Stephanies Starnes will be leading a class at Yoga in the City Chicago this weekend and we’re pumped to have her. We caught up with her before the big day to get the low down on the little things.
Yoga in the City Chicago is filling up fast — if you haven’t registered, now is the time!
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Wanderlust: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Stephanie Starnes: I love my life, and the opportunity to continue to become more of who I am in my heart. My biggest dream involves music, video and travel. Yoga has brought me beautiful opportunities, and I hope to continue to spread love and inspiration through yoga, music, and video. Tapping into, and revealing my greatest passions has proven to be the most difficult thing in my life, yet it is what I want the most. There is much more to come.
WL: What did your child self want to be when you grew up?
SS: A chef, Snow White at Disney World, but I mostly imagined myself as a singer. I was in love with music videos. Especially, Madonna videos! My mom took my madonna videos away when I started singing “Like a Virgin” in the grocery store, and would pull my underwear up my butt, wear cones under my shirt, and dance on the fireplace at the age of 5 or 6. Haha! I also loved B96 radio station in Chicago, and would imagine myself singing and dancing in my own music videos.
WL: Favorite inspirational video?
WL: What is your biggest fear?
SS: Losing people who are close to me is the hardest thing. My family and friends mean the most to me. Some of my closest friends and I are doing a photo shoot this weekend to express what we fear most, as a creative way of working through them. I’m looking forward to the process.
WL: What is your favorite yoga pose?
SS: I love backbends, and going upside down. So, to combine the two, probably scorpion. I love feeling the strength and freedom in backbends, paired with balancing upside down. It is a beautiful and empowering feeling.
WL: What is your least favorite yoga pose?
SS: I don’t have a least favorite, but poses that require deep flexion of the spine have always been difficult for me. Shoulder stand has always been a challenging pose for me as well. I always feel a lot of emotion when practicing it, and that tells me that I need to spend some more time in it.
WL: What do you love about what you do?
SS: I love helping people feel better. Life is challenging, and so beautiful at the same time. Yoga helps us to shift our perspective, and to simply deal with changes, and heal old patterns. I love seeing students shift and grow in their physical practice, as well as shift emotionally and spiritually.
WL: What challenges you about what you do?
SS: Sometimes it’s hard to provide teachings and guidance when I’m going through my own challenges, but I do my best to stay centered while teaching, and offer what I can from where I am. It helps to remember that everyone is going through something, and I can help them by just showing up. Being there for them is enough.