EP#14- Demystifying Yoga and Setting Intentions in the New Year with Rachel Deutsch, Yoga Instructor & Actress

(gentle music) As cheesy as it sounds, yoga is the perfect example of it's not about the destination, it's about the journey, 'cause the reality is the journey is your life. - That was Rachel Deutsch. Rachel is a yoga instructor and actress based in Los Angeles. First of all, happy new year. We're now in 2021, which is exciting. At the time that we recorded this episode, it was like right at the end of 2020. So keep in mind, like the very hopeful and optimistic attitude that we talk about in the beginning is prior to all of the riots and craziness that's occurring at the Capitol right now. And I just wanna stress that I'm still hopeful for a better year to come ahead, but it's incredibly important. And as Rachel talks about later in the episode to have realistic optimism. So I am hopeful that things will get a bit better, but I'm currently disgusted by what is happening. I really do hope that this ends soon and that no, not people aren't harmed. And yeah, so I'm not the most politically wokey or knowledgeable person about politics and government, but it doesn't take a political correspondent or someone who works in the government to stay aware and know what's happening right now. So I just wanna put that out there, like I'm no political expert, but I'm pretty shook by what is going on right now. Anyways, not about politics or anything related to that. This episode is about demystifying yoga and what it means to set an intention in your yoga practice and how that can translate into setting intentions in the new year. So Rachel and I talked about, you know, what are some common misconceptions around a yoga practice? If you know me or if you've listened to any of my episodes, you probably know that I'm obsessed with yoga. Some might think that I have kind of turned it into a personality trait, which sure, fine. I'm okay with that. I love yoga, I stand by yoga. I think it's incredible for your physical, mental, emotional, holistic health in general. So my hope is that you listen to this episode, if you love yoga, this just makes you love it even more. And if you don't really like yoga, you have a more open mind about it and open yourself up to the possibilities of what the practice can do for you. So enough of me ranting. I will let you get into the interview, but before we do that, I have a quick message from Incher. - Hi, Rachel. Thank you so much for coming onto Everyday in Dorfens and happy end of 2020. - Thank you for having me. Happy end of 2020. Did we ever think we would say that? - Well, I'm glad, you know, we're now moving into the new year and by the time this episode will be released, it'll be the first week of January, which is really exciting. I'm so happy to have you on to the podcast today to talk about your experience with yoga and really just discuss how we can demystify what the practice is all about. And I've had a few episodes on in the past, talking about people's passion practicing yoga and why they got interested in yoga. So I'm curious to hear a little bit about what ignited your passion to become a yoga teacher. - Ooh, thank you for having me. First, I really appreciate that. I don't know if I really thought about it that much, which is funny because I'm a person who really does try to think about where I'm going and what's gonna happen. But I was taking a lot of yoga. I started, it was one of my required classes in college. I went to NYU, I was an acting major and we had to do all this working out. So we had to do Pilates, yoga, capwera, crazy fighting a screamer and yoga was one of them. And then I liked it. I wasn't as into it as I am now. And then I kept going to different yoga classes around New York City. And I just kind of thought, well, I want to do this. I want to, you know, it almost felt like performing in a way, which it certainly is not. But at the time, that's what I thought of it as. And I liked how it made me feel. I liked the people doing it. I liked the activity of it. And so I just wanted to learn more. And then eventually I just kept doing it. And now I've been teaching maybe almost four years practicing probably eight years in total. - Such a beautiful practice. So I can see how you thought of it kind of as this, more of this like performance instead of maybe what you've come to realize what yoga means to you. And I also want to touch on our big topic today about demystifying yoga and really understanding what exactly yoga is. So besides that misconception that you had about yoga being more of like this performance, what would you say are some of the strongest misconceptions that exist out there about the practice of yoga? - Definitely right now, especially in 2020, we can think of a lot of things as a performance because of Instagram and, you know, social media. And we see something and we see, oh, that person is doing this thing. And I'm never gonna be as good as that person. I think in many things, and especially yoga can be seen that way. And what I learned from practicing yoga is it's really, really, really not about that. And just the reality of, I'm a different person than you. I have different experiences. I'm a different height. I'm a different, you know, I've got a different, drink from a different coffee shop today. We just live different lives. And it's impossible to think that your body and your experience is gonna be the same as somebody else's. And so that's what I've learned so much from my yoga practice is, okay, I'm holding Mountain Post, standing on the ground just with my arms up. This feels different to me than it does to Stella. Oh, how does this feel for me? How am I noticing this? How am I relating to this? Oh, maybe we have other things that are different and it brings a lot of compassion. So I kind of went into, you know, how it can be good, but I think the misconceptions that you're saying, we