Emily and Becca chat about the perks and perils of doing yoga on a moving mat. To find out more about Emily, visit her Instagram @emzenyoga. You can also find her books here on Amazon.
To find out more about Becca's work, visit bluemoon.yoga for more information.
This podcast was recorded and produced at WPRK Studios in Winter Park, Florida.
Podcasting Producer at WPRK Studios in Winter Park, Florida.
What is The Language of Yoga?
Welcome to "The Language of Yoga" podcast, hosted by Becca Schmidt, E-RYT500/YACEP, a 20-year veteran yoga instructor. Prepare to take your yoga teaching skills from average to extraordinary as Becca shares her wisdom, experiences, and practical tips for helping your students find a transformative journey of self-discovery.
In this podcast, we'll delve into the art of using language to cue and connect. Discover the power of vocal tone, volume, repetition, and even the beauty of silence and stillness. But that's not all – we'll also explore the impact of incorporating class themes such as the Chakras, the Yamas and Nyamas, the elements of fire, water, and air and many more.
By embracing these themes, both you and your students can tap into the magic of metaphor and visualization. Imagine guiding your students to embody the grounding energy of the root chakra or incorporating the principles of the Yamas and Nyamas for ethical decision-making on and off the mat. Themes add depth and richness to your classes, allowing your students to connect with the natural forces within themselves.
Throughout the podcast, Becca will share invaluable insights, personal experiences, and practical tips on seamlessly integrating words, vocal qualities and themes into your instruction. Whether you're an experienced teacher seeking to revitalize your classes or a curious beginner diving into the depth of yoga, "The Language of Yoga" is here to empower and inspire you.
Yoga on the Water with Paddleboard Yoga Instructor Emily Ribeiro
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Becca: [00:00:00] Welcome to the language of yoga. I'm Becca, your host. So today I have a very cool guest. She is, Emily Walsh Ribeiro. And one of the things I love about her is that she is not afraid of anything. She teaches yoga on the water on a standup paddleboard. She has authored three books on yoga.
And she's working on a brand new app. She is just full of incredible ideas. Emily. Welcome.
Emily: Thanks, Becca. Thank you so much for having me. It's so great to see you again and to be here with you.
Becca: , whenever I have a guest, I typically ask them the same questions because we all have different answers, obviously, but I like to start with what brought you to yoga?
Emily: Well, gosh, that was a really long time ago. Um, when I was a kid, I had really bad back pain. My back would like seize up and I would get stuck and it [00:01:00] was very painful. And I went to the doctor and they gave me three options. They said option number one, they could do an experimental surgery on my spine, and they weren't really sure if it would work or not.
Um, and so that didn't sound like a great idea. Not plan A for you. No, not great. Uh, and then plan two was I could start taking steroid injections into my spine, which they said would be every two months. Yes. And then. Once a month and then every two weeks and then by the time I was 40 that wasn't going to work anymore.
So that didn't seem like a great idea either. And then option number three was, well, you could just try yoga. And so I did. And it was amazing. Tell me about your first class. So, uh, that was about 30 years ago. And to be honest, it was a disaster and I hated it. Um, I went to a class at the Y and it turns out it was a beginner class, but it was a Hatha class.
And so [00:02:00] it was very long, isometric holds. Um, and for me, for 19 year old me, my busy brain just, uh, It was torture for me to stand so still for so long. And the teacher was very sweet. She was very nice, took my phone number and everything, but there was no way I was going back to that. But my back still hurt and I didn't want to do the other two options.
So, um, without aging myself, I got a DVD from Rodney Yee and I practiced that morning yoga routine for five years every morning. And within two weeks. three weeks. The back pain was gone and it never
Becca: came back.
Emily: . It was a good bridge. And then five years later I gave it another go. Um, I built up the courage and went back to the Y and this time it was a Vinyasa class.
It was a flow class and it was love at first sight, and I've been [00:03:00] practicing daily ever since.
Becca: Wonderful. So what brought you into teaching yoga?
Emily: I've, I think I've always been a yoga teacher. Even as a little kid, I would kind of collect these little nuggets of wisdom that I wanted to share. I just didn't have students.
