KIND OF TRAININGS HAVE YOU PURSUED?
I have completed two 200hr training and am currently enrolled in a 300hr training with Greta Hill and Rasa yoga. I have participated in a yin training trauma informed yoga training as well
HOW HAS YOGA INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE AND WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON?
As an athlete, physical performance was always linked to a competition/game and winning/losing. Yoga gave me a chance to move my body in order to connect with my mind. I was able to see a lot of ways that I didn’t like who I was and change them…and exercise at the same time which is really important to me. I am incredibly stiff and I have some limited range of motion in a lot of places because of the way I am put together. I think that I would be in a lot more pain if I hadn’t found yoga.
WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU HAVE EVER RECEIVED?
When addressing a group, put the your back to the least entertaining thing in the room. Never leave a place without knowing you can get back in.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE THAT YOU HAVE FACED AS A YOGA TEACHER?
Self doubt
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL MOMENT YOU’VE EXPERIENCED AS A YOGA STUDENT AND A TEACHER?
As a student:
The moment where I really realized that not all poses are meant for everybody and to accept and love all the things I AM able to do and not be caught up in the rest.As a teacher:
Being able to be a part of other people’s big moments. Students sometimes give credit for what they are experiencing to the teacher and I like to remind them that they are responsible for what’s happening to them in the practice.
WHAT HELPS YOU GET BACK ON YOUR YOGA MAT WHEN YOU ARE FEELING DEMOTIVATED?
I have always tried my best to not stop taking public classes. I am lucky to say that I have only had one real big moment when I felt that way and it resulted in me taking 2 years off and hiking/living in the woods.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE YOGA RELATED BOOK?
Oh man, I am the worst with yoga books. I have started and not finished almost every single one I’ve read. Which is A LOT.
OTHER THAN PRACTICING YOGA, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME OF YOUR WELLNESS & SELF-CARE HABITS?
Being outside. I have dogs that I walk a ton. I bike commute also which is serious business in Seattle, especially going to Hauteyoga Queen Anne. I take 2-5 public classes a week and run the Howe st stairs and the track.
WHO IS THE YOGI WE SHOULD FEATURE NEXT & WHY?
Greta Hill
I believe that Greta is responsible for bringing the level of teacher and student up a notch since she returned. She infuses her classes with philosophy, mudra, mantra, and physical yoga instead of leaning on just the physical. She is humble and wonderful and I love her.
Casey Petersen’s Bio: I’ve written yoga bios for the past 12 years. My past and how yoga has come about. How I am an athlete, from Southern California, moved to Seattle instead of going to dental school. The trainings I’ve done and the people who I call my teachers. It always includes a turn, when yoga became part of who I am instead of a thing I do. And then there’s everything else that has come after that. I think that what is currently the most important thing to be reflected in my “bio” is that, more than ever, I am learning and involved in my own learning. I was a yoga student first and still am.
