After grading stacks of essays, Upper School English teacher Sarah Blanton ‘14 steps into CorePower Yoga to lead Vinyasa Yoga and Yoga Sculpt classes. Like many students at Hockaday, she enjoys practicing yoga, but in addition to practicing yoga, Blanton also teaches it.
“Getting my 200 hour yoga certification was something I’ve always wanted to do since high school, but it’s kind of a huge time commitment, so it had never been the right time,” Blanton said. “I’d practiced yoga on and off pretty consistently since I was 16, and joined the SET team at CorePower, where you clean the studio to get a discount on your membership. I got to know some instructors that way and also got a discount on my training.”
Although she initially only took Vinyasa Yoga, Blanton discovered Yoga Sculpt through her teacher training. Vinyasa Yoga is a more traditional style of yoga, while Yoga Sculpt adds in strength training and some cardio.
“I wasn’t really a Yoga Sculpt person, but one of the instructors I was friends with convinced me to do the training for it, and I found that it’s a really great way to get into the space, and what I found is that I loved it,” Blanton said. “It played on so many things I was already strong at. I love the adrenaline. So, I actually found that I loved teaching sculpt more than I like taking it.”
In addition to Blanton, Hockaday Development Services Associate Katie McLeroy also teaches at CorePower Yoga, instructing Vinyasa Yoga classes. In her 10 years of teaching, she has also taught at two other studios.
“When I was in college, you had to take a health class to graduate, and I heard that you could take yoga for your health credit and you got to take a nap,” McLeroy said. “I signed up to take it, and it was true: we got to nap every single class during Savasana. From there, I realized how much I love yoga and continued to practice after college.”
Like Blanton, McLeroy had considered teaching yoga for a while before she began training.
“Teaching yoga was something I always wanted to do,” McLeroy said. “When a studio opened up close to my house, and there was an opportunity to do teacher training, the timing was right, so I decided to try it out.”
McLeroy believes yoga is unique because it places focus on calming your mind and emotions.
“Not only are you working out your body, but the goal is to feel better in your mind when you are done,” McLeroy said. “Many people go to a workout class because they want to get in a physical workout, but I think the reason they keep coming back is because of how it makes them feel in their mind. Getting out of your head and freeing yourself from the noise that resides in our heads every day and getting into your body can calm your mind down.”
Blanton shares this view, seeing yoga as something to help her slow down.
“Yoga has taught me that you can always take a moment and catch your breath,” Blanton said. “It’s also a reminder that we can always start fresh. There’s always a new day, a new chance and a new opportunity, and I think that’s helped me a lot. Teaching, in general, has also taught me a lot about myself and risk-taking and confidence, and what it means to make connections with people.”
To balance her job at Hockaday and her job teaching yoga, Blanton prioritizes each area at a different time during her week.
“I teach Friday evenings and Sunday mornings, and I like it because it’s how I end my school week,” Blanton said. “I go from Hockaday and enter that space, and then it’s Sunday morning, so all of my yoga is contained in that weekend space. I’ve been intentional about not picking up an early morning weekday class where it would be more challenging for me.”
McLeroy also strives to have this balance in her life. She enjoys the flexibility and community of yoga and makes sure to make space for both her yoga teaching and job at Hockaday.
“I think yoga and sculpt classes appeal to all kinds of people because they are scalable to what you need, and they are taught in a really fun atmosphere, usually with a lot of energy in the room and good music and overall good vibes,” McLeroy said. “The best thing that has come out of teaching yoga is all of the wonderful people I’ve gotten to meet. I look forward to seeing my yoga students every week.”