Um, but I felt, I fell so in love with the practice and not only did it help my back, but I had severe anxiety. I had depression. I had childhood trauma with no outlet. And. Um, yoga helped me on my spiritual path to make sense of everything I have been through to um, find my power, to step into my power, to find my voice and to create my own peace in my life.
And once I figured this out, I had to share it. I had to share it with everybody that I could.
Becca: How scary was that for brave Emily to sign up for your first yoga teacher [00:04:00] training course? Um,
Emily: To be honest, well, I had signed up for a class and then I had my nasty knee injury where, um, I was on a trampoline and I just landed wrong and my leg ripped off and it was years of surgeries and recoveries and all that.
So I didn't get to attend the first, um, yoga teacher training that I had signed up for. Um, But then the second one that I signed up for, um, I, by then I was ready. The stars aligned. It just so happened that both of my kids had two week long programs. Um, I signed up for a two week intensive. It was 14 hours a day and, um, I just knew that it was the time and it was the right thing and that I needed to go for it.
Becca: Wonderful. One of the things I see a lot in your socials is the expression, show up and shine out. Tell me about that slogan.
Emily: So show up and shine out is one of my favorite lessons because this [00:05:00] is where the magic is. We've all heard the phrase, right? Like they were just in the right place at the right time.
And sometimes the most amazing opportunities open up right in front of us, just because we showed up somewhere. And for me personally, I've gotten. So many gigs and cool experiences just because I showed up even like at a volunteer event and people get to talking about yoga. And so I don't show up with an agenda.
I'm just there to pick up trash or whatever, but people are like, Hey, you're that yoga girl, right? Like my company needs yoga or whatever. So just by showing up and I think that Wayne Gretzky said it best. He said, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take. You have to put yourself in the game of life.
You have to, if you want to live your best life, you have to. And so yoga teaches us to be brave, to show up even [00:06:00] when it's awkward. And even when you don't fit in, even when you don't feel like it. And honestly, even if you're not invited, like, unless it's like an ex's wedding or something,
Becca: do
Emily: you use this as a philosophy when you teach?
Oh, absolutely. So, um, this is one of the lessons that I teach. And, um, Um, it basically has its roots in the chakras. So um, there's two parts to it, right? Show up and shine out. So the first chakra would be solar plexus chakra, right? Building our power, building our willpower, our physical strength, our mental strength that allows us to show up in these places.
places, bravery, bravery, muscles, right? And then the next chakra would be throat chakra, the ability to express ourselves effectively, to inspire our students, to educate people. Um, and I also think that this lesson pertains to the [00:07:00] Niyama of tapas, discipline, commitment. You're going to put yourself up in the game.
You're going to show up and do the
Becca: thing. Right. I would agree with that a hundred percent. And also I think you can throw a little heart chakra in there as well. Right? Yeah. So. This podcast is obviously about the words, the language of yoga. I'd like to dive a little bit in, no pun intended quite yet on how you use some unique language when you teach standup paddleboard and back back up just a little bit to explain to some of our listeners who may not have a paddleboard or a lake in the backyard or, you know, opportunities to, to grab a.
Uh, vehicle for the water. So walk us through a little bit what the paddleboard is all about and why do yoga on a paddleboard and then you can continue and describe maybe how you would teach a class [00:08:00] on a paddleboard that would be uniquely different from teaching it in a studio.
Emily: Okay, sure. Yeah. I love standup paddleboard yoga.
It's probably my favorite yoga to practice. There's just a whole. new dimension when you take your practice outside, first of all, right out in nature. And then, um, so the paddleboard is a long board, like a surfboard, but it's bigger, it's more stable. So, um, maybe a surfboard wants to throw you off and do its own thing, but the paddleboard is happy to be there with you and doesn't really want to throw you off.
Um, so when we get out there into nature, we're, In this different sensory world, we've got the sunshine on us. We can feel the breeze on our skin. The water laps up against the board. It's very gentle. And honestly, it feels like
Becca: home. I love that you brought up the senses because being outside, you really So, um, you know, you have everything, you know, you have the feel of the water, the feel of the wind, the smell of [00:09:00] the, the environment around you, uh, the gorgeous, gorgeous views, especially around here.