can compare ourselves, we can expect it to go a lot faster or a lot slower and you really learn to learn more about yourself than others. That's a huge point about social media and comparing yourself maybe to what you see, yoga being portrayed as on certain Instagram accounts. And there's, I think, you know, what I've seen online is a lot of yoga teachers or people who are avid practices of yoga pose in these really complicated, twisting positions for their like doing these bouncing postures and it can feel really intimidating. Yeah, my joke that I start every class with is like, okay, so we're all just gonna stand on our heads the whole time, which isn't gonna happen. I mean, it could and but as cheesy as it sounds, yoga is the perfect example of it's not about the destination. It's about the journey because the reality is the journey is your life. You might at one point be able to stand on your head. That's freaking awesome. At another point, you might just be able to stand there still sitting for five minutes and that's a really big accomplishment. You know, you can't compare what yours is to somebody else's and at the same time compare it to yourself. So something you were able to do yesterday might feel completely different than it does today. And so it's really just about noticing where you're at and how it feels truly. Like I've been practicing and I can't do a full split and that's okay. I think it's more about, oh, how does my hamstring feel? Did I even have I thought about my hamstring once today? It brings you that so much more than what should it look like is just impossible to think about. Yeah, so I hear you saying that it really allows you to be a bit more like introspective in certain parts of your body or thoughts that you might have that you wouldn't normally bring awareness towards. Definitely, definitely. And that's what I like so much about it because we ask ourselves, hey, check in. How are you feeling? Take a deep breath. Notice what this is like. We do that in a yoga practice. And then we add things to it. We hold a warrior tube and say, now sit in a lunge with your knee over your ankle. Engage your core, reach through your arms. Take a deep breath. Now you're in a maybe uncomfortable place. Hey, how does that feel? So you can notice how you respond to uncomfortable places. And maybe in your life, when you're in a meeting and somebody's being annoying, because of course, that's going to happen and you're starting to feel a bit uncomfortable, you can take a breath and notice, oh, how am I feeling? How do I react to uncomfortableness? And it's truly a practice coming back to yourself. Definitely. And that's another great point, really, just the power of the breath using the breath to calm yourself in really any situation or to really ground you. And I think that's something that I learned through my yoga practice. That's where I was introduced to the concept of being very intentional with how you breathe and noticing the breaths that you take in the poses, out of the poses, and how it will really transfer to any situation in your life to really calm you down. Yeah. And I think going back to this-- demystifying it. You know, we are breathing all the time. So we're kind of doing yoga all the time because there's a definition of yoga which is just being more aware of your breath and how it relates to your body and your mind and yourself. So we're switching from this unconscious breath that we're, you and me are doing right now, to a very conscious breath. And I notice sometimes when people are starting to practice yoga, it can be uncomfortable to literally take an unconscious breath to take a big inhale and a big exhale and that can be kind of weird. It was certainly weird for me for a really long time when I was in classes and I was like, "Why are all these people making so much sound? This is strange. This is not something I'm used to doing, but the truth is you're already doing it all the time." Exactly. That's a great point. And I think for me, like, lion's breath, it's really loud. That's still looking a little too much for me sometimes, but the general sentiment of like leaning into discomfort and being okay with that and letting your breath guide you, I think, is so important. I also want to circle back to that idea about not even on social media, but just the misconception that maybe people feel the need to compare themselves in certain postures or in their yoga practice toward other people. You'd brought up a point about how it's really not about the destination. It's more so about the journey. And I know that's a pretty overly used metaphor, but I love it in this sense because I think that's just another amazing example of how yoga really applies to philosophies and how to live and in life. Definitely. I completely agree. And I think a way to be with that is just to be really easy on yourself. And this whole idea of this is a destination. It's actually something that I've come to be pretty good at in my yoga practice of, oh, I'm getting into a balancing posture I fell out. Oh, like I teach kids yoga as well, which I can feel can be useful for breathing loudly. And when kids fall out of something, they kind of just laugh it off, which is awesome. And I noticed how much kinder I am to myself in tree pose or half moon or warrior three than I am in my other aspects of my life, like in my relationship or I'm an actor as well. So if something isn't going well in one of those areas, I can be tough on myself and like, oh, man, I messed this up. Oh, I'm a bad person. You know, all those that narrative that starts to go through your mind. And then I'm like, wait, wait, this is just like yoga. You just fell out for a second. That's okay. That's of course going to happen. You're not going to be perfect at warrior three all the time. And you're not going to be perfect in your relationship all the time. So it's this practice that you can do in your