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 Tracy Hodgeman.
HOW DID YOU GET STARTED WITH YOGA?
I first experienced yoga through osmosis. My mother is an alternatively minded and adventurous soul, and I was exposed to a dizzying array of body/mind and spirit altering/enhancing endeavors from a very early age, including yoga. I didn’t really take a serious interest in yogasana until I had unrelenting physical pain because of injury, and people kept saying “Try yoga!” Up to that point I thought yoga was a boring thing that boring adults did, so I was reluctant to go back to it, to say the least. Finally I was required to do yoga as part of my massage training, and lo and behold, it helped to resolve my chronic pain (among other things)!!! They were right. The hippies were right…
So I started practicing Iyengar yoga in the early 90s, with Gayna Uransky. She was probably as old then as I am now, and I was so impressed with her physical strength and mental acuity, even at such an advanced age!!! She was over 50!!!! I wanted to be like her. Later I saw some folks doing Ashtanga vinyasa yoga in the corner of the room where Gayna was teaching. They were gracefully moving through this powerful flowing memorized sequence together, and all you could hear was their ujjayi breath. It was so beautiful to watch!!! Secretly (actually not so secretly) I’ve always wanted to be a Solid Gold Dancer, and Ashtanga vinyasa really appealed to me aesthetically. I started to take led classes, and it almost killed me at first. It was so freaking challenging!!!
I was hooked. I stuck with Ashtanga for another 13 years. I even went to India to study with the master, Sri K Pattabhi Jois, for 3 months, at the insistence of my teachers at the Ashtanga Yoga School in Seattle. Then in 2007 I ripped my supraspinatus right off my humerus doing the third series, which has this punishing sequence of difficult arm balances one after another with headstand to chatturanga as part of the repeating vinyasa (transition) in between the poses. I had to get surgery. I suddenly got supremely interested in anatomy, physiology, philosophy, pranayama, meditation, and any sustainable movement modalities that I could find that helped me to heal. At the same time I mostly lost interest in pursuing (and teaching) challenging asanas that seemed to me now to be more dangerous and less therapeutic for my body and my mind over the long haul. I also picked up a personal Yoga Nidra habit, and I love to lead others in the practice regularly.
WHAT KIND OF TRAININGS HAVE YOU PURSUED?
I completed a BA from the University of Arizona in 1990. I got certified in massage, breathwork and hypnotherapy in 1995. My first official 200 hour yoga teacher training was through the now defunct Ashtanga Yoga School of Seattle in 2003 (although I had been teaching yoga for quite a few years already at that point). I also completed the 8 Limbs 200 hour teacher training in 2011, a Yoga Tune Up® teacher training in 2012, and then a Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Ball Practitioner Training in 2013. I recently completed the 8 Limbs 500 Hour teacher training in February 2020, which included a 7 day Yoga Nidra training with Rod Stryker. I have also been training teachers in the 8 Limbs 200 Hour Summer Teacher Training Intensive since 2013.
HOW HAS YOGA INFLUENCED YOUR LIFE AND WHO YOU ARE AS A PERSON?
Yoga has simplified my life a lot. I prefer to eat simple foods, I like to go to bed early. I like to get up early. I like to follow certain simple healthy routines. I am less drawn to excess and unhealthy activities simply because I like to feel good! Some people might even say yoga has made me a more boring person. : ) The payback is that I feel (currently) pretty steady, I enjoy overall excellent health, I do not have a lot of drama in my life.
I am content, for the most part, and grateful for my good fortune. Lately I have been working with self compassion as a practice, and it has greatly transformed my experience of being alive in this human body. Ahimsa (non-harming in word thought or deed) really only works when you start with yourself, and what better place to start?
WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU ALWAYS GIVE YOUR STUDENTS?
Relax your forehead. Slow down your breath. Drink water. (Wait, that’s 3).
WHAT IS YOUR MISSION AS A YOGA INSTRUCTOR?
To help people see how beautiful and capable and lucky they are before it’s too late.
WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO REACH AND WHY?
I am trying to reach people who are stressed out. People who are stuck indoors all day, working at desks, people who have sore necks and backs. People who are living in bodies that are changing due to age, injury, pregnancy, life… I am here to help anyone who wants to learn how to pause from all their habitual rushing and doing, to set down their burdens for a while, let go of their jobs and responsibilities for an hour or so and create more space in their minds and bodies so they can rest and recharge.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST INSPIRATIONAL MOMENT YOU’VE EXPERIENCED AS A YOGA STUDENT? AND HOW ABOUT AS A TEACHER?
As a student:
That time during my morning yoga practice long ago when I heard a voice inside me say “I don’t care what anybody else thinks!!!” Unfortunately it’s taken me years to unpack what that really means for me.