And, uh, even maybe, maybe you're tasting something unique. So all the senses are very heightened, let's just continue with, uh, how you teach outside on a not so wobbly board. Correct.
Emily: They're very stable. They're very stable.
And so, um, There's a lot of metaphors that kind of pertain to both with, uh, paddleboarding and with life and, and first of all, the, the yoga that we do on the board is modified. So, um, let's say your, your best warrior one pose that you have strong and sturdy on the board, we might bring the back knee down to make three points of contact to make this more accessible.
Um, so. Most of the poses are like that. They're a little bit more accessible. Um, the beauty of it in the stretches like pigeon or supine twist, you get that gentle rock [00:10:00] of the water and it gets you a little deeper into the twists, a little deeper into some of the stretches. So, um, it feels like such a great practice.
And with the unstable surface, You're really getting a full body workout and we can burn up to a thousand calories in one sup yoga class. Wow. Cause it's full body. Okay. Sup stand
Becca: up. Yes. Paddleboard. Yes. So I've done a little bit of yoga just on my own, on my own paddleboard, but I have not. taken a class, I should, I know I should.
So how many people do you usually take out on the water? And what does that look like? That's obviously different from rolling out a mat on a bamboo floor. So just help us see the scene a little bit.
Emily: Well, we usually, um, Leave from one of the winter park beaches. Uh, so either right here at dinky dock We leave from there a lot or craft azalea this beautiful outdoor garden with Huge [00:11:00] ancient trees and it's just absolutely gorgeous and we might it depending on the class Um, we might just take maybe seven people out or so.
If we have a bigger group, we would have multiple instructors just to ensure safety. So first we do a stretch and a warm up on the land. We get used to our paddles and then we all paddle out together. And I set up an anchor system. So once we get out there, we anchor all of our boards together and then we don't have to worry about floating away or losing our stuff.
Okay. And, um. You know, we'll start with a few gentle stretches. We'll go through vinyasa flows. We might try some challenging poses and then we always end with, um, you know, a few stretches and then the shavasana, you can dip your feet in the water and your hands in the water and the waves just gently rock you back and forth.
And it is amazing that you, you leave with this feeling of tranquility that stays with you for. [00:12:00] if not like days, you have this very serene at peace feeling from this nature
Becca: immersion. I love that. And I'm sure, you know, those very same students can visualize that in their next class that happens in a studio.
Maybe when they're in Shavasana, they go right back to that sensation of being out on the water and they can, you know, channel all that, really good energy back to the studio. So I love that combination. Yeah, that was a good description. I'm, I'm ready to go slather on some sunscreen. Um, so I just have to ask because we live in Florida, we were.
Okay. With the nature around us, but I know there might be some listeners that think, Oh, I'm not going to get on something where I'm that close to, you know, have to say it. Gators. Gators. Yeah. That's usually.
Emily: Yeah. It's usually a big concern. Um, which [00:13:00] is ironic because the most dangerous thing out there is this tiny brown speck It's a spider.
You would never even see it. It falls out of the trees and that bite hurts. But, um, as far as gators go, yes, we have them. Every body of water in Florida has them. We're fortunate here in Winter Park that the larger reptiles are removed for us Which keeps it quite a bit safer than some of the other bodies of water.
Also though Alligators are cold blooded so they say right know your enemy, They don't want to fight me. I look like a lot of work. They just want to eat their catfish and snooze on the bank. And so we rarely have incidents. Um, I've only ever seen a few of them out on the lake.
I've seen quite a few more in the rivers, but we don't usually practice yoga on the rivers. So, um, and you know, honestly, I've fallen off onto them before. I've fallen on a few of them actually over the course of my life. They book it out of there. They're so scared, scaredy cats. So I, I don't really worry about that.
