Work, Study, Yoga
Written By Asia Howe
Lipman in Crow Pose. Photo courtesy of Hannah Lipman.
“Do your practice and all is coming.” – Shri K. Pattabhi Jois
Should an individual walk around downtown Hilo, they will see advertisements announcing yoga classes and signs announcing yoga studios. University of Hawaii at Hilo students, however, do not need to travel such a distance to enjoy a quality yoga class. The fees all attendees must pay at the beginning of a new school year includes a Student Life Center charge. This fee allows students to take advantage of the great programs which the center offers, like Hannah Lipman’s, yoga “flow” or “vinyāsa”—meaning “breath-synchronized movement”—class.
Hannah Lipman, a junior, double majoring in Women’s Studies and English, has practiced yoga since age sixteen. She earned the designation of a 200 Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) from Yoga Alliance in the summer of 2013. More recently, in the fall of 2014, she earned the distinction of a 500 RYT. The numbers attached to the acronymed title, according to Yoga Alliance, are based off the amount of hours an individual has trained at a Registered Yoga Studio. Altogether, Lipman has learned and practiced the discipline for nine years.
UH Hilo Junior, Hannah Lipman, yoga instructor at the UH Hilo Student Life Center. Photo provided by Hannah Lipman.
“Yoga has been my rock in life,” says Lipman. “I have been practicing yoga since … 16, but it wasn’t till I was in a domestic violence relationship that I really understood what yoga did for me. Yoga has given me the courage to say no and stand up for myself. Through practice, learning, and teaching … I have found I am more grounded and have a higher sense of self. Yoga helped me during the dark time of [a] bad relationship and thus yoga has given me something I will never let anyone take away from me again…my life. Through all this, yoga has also made me a better student. When I get nervous or anxious in class I take a simple pose and just breathe. Yoga helps me center my thoughts. I have to admit, some of my favorite essays I have written have come to me on my yoga mat.”
Lipman got her start as a yoga teacher roughly two years ago while taking Sunday vinyasa classes taught by Liz Heffernan at the Student Life Center. The instructor encouraged her to attend a yoga teacher training class. After she finished the class, Heffernan again encouraged Lipman—this time to contact the Campus Recreation Department’s Fitness Coordinator, Valerie Yamaki, and pursue a position at the center. The junior substituted a few yoga classes before she was offered a position. Currently, she participates in the Federal Work Study Program, a program that helps students pay undergraduate or graduate expenses.
Lipman in One-legged king pigeon Pose. Photo courtesy of Hannah Lipman.
“Teaching your own yoga class gives you freedom to be creative and play around with postures and watch students expand their practice,” Lipman states. “In [a] teaching practicum or internship, its not just about creativity, but setting up the student[s] for a foundation in yoga. When you teach your own class, you [put to] use all those [foundational] learnings.”
“I like to take a lesson I learned in [a] class or a ‘word of the day’,” the junior divulges, “and apply it to the intention setting of my [yoga] class. I always have my students sit for [five] minutes before we start moving to center themselves and set an intention for class. This is where I give my little lessons from my day.” She goes on, “I used to be money driven when thinking about what I wanted to do when I graduate. Yoga has made me look deeper at what I want to do in [the] future. I want to use yoga in my career no matter where I work. At this time I want to stay working with domestic violence survivors and continue to offer yoga [at] the domestic violence shelter in Hilo.”
Lipman’s vinyāsa class meets every Tuesday and Thursday from 5 pm to 6 pm. Interested students may visit her Facebook page or send an email to hilogirl9789@gmail.com.