As a teacher:
Anytime I hear that someone is using something they learned in class to take care of themselves or a loved one on their own it makes me so happy. I am also inspired to see, first hand, the way yoga helps people to feel better.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST DEFINING ISSUE FACING THE GLOBAL YOGA COMMUNITY TODAY AND WHAT SHOULD BE DONE ABOUT IT?
Well a few things come to mind, one is sexual abuse (and with it, the abuse of power of yoga teachers in general), which keeps rearing its ugly head in so many of our yoga lineages and communities… another issue is the overwhelming lack of diversity in our current western yoga scene and also the cultural appropriation of yoga by the west. For all of these, I think education is foremost of importance. First we need to know about what is happening, and then we need to speak about it, and then find ways to correct our forward trajectory. For the abuse in our communities, we need more awareness around the misuse of power.
We need more empowerment of students and less objectification/deification of teachers. We need to put clear boundaries in place (for ourselves and in our yoga spaces) and hold them strong and hold people accountable when they abuse others. For diversity we have to get more people of color into our training, people of all body sizes, ages, and abilities, all expressions of gender and sexual orientation, and bring these people into leadership positions so that everyone sees themselves represented and welcome.
For cultural appropriation we need to be so careful about how we use the teachings of yoga and to be sure we thoroughly understand what we are presenting and give credit to the sources of our teachings (while still being transparent about abuse, even and especially when it appears in our own lineages). Oh it’s complicated, but I am encouraged by the growth I’m seeing in these areas
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE YOGA RELATED BOOK?
I find myself going back to “The Heart of Yoga” by Desikachar again and again because of the accessibility of the writing and the way so much good stuff is squished into such a small book without feeling overwhelming or indigestible or crowded. It has sequencing, pranayama, the Yoga Sutras (with commentary and Devanagari, and a pronunciation guide). It even has pictures! I’m also really enjoying Melina Meza’s brilliant and beautiful new book called “Seasonal Health and Wellness.” It combines Ayurvedic wisdom with asana sequences and other approachable and affordable self care practices that Melina has organized around the seasons of the year so you can do it right along with her, and it’s packed full of her sumptuous photos! It’s a real treasure that I highly recommend.
OTHER THAN PRACTICING YOGA, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT SOME OF YOUR WELLNESS AND SELF-CARE HABITS?
Oh I love taking baths. I love nature: plants, animals, water, rocks, and I benefit greatly from being outside, even if it’s only in my backyard. I also enjoy playing music and singing. I can be found singing and dancing often, especially in my car… it helps me to move the stagnant gunk that piles up from stress and grief and stuff I empathically absorb from my environment. Gratitude is a powerful medicine for me, remembering to cherish all the good things helps me to keep my perspective. I spent 10 years volunteering in hospice and it really woke me up to my privilege, and reminded me that ALL THIS is temporary, so enjoy it while you can!!! Lastly, I have been lucky enough to be able to travel regularly. I try to take a trip every year with my husband, often to someplace neither of us have ever been. Traveling helps me to rejuvenate. It’s so clarifying to step outside of my culture, my routine (even though I love it) and to try new things, go to new places, interact with the unknown and remember who I am outside of my usual roles in the world.
WHO IS THE YOGI WE SHOULD FEATURE NEXT AND WHY?
Terilyn Wyre, because she embodies yoga in its most potent and liberating essence. She inspires so many people to open their minds and hearts to a more just and inclusive world where Every Body Matters.
Tracy’s Bio: Yoga formally stole Tracy’s heart during a massage residency program at the Heartwood Institute in NorCal from 1993-1995 with Gayna Uranski, although she has practiced on and off with her mother since she was a little girl. She began teaching in 1995. Her earliest influences are Iyengar and Ashtanga yoga, and as more time passes she notices she’s releasing her hold on the linear, masculine and often rather rigid styles of asana (or they releasing their hold on her?), and is leaning into more gentle and subtle modalities of breath and movement that help to increase general positive body awareness, deep core stability and vibrant well being. She holds teaching certificates from The Ashtanga Yoga School, 8 Limbs Yoga Centers (200 and 500 hour) and Yoga Tune Up®. Tracy is a teacher trainer in the 8 Limbs 200 Hour Summer Teacher Training Intensive. In addition to movement classes, Tracy leads several monthly yoga nidra sessions and co-leads 4 annual yoga retreats in Washington, Oregon, and the Big Island of Hawaii. She teaches with humor and compassion, because those are the tools she has found to be the most useful in her own life. Her intention as a teacher is to create a safe and noncompetitive environment where people are encouraged to uncover their own particular brilliance, and begin to recognize themselves as the amazing beings that they truly are. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram. Check out her website for a class schedule and upcoming retreats and workshops