Becca: I've been [00:14:00] close to manatees, you know, you're not allowed to touch them. You're not supposed to touch them. But. I, I've seen plenty of manatees from a paddleboard vantage and that was really cool, but I don't know. I feel like my heart would race just a little bit if I saw a gator. If you saw one.
Emily: Yeah. Well, and it depends on what they're doing.
Like most of the ones you see are asleep. Like that's not scary. Right. Like they're out cold. Um, I mean, if you saw one coming at you, that, that might be scary. Um, and so. It's just good to go with a guide that knows the area, knows the water. Uh, what kind of a river, for example, we have gators up and down that river, but what kind of a river has a giant slow catfish in it.
You can actually reach in with your hand and grab a catfish. Well, that's what the Gators are doing. They don't want me. They want the catfish. I'm not on the menu. So know the water you're in and go with a guide. All right.
Becca: And if any of our listeners live far, far away from Florida, when you come down here, be sure to sign up for a paddleboard yoga [00:15:00] class with Emily.
Emily: So fun.
Becca: So the, um, The poses. Well, we'll, we'll get off a paddleboard in just a second, but I do want to just ask about balance poses that must really take balance poses up a big notch. What are some of the balance poses you choose? Yes. And if you can maybe think about some of the language you might use, maybe your Drishti or whatever, what What, what keeps somebody, uh, in a, in a balanced pose?
And again, which ones do you use? Because I can maybe guess, but I might be guessing all the wrong ones. So what do you use and what are some of your language tools? Sure. Um, I don't teach balance
Emily: poses on the pedal board. Nevermind. Yeah. Well, it's true. It's funny because we do headstands, we do wheels, we do splits, we do all of these crazy hard challenging poses, but the truth is the hardest poses on the board are one legged standing poses.
So I don't teach them in my [00:16:00] class because I'm not just trying to get people wet. Um, the board is moving, it's rocking, there's waves. Um, my dancer in a studio is fully extended my dancer on a paddle board. I can barely grab my foot before I fall in the water. So, um, one legged standing balances are absolutely the hardest, most challenging poses.
Um, so we'll offer them in like a workshop afterwards and, um, Drishti is really hard because you have to be watching the waves instead of the board, which is different. Usually we can tune into a spot on a wall or the ceiling or the floor, um, but on the board your surface is constantly changing, which makes them super challenging.
I would say you, uh, your drishti would rest on the horizon. If
Becca: anything. All right. So I want to circle back to some of the big, big projects you've done. You've written three books. Tell us a little bit about [00:17:00] those and where our listeners can buy them. Sure. So,
Emily: um, I have always journaled on my teachings and what worked, what didn't work.
And I take my students on a journey. A progression through the year. It's a little journey through the chakras. And after years of writing the journal, I figured, well, gosh, I should put a book together. So, um, my first book is called guiding yoga. It's for teachers and it gives, um, it takes them on the same journey.
It offers a meditation that correlates with the lesson. It offers asana that correlates with the lesson as well as reflection questions they can ask their students and, um, and the, the basics. Teaching of the lesson. So that goes through 52 weeks. That's guiding yoga. And then I wrote another book for the students and it's called living yoga and it gives a brief description of each of the lessons and then more reflection questions [00:18:00] to dive in and really, um, explore what these lessons mean to you personally and what you can learn from them, how you can build your own power and peace.
through these ancient teachings. Yeah. And then the last one is called Asana Explorer and it's also for students who are on their own path, um, to help them explore different poses as it pertains And it's more of like a workbook workshop type book, but all three books are on Amazon and they're, you know, uh, you can get a hard copy or
Becca: Kindle copy.
Um, you know, the one that really stands out to me is living yoga. And I think I encounter a lot of people who feel like becoming a yoga teacher would be. you know, maybe a, a good pathway for them, a good career goal for them. [00:19:00] But I think so many, and I'm not trying to, to judge those who are signing up, you know, today or tomorrow, but I think sometimes they have not done a ton of self reflection and when you We are in the depth of a yoga teacher training class.
Sometimes you get thrown in the very, very deep water. So living yoga seems like a really good sort of um, you know, yoga teacher self course, Right? And then, you know, the one on one and then you go into a more formalized training and that might be the level one or two and beyond. Right. So I really love that you've done that.
