G: Tell us about yourself, your job, and how you became a Yoga instructor:

C: I’m a small-town girl from Newnan, GA who went to college for Dance Education & Mass Communications. After a short bout in Pittsburgh for a degree in Legal Studies, I moved back to Atlanta to pursue a career. I really didn’t know what I wanted to do so I tried a little of everything… bartending paid the bills until I couldn’t stand to clean up another salty lime wedge or lipstick- smeared napkin.

At that point, I set out on my own to start a PR company targeting businesses that needed help setting up and maintaining their social media outlets. One of my clients was Mix1, a protein shake company that I pitched to the owners of Colony Square Athletic Club. They enjoyed my rogue sales pitch so much (I threw away their Muscle Milk) that they offered me a position and allowed me to follow my passion of helping others through teaching yoga.

G: How has Yoga influenced your life?

C: One second you’re in an inverted pose.  The next second you’re in tears and two minutes later you feel as though a giant weight has been lifted off of you. It’s not as uncommon as it seems. The yoga teacher training process is a time of revisiting emotions that have become engrained in the body, considering why they may still be around and then purging them. I’ve become a stronger, more confident, calmer, more inspired person through my experiences with training and teaching yoga.

G: What kind of health benefits come from yoga?

C: Yoga allows practicing individuals to enjoy lengthening and strengthening of the body as well as the mind. Held poses challenge the individual to re-focus on the breath and not the uncomfortable burn of those working muscles. Bringing insight inward to understand tight or uncomfortable areas will help the mind work through the issues that could be blocking positive energy flow to these areas… all while burning as many calories as some cardio and most weight training exercises.

G: How are mental health and yoga beneficial to your clients?

C: One of my clients lost her daughter last year and has been afraid to go back to the gym because she “felt exposed and wasn’t ready to open up again.” We began yoga training two weeks ago and she’s already reported feeling “more like herself, less angry at the world and able to accept movement as a positive again.” You’re always working through something in your mind: a success, a failure, a disappointment, a problem; yoga allows you to successfully incorporate these new energies into your body and mind while continuing the everyday quest to re-center and re-invigorate.

G: Do you have any recommendations for anyone who is trying to get mentally and physically ready for the summer?

C: As you shed your winter clothes and those extra pounds, think about letting go of any mental weight you’ve accumulated as well. Take a few minutes each day to do something for yourself and then thank yourself by spending a few minutes absorbing the day while on the mat. Your body will thank you!

If you want to contact Colette you can find her here:
colette.csac@gmail.com, 678.936.2424