Today we’d like to introduce you to Pauline Schloesser.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Since I was a graduate student, in the mid-1980’s, I began taking yoga classes. Back then, there weren’t many studios. I was recruited as a teacher, without any teacher training, and held classes. This situation happened to me two more times. I finally decided to leave my academic career and get serious about studying yoga and how to teach it.
I did not start out in Iyengar Yoga but came to it because of my first pregnancy. Someone recommended Iyengar Yoga as most appropriate for pregnancy, so there I went. I saw immediately that the teachers gave more instructions for specific techniques in the postures, and they demanded my full attention. I really liked that because I had so many questions about how to do the postures. Now, in the Iyengar classes, they were being answered! Moreover, I was improving. For years in other types of classes, I excelled at some poses — backbends, for example, but had a complete failure in seated postures like Baddha Konasana and Padmasana.
It was only in Iyengar Yoga that I learn systematically how to work on the postures that eluded me. The Iyengar method gave me a tool to grow my practice and get stronger, more flexible, and more balanced. by taking them down to their elements and working on simpler postures. So, when I got tired of being a college professor, I signed up for Iyengar Yoga teacher training, commuting from Houston to Boston six times a year for two years. I became a Certified Iyengar Yoga in 2008 and made my first trip to Pune, India, in 2009. I’ve studied with the Iyengars several times.
I’m now an intermediate level teacher with my own studio, right at my home. We built the studio in 2011, specifically for Iyengar yoga. We have a rope wall, lots of props, and a beautiful, tranquil space in which to practice.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The biggest challenge is to manage the work/family balance. Having my studio at home helps because there is no commute or drive. But, on the other hand, I can hear what’s going on in my kitchen and in the boys’ bedrooms, and it distracted me if they even talked while I was teaching! I’ve learned to relax and let go of perfection in terms of an absolutely silent environment.
I’ve also had to manage high demand for pregnancy classes versus limited space and time. I have to make sure that I put my own practice and learning as the top priority, and not teach more classes than I want to teach. I’ve learned to train my stronger students to become classroom assistants, substitute teachers, and teachers with their own classes.
Please tell us about Alcove Yoga.
What sets Alcove Yoga apart from most other yoga studios is that we teach and practice Iyengar Yoga.
Iyengar Yoga is a method of practice from B.K.S. Iyengar and his family, of Pune, India. It’s the most rigorous thorough method of yoga worldwide. Certified Iyengar Yoga Teachers (CIYTs) have to pass challenging exams on their personal practice, technical and philosophical knowledge, and teaching abilities. CIYTs are made accountable to our National Association (IYNAUS), which keeps our standards high.
At Alcove Yoga, I’ve taken the Iyengar method as applied to pregnancy and created one of the most successful prenatal yoga programs in the United States. Hundreds of women have come through my program and received the benefits of Iyengar Yoga in their pregnancies.
Our studio also features a class exclusively for men, called Men’s Essentials. This class allows men, normally a minority in yoga classes, to have their own class without distraction from or competition with women, whose bodies are very different. The Men’s class is geared toward lengthening their tight hamstrings, improving range of motion in major joints, and teaching them how to go inward and relieve stress. We have the only men’s yoga class in Houston, as far as I am aware.
We occasionally teach a therapeutic series focusing on a minor ailment, such as knee pain, lower back pain, or neck and shoulder pain. It’s fascinating to apply what I’ve learned from my teacher, who learned directly from BKS Iyengar, so many ways to help a body heal from injury or condition. I love therapeutics and am certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists.
In addition, it is most fun to teach the advanced class. It’s here where I get to share what I myself am working on and inspire the students to practice more deeply. Witnessing the development of my students is extremely gratifying. I’ve seen people in their 70s learn and develop new postures that they never thought they would be able to do. It gives them confidence, self-esteem, even a thrill. I’m exceedingly proud of my seasoned students.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that some practice every day is better than a lot of practice once a week. I’ve also learned over the years to be more gentle, more sensitive and less aggressive and forceful. As we age, we get injured when we try to use brute force. We can become stronger by holding postures longer, working with props to access postures we might otherwise neglect.
I’ve learned that one of the greatest benefits of yoga practice is mental stability and mental health. Having a yoga practice takes me deep inside my muscles, organs, tissues, and cells. It revitalizes my entire body and brain and brings me into a world completely free from harmful or negative images. Yoga brings freedom from the pull of media and outside forces. it brings clarity of mind and a sense of hope and possibility.
I’ve also learned that there is so much we can do to preserve and enhance our own health. No one can care for our physical bodies, our nervous systems, or our spiritual well-being as well as we can. Radiant health demands radical self-care, and that is what yoga is to me. It’s not about achieving a particular body type, or even a particular pose. Yoga is a means for self-care and spiritual awakening.
Pricing:
- Monthly Membership, for up to 8 classes per month, is $109
- A single class purchase is $20
- 5-class pack is $85
- 10-class pack is $160
Contact Info:
- Address: 637 Cortlandt Street, Houston, TX 77007
- Website: www.alcoveyoga.com
- Phone: 832-942-8240
- Email: info@alcoveyoga.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alcove-Yoga-449244641805636/?ref=bookmarks
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/alcove-yoga-houston
Image Credit:
Dan Gleitman, Kate Synott, Larami Serrano
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