I think that's a wonderful head start. I think I have done many, many yoga teacher trainings and I think a lot of people are a little, little, you know, Taken aback by Wow. Right. This is a lot more, uh, mental game right. Than I was prepared for. Absolutely. [00:20:00] So I really absolutely admire you for, for doing that.
Oh, thank you. So, um, let's talk a little bit about, uh, courage and coming out of your comfort zone and. You know, we've all been through the pandemic, so maybe is there something pivotal that may have happened during the pandemic that has changed? The way you teach some of your, um, you know, five year goals and teaching, how it was at deaf impactful for where you were, where you are now and where you thought
Emily: you might be.
Absolutely. Talk about that. Um, so before the pandemic, I taught at six different studios. I taught 24 classes a week. I taught at schools. Um, I made pretty good money as a yoga teacher. Um, it was too much. in retrospect, it was a little too much. Uh, the pandemic for the [00:21:00] first time made me stop and I'm a mover.
I'm not a stopper. And when I stopped, I realized how exhausted That I really was and that I needed to make some major life changes if I was going to Have this sustainable career if I was going to be able to keep it up long term And um, and I had never been in front of the camera or the microphone Um, I have a degree in production.
So i've been behind them plenty of times And uh, it was time for me to step out of my comfort zone and I immediately started teaching on zoom You Classes and, um, How did that go for you? So it's hard to teach on zoom. Um, because you really need to watch the students, but a lot of the students still want you to demo.
So you kind of go back and forth between demoing and watching, and it's really hard to get the bio feedback. Like, am I killing them [00:22:00] or are they totally bored? Like
Becca: you
Emily: have no idea. You kind of, it's really hard to read the room.
Becca: We've talked a lot about that on this podcast. Exactly. How important that Uh, that nonverbal feedback is absolutely.
That's why I, I always strongly recommend always mirror teach. Don't teach with your back to your students because you're missing 99 percent of the messaging that you need. For sure. for constant modifications and adjustments. So, right. And even when you're teaching toward a camera, you know, you're looking at the students in like a one by one inch, uh, picture.
Right. You really can't tell. Right. So I agree with you. I, I did not, I did not love teaching virtually. No, I didn't either.
Emily: And the other thing that I, I learned too, is that As a instructor, not a studio owner, I really couldn't count on the studio. [00:23:00] I was on my own. And after eight years of supporting all of these other businesses, I was on my own.
No unemployment compensation, no benefits, just Doors are closed. So, um, so I took my platform digital. I did. If that's what we're doing, I'm diving in. And I started making videos. I started making recordings. I started building an audience online. I started, um, really investing in my social media education.
I took more courses on, um, putting all the pieces together. And, um, and I've been very happy with that. And, um, while it is online. And I don't get a lot of that connection that I really do miss. I don't get so much of that, but I'm able to send my message to thousands of people. And to me, that's pretty special.
Yeah. Wonderful.
Last couple of questions. I I'm trying to figure out Uh, some of the, [00:24:00] uh, the unique ways my guests talk to their students I'm, I'm trying to figure out what, what is Emily's message, , to that new student, whether it's verbal or it's communicated non verbally, what is your philosophy or core message for new students and maybe some that are, that are, have been with you for a while?
Becca: What do they need to know? about how you feel about them. I
Emily: am just a guide. I'm just here to help people step into their power. And whether that is a physical process for someone that day, or if it's a mental process for someone that day, I am just trying to Find what resonates with them that they can build power and peace in their life So I generally specialize in people over 40 and I help them just make small Lifestyle changes just easy easy [00:25:00] things that will help them on their path So it's really about empowering them to make their own good choices
Becca: I love that and so many of us who have been teaching for a long time You do the very, we do that because we know that the yoga, especially I, I think for older people, it's so much more than, you know, the exercise.
It's such an opportunity to teach, , about, you know, the, the yoga. The philosophy and how it pertains to relationships, , what you put in your body, what you don't put in your body.
