Meet Ariel Kiley, a member of our teaching team who leads weekly Yoga Tune Up® Flow, Yoga Tune Up® Pain Relief, Yoga Tune Up® Lab, and Rx Series classes at Equinox Fitness Clubs NYC, Yoga Sole, and Dou Yoga in Brooklyn and NYC.
How did you discover Yoga Tune Up® and why did you decide to become a teacher?
I discovered Yoga Tune Up® when a friend talked me into going to a Core Integration workshop with Jill Miller in 2010. I remember thinking that the work was unusual and quite uncomfortable, but I sensed that there was a deeper logic to the practice than in the yoga classes I typically attended. I decided to take the YTU Level 1 teacher training because I was teaching full time and knew I was dangerously under-educated in anatomy and biomechanics. I was also drawn to it because I found all the lead YTU teachers to be exceptionally vibrant and engaging – I wanted to be more like them. After the training I followed Jill wherever I could to assist her until I was eventually leading trainings myself.
What advice would you give a new student just starting a YTU practice?
If you are just starting a YTU practice all you really need to do is show up and listen. Yes, listen to the teacher, but more importantly listen to your body. YTU is a brave practice because it takes you into body blind spots of pain, weakness, tension and even numbness. These can be scary places to confront. Listen to the sensations that arise and trust that by doing this work you can transform that tissue. Be patient but also diligent. YTU will empower you to be the master of your own body – to no longer fear or shame it. Your job is to bravely show up and so your mastery can unfold.
The Yoga Tune Up motto is “Live better in your body”. What does that mean to you?
To “Live better in your body” means that you are constantly refining your mind-body connection so that you can physically and emotionally respond to the demands of your life in a positive and empowered way. It means that you continually experience more ease, more pleasure and greater strength. Many people are completely disassociated from their physical
self. To live better in your body is to truly move into yourself, and make yourself at home in your own awesome bod.
If you could only choose one YTU movement or therapy ball technique to take with you on a desert island, what would it be?
Only one? Fine. Moon Rises! I love the combo of leg/butt/hip strengthening paired with dynamic spinal rotation and balance. Maybe I’ll do it with my hands on coconuts instead of blocks on the island. (See how to do it in the video below!)
More information on Ariel Kiley and her teaching schedule can be found here and at www.arielkileyyoga.com.
The idea of YTU being a brave practice is so true! And the moon rises is definitely a place to be brave in looking for blind spots in the hips and pelvis for me. Thanks!
What an inspiring message . Thank you !
Learning to trust myself and to trust my body…. Off to practice Moon Rises 🙂
I love the idea of just showing up and listening.
I’m doing my YTU level 1 right now and am struggling/contemplating how to incorporate my background in vinyasa flow and to create an experience of flow through the training. I heard that you have a YTU flow class and would love to hear more about it!
I love moon rises. Always a treat to see why and what attracts people from different disciplines to YTU. Thank you for sharing!
Je suis bien d’accord avec le commentaire d’Ariel à propos des bienfaits d’exécuter cet exercice. Je ne connaissais pas par contre je le faisais d’instinct pour ses bienfaits.
I doing right now the YTU Level 1 teacher training and it’s a great discovery for me !! I knew YTU before and liked it so much, but never thought it would as rewarding as it !! I think everyone should take this training to learn about their body and the way they can feel better in !! I’m working as a nurse in an emergency room and this teacher training makes me want to help people differently than giving drugs to cure. It’s not only about prevention, but about self-empowerment of people on their health and well-being. While learning about your body, you automatically open a door to your emotional world….and that make your more attentive about YOU….body and soul !!!
Thank’s !
J’adore cet exercice!
Many thanks for a fabulous first day of TT! Great to learn a bit more about you here in the blog and I appreciate the tips for a new trainee 🙂
“Dangerously under-educated in anatomy” i felt so relieved after i read this. Anatomy is my weak spot
and i was drawn to this training hoping to get a clearer understanding of the body through sensations and not theory.
when you mentioned today in class that you learned more in this YTU training than your 200 hr, i was elated!