At the acupuncturist's office, I had a few minutes to kill in the waiting room, so I picked up a copy of Yoga Journal. I flipped through a few pages and then bam, this ad by ToeSox hits me in the face. It's possibly the most beautiful yoga pose I've ever seen. A few pages later, I see the same model in a different ad, but the pose is equally stunning. And finally, I see her in the cover image for a renowned photographer's calendar. Whew! So who is this siren, who demonstrates the most difficult poses of yoga, with such power, beauty and grace?

A little bit of hunting and I track down Kathryn Budig, a yoga teacher who lives in Venice Beach in Southern California. So I call her and ask for an interview. I find someone who radiates the essence of yoga, without ego and deeply balanced... and with a fully open heart chakra. And so, we're happy to present yoga's first supermodel and a genuine yoga goddess!

Hey Kathryn, so from where do you hail? What was your life before yoga?

I’m a purebred midwestern from Lawrence, Kansas. I’ve since lived in Princeton, New Jersey, where I learned to deal with road rage. Charlottesville, Virginia, where I learned that “ya’ll” is indeed a proper word and now in Venice, CA, where I’m truly grateful for New Jersey and its wisdom for dealing with road rage.

And how did you happen to fall into the world of yoga?

I was introduced my 2nd year of college from one of my musical theatre friends. She started bringing me to ashtanga classes downtown and I fell in love with the strength and grace of my teacher and the practice. My weekly class became a major highlight for me which slowly transformed into a full time practice.

Okay, how about telling me a story from childhood that explains exactly how you became who you are...

Sure. When I was a child, I would collect hundreds of snails after rainstorms and bring them all together into one big snail community. I think that taught me how to connect to source and create unity. I would play ‘Robin Hood’ in the back yard climbing the trees, rolling down hills and hiding in bushes. That taught me the importance of creativity, expansion and never to limit myself. I would hold my mom’s crystal vase upside down like a microphone and give my Academy Award acceptance speech in front of our huge mirror decked out in ‘dress-up’ clothes. I think ultimately that taught me a sense of humor. My father would tell me stories every night about himself having a heart of gold and my mother calling me princess petunia. That taught me unconditional love.

What is your lineage? Who were your teachers?

I hail from the ashtanga tradition. Chuck Miller and Maty Ezraty trained me and I have Maty to thank for where I am today. She saw promise in a 21 year old girl fresh into yoga and wide eyed. I may have never seen the teacher within me if she hadn’t thrown me onto the schedule (or to the hounds. . . i was terrified at the time)! I’m eternally grateful that she truly saw me.

What are the fundamental principles of your work?

On a physical level, I encourage my students to take risks. I teach poses like handstand and arm balances to get people out of their comfort zones and out of their heads. Yoga has an amazing ability to release resistance and zone us into untapped potential. It’s only once we realize there is just as much beauty in the fall as there is in the success that we can truly progress without fear into an open and nurturing space. I want people to realize through their practice that everything unfolds as it should when we loosen the grip and allow ourselves to be open. Then you can let the joy flow in.

What is the greatest joy in your life, so far? What did it teach you?

I just had a really life altering experience doing an ayahuasca ceremony. It really cracked my head wide open and I have since felt pure contentment and trust that everything is as it should be. It taught me so much about my own resistance and need to keep things going the way I thought they should be. I now know that love is constantly surrounding me whether or not its tangible or visible. I trust in that support and have been vibrating at a higher level ever since.

What was the greatest sorrow of your life? What did that teach you?

Hm. I had my heart shattered badly about a year back and I spent so much time trying to repair the damage without looking at myself for answers. I finally realized that no one around me needed to change -- I did. I realized that the pain I was going through was because of my own decisions and any hurt that I thought had been coming from others was because I had allowed it or believed it to be so. Once I realized I was in charge of my own actions and surroundings, I started to heal. I no longer looked to others to make my heart beat or hold my hand through challenging situations. I now have complete faith in myself. So, I guess you could say the greatest sorrow of my life will now help me pull in the greatest joy!

Have you ever studied tantra yoga?

You know, I haven’t... but I’ve heard there’s this amazing site called the TantricNews.com... maybe you’ve heard of it??

What's next for Kathryn Budig? What are you working on?

I’ve been blessed with lots of wonderful projects. I’m about to start my first round of leading teacher training for YogaPoser at YogaGlo in Santa Monica, CA. I’ll be teaching next to James Brown, Jesse Schein and Alex Crow ---- all genius teachers.

I’m also really excited about a new website that I’ve partnered to create called YogaSpot. It’s really cutting edge taking video clips to create your very own customized home practice. Sign up at Yogaspot.com and it will keep you up to date with the launch.

Hollywood is starting to understand the importance of yoga and it’s been written into a character for an upcoming action film called, “Faster”. It’s a Sony picture starting “The Rock” and Billy Bob Thorton. I’m training Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who will be shot doing beautiful asana in the film. I hope that this will help to wet people’s appetite to learn more about yoga.

I recently joined The Elephant Journal team as a full time columnist. The editor, Waylon Lewis, is a funky, green, bursting-with-love genius. It shows in the site.

Lastly, as always, you can find me on YogaJournal.com/podcast and I have an upcoming home practice that will be featured in their magazine this summer. I am always touring nationally and can be followed through my website or on my facebook and twitter page.

Please share with us a spontaneous haiku...

fearlessly loving
breath, trusting, knowing, spirit
smiling here i am




Links mentioned in the article:

www.kathrynbudig.com
www.yogaspot.com
www.yogaposer.com
www.yogaglo.com
www.jesseschein.com
www.alexandriacrow.com
www.jamesbrownyoga.com
www.elephantjournal.com
www.twitter.com/kathrynbudig
www.facebook.com/pages/Kathryn-Budig