This week’s yogi highlight (our 23rd!) is Brianna Baker, a law student in Brooklyn, New York. Brianna was the winner of the joint Simply Protein / Big Raven Yoga Giveaway back at the end of August. The winner received his or her choice of yoga mats from Big Raven Yoga, and luckily for us Brianna was the winner!
Brianna is simply adorable, and she has amazing energy and ambition: She’s a vegetarian dancer law student who received her yoga teacher certificate at age 15 and now teaches fellow law students out of her apartment. She’s the real-life equivalent of my childhood dream of becoming an ice skating princess veterinarian!
We’re so happy to have her in our fold!
― Joleen
QTell us a little bit about yourself…
AI’m a 21-year-old 1st year law school student living in Brooklyn, NY. I was/am a dancer beginning in my early teen years. Wanting to stay conditioned and stretched, I first become introduced to yoga when I was 14 at a local fitness studio, where I began to work and eventually earned my certification at the young age of 15, really just for the fun of it! I currently use my certification to teach a weekly class out of my small apartment for my fellow law school students. As a vegetarian, I also have a huge passion for plant-based cooking and eating — I LOVE trying new restaurants and writing reviews: a vegetarian diet is far from restrictive… this girl eats good!
QWhat kind of asana (yoga postures) do you practice?
AMy favorites include crow, standing splits, and pigeon!
QHow long have you been a yogi?
AAlmost 7 years!
QWhat role does yoga play in your life?
AYoga is important to me for various reasons. First, it keeps me stretched and strong. Second, it allows me to practice mindfulness, and third, it provides me with the ability to make a little bit of extra income on the side while introducing it to my friends, as I teach a weekly yoga class out of my apartment.
QDo you have a favorite pose?
ACrow
QIs there a pose that used to be a “pillar pose” ― one that you were working toward ― that is now accessible to you?
ACrow
QHow do you perceive the benefits of yoga? Do you think practicing yoga leads to greater happiness in life?
AYoga is beneficial for not just the body, but the mind as well. Yoga differs from other exercise practices because of the emphasis on mindfulness and being at peace with your body.
QWhen you placed your order with Big Raven Yoga, what made you first choose The Purpose of Life?
AI loved the message of happiness as a purpose of life. Too often, we focus on the material (money, possessions, etc) instead of realizing that the state of happiness and peace outweighs any of those things!
QDo you have your eyes fixed on any other Big Raven designs? If so, which one(s) and why?
AOh dear… how could I choose just one?!
QDo people ask you about your mat?
AYes!
QIs there anything else that you’d like us to know that we might have missed?
AI am beyond excited to be a spokesperson for Big Raven Yoga — I won my mat through a giveaway and I believe that it was so meant to be!
We’d sure like to think so, Brianna — we’re so glad it was you who won out of the piles and piles of entrants! We’re lucky to have you!
(You can follow Brianna on Instagram!)