So
All right. Is there anything you would like to add? Uh, I know you're working on an app, so tell us about that.
Emily: Yeah. So I'm so excited about this app. Um, so it's called stretch time. And what I've realized, especially, uh, post COVID is that so many people reverted to a sedentary lifestyle.
So as a yoga teacher, [00:26:00] I'm seeing, um, back pain. I'm seeing kyphosis. I'm seeing shortened hamstrings. I'm seeing people in a lot of pain. And you know, it's not their fault. They were working from home and they're not moving around. They're sitting all day. And so, um, I had this idea, well, They only want to do little bits at a time and really they don't have time for much more.
We're all busy So I started putting this app together stretch time to help people Reclaim their health and wellness and and also introduce them to the world of yoga. And so Subscribers will get a reminder twice a day that it's stretch time and they'll click what body part they want to stretch and they'll get a tailored five minute video.
Okay, let's stretch your shoulders now. And, um, and I filmed these videos all over the world too. So the locations are just gorgeous. And, um, they'll get mindfulness as well, because I'm not just teaching shoulders. I'm teaching [00:27:00] foundations. Right. I'm teaching beginning again. I'm teaching stepping into your power.
So they're going to get the mindfulness lessons as well, and they're going to get a little Zen moment. They're going to get an affirmation when they complete it and a little gong during the bell when they've done a good job. Um, so I've been working on it for several years and I'm probably about It's going to be two months or so away from launching.
It'll be on all the phones and all the platforms. And I've gotten really great feedback so far. So I
Becca: cannot wait
Emily: to see that. Super
Becca: excited. Yeah. I know we can find you online. Tell us how to find you
Emily: online. My website is bzenyoga. com and um, I do have a very strong social media presence, so I'm on all of the platforms either as bzen or as mzen.
So I can be found everywhere and I love to connect with new people. So, all
Becca: right. And we're happy to share your contact information on the podcast. Thank [00:28:00] you. All right. You have been a wealth of knowledge. I enjoyed our conversation a lot about the standup paddleboard. It's
Emily: so fun. It's so fun. And you know, um, one of the things I meant to say too, is the lessons, how they, uh, that coordinate on the mat and off the mat.
And, um, some of the lessons we teach are like, go with the flow. Yeah. Yeah. Right? Because when you're paddling in the current, you better find a way to move with it. And that translates to life. You better figure out. Right? Very good metaphor for life, relationships. So much. And um, enjoying the journey. Right?
Because paddle boarding is an awesome experience. about racing to one destination and, and neither is life. Like it reminds us to enjoy where you're at on your path. And when you're on a paddleboard, the path is gorgeous. So it's pretty easy to do your waterway and then, right. And then that connection with nature of being home, like our, bodies are two thirds water.
So it really is very soothing for most people, not for everyone, but for most people to [00:29:00] be out on the water, it feels like home.
Becca: Yeah. And I'm glad you added that because, , taking a look at some of the, the modalities of, you know, healing so much of that. Now is moving toward water. I don't know if it's just what I, you know, my feet is showing me, but I feel like it's increasing and I love that.
Emily: And you know, that's how I got to stand up paddleboard after the knee injury. My um, physical therapist was like, Hey, you should try this paddleboard thing. And of course it didn't take long before I was doing yoga on it either. All
Becca: right. Well, thank you. It's been such a treat to have you and maybe one of these days you'll come back when you're, your app is live .
You can talk to us a little bit about, um, your, some of your new adventures, your next book. Right. Number four. Right. All right. Thanks, Emily. Thanks, Becca. And that was my conversation with Emily Walsh Ribeiro. If you want to find Emily on socials, the best is to her Instagram account, and that is M [00:30:00] Zen yoga.
It's E M Z E N yoga on Instagram. You can also find her books on Amazon. If you would like to. It sent me some friendly comments. No complaints, please. I'm kidding. If you have a complaint, it's, it's legit. It's fine. But do reach out to me at Becca, B E C C A at bluemoon. yoga. I would really love to hear from you, comment on this episode or any of the other episodes or make some suggestions of what you'd like to hear on our show.