physical postures that I really think can implement in other aspects of your life. Even, you know, moving into this new year, I'm graduating college. I am pursuing a job in consulting when I graduate. A lot of my friends are doing totally different things once they graduate. I have a friend doing the Teach for America program, friends that are applying to law school, friends that are, a lot of friends that are applying to medical school, taking all these standardized exams. And I've also unfortunately seen just a lot of competition and comparison between everyone's separate, but, you know, just as incredible paths that people are pursuing once they graduate. And I think this concept of just really easing into your own path and your own practice is a really good metaphor or at least like comparison towards what happens in real life. I think it's a lot about expectations. Again, because that's what we're talking about to go back to a yoga class is when you are in child's pose or laying on your back to begin the class and you're thinking, oh, I'm going to do this, this, and this is going to go great. It's a lot about just letting go of that, letting go of what happened before, letting go of what happened after, and really just starting to notice, what does my body feel like? How do my hips feel today? What breath is my taking? And I'm saying this as a person, this is so hard for me. This is so, I literally, I write every single thing I do down, I make lists, I track my feelings, I'm a big planner. So that is so challenging for me to get into a class and feel like, okay, I guess it's just going to happen and I'm not going to get to decide how it's going to go and how I'm going to feel about it. Yeah, definitely, definitely. I'm also very similar, I'm a huge planner, very organized, very detail oriented. So I think, as you mentioned, yoga is just a great tool to really focus on the present and bring awareness to certain parts of our body or our mind that we usually don't think about. And I also kind of want to move into more of like maybe a physical misconception that a lot of people have. I've heard a few of my friends, peers, mentioned how they are hesitant to practice yoga because they can't even touch their toes. Like, I always say, if you want to touch your toes, bend your knees, you're touching your toes. Exactly. Because it's not about that. And I totally, totally understand that. It makes so much sense. And you know, it's about noticing your physical, I guess, quote, limitations, but also noticing what is so powerful about you even being able to move your body in the first place. If we really take it back and think about that, and then it's implementing these really small repetition of, oh, I'm going to practice today. And your practice today truly will benefit your body physically, a month from now, because you try a little bit every day to touch your toes. It gets a little better. Maybe you're always bending your knees. Maybe that's your body. I know that's kind of an answer that's kind of in the middle of everything, but it's a lot about just accepting, oh, this is where I'm at. And this is what life is and being really realistic with that. I've also heard a few people mention how they aren't super into yoga because they're looking for more of a higher intensity type of exercise. And yoga might be too slow for them or not challenging enough. So what would you say to those types of responses about maybe a lack of physical activity or exercise from the practice? Definitely. I think that is a big misconception about yoga that one size fits all. And it certainly does not. I think there are so many aspects of yoga that can expand. I've taught at many different studios, some which stick to a more, we're going to do this sequence every time. I've taught it and also been a practitioner at studios that are in 100 degree rooms. I've been at studios where they play Jay Z the whole time. And I've been in soundbass or studios where you just lay on the ground the whole time. And I think it's two things. I think it's one being kind to yourself and noticing what you like. And there are plenty and plenty of yoga classes that do get your heart running, do get your cardio up. You do move very quickly from these lunges to arm balances to pushups. That can all be incorporated in yoga class. And then the other side of it, I think it's also noticing and being aware of why do I like this or why do I not like this. And maybe it's not always about that. Maybe it's okay to be in a space again where you're if it all uncomfortable. If you're a person who's always going fast, always wanting to get this high intensity, I need to work out. What does it feel like to take a restorative class? What does it feel like to lay there and twist your body for five minutes and one posture and really sit with yourself and sit with your breath? Maybe that's really uncomfortable for you. And maybe that's an okay place to put yourself through, not all the time, but once a week or once a month, they're just trying something out. I think can be really beneficial. There's nothing wrong with changing up your workout routine or just being open to the different possibilities that yoga can provide, like the different types of yoga. I think that's, as you've mentioned, that's another misconception. Not everyone necessarily knows that there's all these different types of yoga studios out there that offer different types of yoga classes. So as you said, it's really not one size fits all, which I think is so important to emphasize. I kind of want to shift gears a little bit. That's the beginning of 2021 and a lot of people are into setting New Year's resolutions and goals. And I think something that is really special about the yoga practice is that a lot of instructors will say, let's set an intention for this practice. So can you talk a little bit about the connection between intention setting and just the general idea