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Root 2 Rise Yoga with Michelle Chua
  • Home
  • About Michelle Chua
  • Join eNews
  • Weekly Classes
    • Energy Exchange
    • Free Online Yoga
  • Community Events
    • Yoga & Vegan Nutrition Workshop
    • Integrative Yoga
    • Soul Movement
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    • Bali 2023 Retreat
    • Custom Retreat
  • Workplace Wellness
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Root 2 Rise Yoga with Michelle Chua

A Blog About Living Yoga

December 2017 Featured Yogi: Mita Patel

12/2/2017
PictureMy favorite yoga pose is Warrior 2. Wherever I travel, I like to take a picture of myself in Warrior 2 pose.
​1) When and how did you begin practicing yoga?
I was born in India and was instructed by my dad to do a headstand every day to help keep my eyes strong at a very young age.  I dutifully did stretching every day and didn't know that all these were yoga exercises.  I came to US at the age of 12.
Many years later when I started to take yoga classes in the US did I realize what yoga was and that I had done parts of it my entire life.
 
2) How has yoga benefitted you?  
I find that the stretching built into yoga postures keeps my spine, neck and shoulders aligned. When I stop practicing yoga postures, my body gets tense and stiff very easily.
 
3) Tell us about yourself, i.e., your interests, inspirations, passions, etc.--anything.
Along with yoga, I practice tai chi, hiking, mindfulness and healthy eating.  At the core of these activities is the fundamental basis of living a clean and healthy lifestyle. When I'm cooking, I am mindful of how this is going to taste and who my audience is and how I want to excite their taste buds and make them happy eating this.  With that motivation I am excited to cook or create a new item with the end in sight.  With yoga, my goal at the end of the session is to fully nourish my body and strengthen it.
 
4)  How do you practice yoga beyond asana (or postures) and into daily life?
Every morning as soon as I get out of bed, the first thing I do is sun salutation, side bends and back bends to wake up my body.  I practicing mindful breathing as I am standing at the train station, sometimes doing leg extensions and twists.  As I run up and down the stairs getting to the next train, I am practicing mindful breathing so I am able to recover quickly.  I practice half downward dog as a mid-day stretch or sometimes before I go to bed.
 
5) In what ways are you involved with Root 2 Rise Yoga community? 
I have participated in activities organized by Michelle, one of them was the Costa Rica trip in 2014 which I highly recommend!!  I also participated in musical events, potlucks, hiking, lunch and dinner outings.  I enjoy meeting like-minded people and our R2R community is a wonderful group of people.
 
6) Anything else you would like to share with our community, such as insights from your practice, words of inspiration, etc.
I am very fortunate to have found Michelle. Over the years, I have taken numerous yoga classes and once I attended Michelle's class, I was hooked. Michelle has mastered the art of teaching and incorporating the principles of yoga.  I have occasionally subbed for Michelle and taught impromptu yoga in Fiji and I ended up copying her teaching style.  People would come up to me and say, "Are you a yoga instructor?" and I would say, "No, but I have a really wonderful yoga instructor whose style I copy naturally!!" 
 
Practicing yoga and stretching is a way of life. Once it becomes a natural part of yourself, you don’t think about it as a class-only activity. 

Picture
Yoga pose in Patagonia, Chile. I hiked up 10,000 feet , 6 miles one way and this was our resting spot. Super cold hence the bundled up layers.
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    A Collective Blog about Yoga Lifestyle & Inspiration 
    by Michelle Chua & Guest Authors

    Find Michelle's bio here.

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REviews of Root 2 Rise Yoga with Michelle chua:

Michelle truly lives out what she teaches. She is so much more than a yoga teacher - I learned this when I went on her exquisitely curated trip that she organized to Costa Rica this past June 2018...Hopefully like me, you'll be delighted by her effervescent love of movement, nature, and all people!
-Rebekah B. (Virginia, USA) *See more YELP Reviews
Michelle clearly stands out with her beautiful and bright energy. I love how her practice and teaching encompass body, mind and spirit. She not only teaches yoga but lives and exudes it.
-Marianne Manes (Los Angeles, CA)
Michelle not only teaches 'yoga', she embodies it fully with her heart and soul...
​-Christin M. (Los Angeles, CA) *See more YELP Reviews
Michelle is by far one of the best instructors I've ever had, period. Patient, clear in her explanations and demos, and so encouraging...
-Jessica L. (North Hollywood, CA) *See more YELP Reviews
My first yoga class was with Michelle years ago.  ​You can have the best (yoga pose) sequence and not teach from your heart.  With Michelle, I also feel her passion when I'm in her class.  I can see she loves what she does, and she inspired me to want to teach yoga, too.
-Janette Guzman (Certified Yoga Teacher in Northridge, CA)

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I'm so grateful to have met Michelle! Her kind energy opened up my interest in pursuing yoga and meditation. She is such an incredibly light and soul. She starts with grounding ourselves through mindfulness and breathing exercise. She brings the most authentic energy to the class by sharing the history and understanding behind poses, names, and techniques. I truly appreciate her work and impact on my well-being!
-N.C. on Yelp!
I’ve had dozens of instructors over the years, but Michelle is far and away the best yoga mentor I’ve ever practiced with. She epitomizes grace during these difficult times. Michelle has saved my sanity and my back while working from home, keeping me grounded with her sharing of yogic teachings and meditation techniques. Her repertoire of physical asanas is encyclopedic, and I’ve loved learning new poses and stretching my boundaries. Jump in, all. You’ve got this!
- Cathleen Fager (Attends Zoom Yoga Classes)
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