Hannahs heating things up with hot yoga.

1) Tell us about your job  and family.

I’m an only parent and a widow. My husband of 18 years died in December 2018. I have a daughter who is weeks away from 16 and is a sophomore at the local high school. She’s a competitive gymnast (JO Level 6). She’s also a very talented artist. I have a 13 year old son who is in the 7th grade and homeschooled. He loves racing go-karts, is an ice hockey goalie and plays soccer in the late winter and spring. I’m mostly a mom and teacher to them. I also work part-time at my daughter’s gym at the front desk. I was full on building a business with Plexus Worldwide, but backed off after my husband got sick. I’ve been struggling to build it back up. All four of my parents are living as are my three siblings. We’re all close.

2) Do you have a personal goal? What is it and why does it matter to you? In March of last year, I started taking hot yoga classes (Bikram style) and hot pilates classes. This form of exercise and meditation helped me through the early months of grief and just figuring out my new life in general. For the first time in a VERY long time, I decided to make my well-being, both mental and physical, a priority. It made such a difference in my life that a few months into my practice, I decided to get certified to teach these styles of hot fitness. My goal is to be an exceptional teacher and leader of hot yoga and hot pilates. 3) What do you have to say about your goal? I was accepted into the Raja Yoga Academy for Level 1 hot yoga teacher training. This is the first step to my goal. It’s a 500 hour, six week intensive. I have 80 hours to complete at home memorizing the 90 minute outline to the original hot yoga class. I leave in early April. Memorizing this much is HARD! I study A LOT! I know I can do it. After Level 1 there are two more levels of training with Raja and a weekend training to be able to teach hot pilates. My ultimate goal is to teach teachers and be a leader in the field. 4) Is there some type of event associated with your goal and if so, when and where is it? I’ll be training for six weeks in Evanston, Illinois this spring. After that, I can apply for a job at my sponsor studio in South Burlington, Vermont. 5) What is the toughest part about committing to this goal? The hardest part of this whole thing will be being away from my kids for six weeks and no spouse or partner to be with them at home. So I’ve been working on finding people who will help with them and my dog while I’m gone. I have half of the time covered so far between my mom, my mother-in-law and a friend of the family. Getting all those details lined up is stressful. I know it’ll all be worth it, and my kids will have a better mama return home after the six weeks. I'll also have a six week separation from my boyfriend. This'll be a big test of the strength of our fairly new relationship (8 months dating). 6) What do you have to do to prepare for this goal? My preparation includes: -Attending hot yoga classes as a student as often as possible to deepen my personal practice -Memorizing the 90 minute outline and practicing with people -Finding people to help with my teens while I’m gone and organizing all those details