of setting goals and planning and being more optimistic in the New Year? I'm a big fan of realistic goal setting. And I think it's a lot of what I've been saying of this checking in or this being aware of yourself. It's a lot about who am I? What do I like? Why do I like it? And it's hard to ask those questions. So I think going into a New Year and you think, oh, I want to completely transform. And I'm going to do yoga every single day for a month and see what it's like. Well, that's a little unrealistic. I don't do yoga every day because my body personally doesn't like doing yoga every day. I need a day of rest. So I think it's about being really realistic with your goals and then being comfortable when those goals change. So if you said, "Oh, I would like to take two yoga classes this week. One's going to be a new teacher. One's going to be something I've done before." And then that day comes. And then maybe that day goes really different than you expect. And you know, something bad happens or you're not feeling so great or you ate something bad. It's okay if you miss your practice that day. I know that's like not the crazy thing to say for a teacher, but it's okay. It's not about giving up. It's about coming back to it and saying, "Oh great, maybe tomorrow I will feel better. Maybe tomorrow I do a high-intensity class instead of a restorative class because that's what my body's craving right now." So just being really, realistic, really aware, keep checking in with yourself because again, it's a journey. It's not like at the end of January, "I'm going to stand on my head." It's constantly putting in these practices where you feel comfortable coming to a yoga class. I totally agree. And I think that's a really important point about being okay with goals changing and being realistic and agile as well. Because as we've seen, life is so uncertain. We don't know what's going to happen every single day, honestly, no matter how much we might plan. So it's really important to be flexible. And I think in the yoga practice really allows you, since it brings awareness to very specific parts of your mind and body, once you cultivate that greater awareness, I think it enables you to be a bit more flexible and agile as well in your thinking. Really coming back to these intentions, what is your intention for practicing? I had a friend ask me recently, "How do you practice yoga so often?" Because it's my job and my passion and something I personally like to do and all of that comes together. And my partner was there and he goes, "Oh, if she doesn't practice yoga, then she's going to be really annoyed and she's going to be in not a great mood or that or maybe she just needs to eat something." And that's like the reality of my intentions for my life. I'm a pretty anxious person. I need that hour to not think about other things and be with myself. Because if I don't take that time to take care of myself, I'm not going to be a really good girlfriend. You know, I'm not going to be a good teacher. I'm not going to be a good daughter. And it's all of that moment. So that's my intention for myself. And it can be different. I think it's okay to have the intention of, "I want to be more flexible. I want to work out harder. I want to give myself space to rest." It's just about being really realistic with what that intention is and what it's actually going to provide you. That's so wonderful. And moving into the new year, I think cultivating that awareness can really help you to be a bit more intentional about the types of goals that you set and being okay with knowing that they might change with whatever comes up in life. Yeah. I had a friend recently, a very good friend of mine who's done a yoga training and really cares about yoga recently asked me to start practicing with her. And she was like, "Can you be my yoga trainer?" And I'm like, "Sure, I thought you have a set-set of yoga practice on your own." And throughout 2020, with her job and being at home so often, she started to lose a sense of that. And so she was saying, "I just know that I want to give myself this boundary of practicing with you will help me make sure I do it and then also help me make other healthier choices in my life." And so I think it's so great that she knew that about herself. She knew I need other people to make this happen. Who can I reach out to? How can I schedule this to ultimately intend to be healthier throughout my week? That's a really wonderful story to wrap up on as we're coming to a close. And I wanted to thank you again so much for coming on to the podcast. Before I let you go, there is a question that I ask every single guest. What is something that brings you in Dorfins? I am a quality time person. So that is my love language, a thousand percent. I gain a lot of energy from other people. So it's just being with my friends, being with my boyfriend, my pets, my family. I love being around other people. It brings me so much love, so much in Dorfins. Well, hopefully there will be a better opportunity in the year where we can actually be around more people because I am very very similar in that respect. I have been around people and my family and my friends. So I really love that answer. Where can people follow you on Instagram or if people want to practice with you, how can they sign up? You can find me on Instagram at my yoga Instagram. It's Rachel, Doich, yoga. And yeah, my classes are all, pay what you can just show up because you are because I want to practice with other people, as it just said. So I hold that space a couple times a week and I would love to practice with you. Stella practices with me. It's awesome. And I'm so grateful to you for making this happen and putting people's ideas out there. I think that's amazing. Thank you. Well, I love practicing with you over Zoom. Hopefully there will be a day where practice in person. But it's been so wonderful and thank you again, Rachel. [Music]