CorePower Yoga Power Love Scholarship Recipient Q&A

At CorePower Yoga, we know that it's the unique and diverse voices within our communities that make CorePower what it is, and we are dedicated to uplifting and amplifying these voices every day. We want to share stories that enrich the CorePower community and expand perspectives by sharing other people's points of view. Recently, our CEO Niki Leondakis sat down with longtime practitioner and recipient of the Power Love teacher training scholarship, Murphy.

They discuss what led Murphy to CorePower Yoga, inspired them to apply for the Power Love scholarship, and why it's so important to diversify the yoga teacher community and create a space where everyone's unique identity is celebrated. Enjoy!

Niki: Hi Murphy! I was so grateful to get your note. Looking forward to learning more about you.

Murphy: Thank you, Niki. I'm really excited this is happening!

Niki: What originally brought you to your yoga mat?

Murphy: Well, I have always been attracted to movement. I always wanted to be a dancer and I began yoga when I was 17 years old. This year, I am celebrating my 20th year of practice. In my yoga studies, or Svadhyaya, I believe in the universal threads, or Yoga Sutras, in movement that are cross-cultural and eclipse themselves with western and eastern cultures. So I was following a lot of trends. I was a child of the Madonna generation. With the Kabbalah and doing a daily practice, I really developed a love within me for it. That love has followed me everyday since.

Niki: Amazing. I love it. I mean, who didn't Madonna inspire? I went to Kyoto, Japan because of Madonna. I don't know if you remember her video that was inspired by the book, Memoirs of a Geisha.

Murphy: Yes, of course. The song was 'Nothing Really Matters' from the Ray of Light album. Absolutely. I know that reference.

Niki: Yes, exactly.

So you're a longtime practitioner of yoga. What are a few of the lessons your yoga practice has taught you over the past twenty years?

Murphy: Over my 20 years of doing yoga, I've developed a passion for accessibility. That has been my north star. I believe in making everything as accessible as possible, which can open the door to diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and awareness. No matter what pose I am in during practice, I am thinking about a proverbial multiverse of diversity. And I'm constantly challenging myself to think of how someone with a temporary or permanent disability would approach a pose, and I try to develop a language that can be understood and utilized by everyone.

Niki: Beautiful. Can you talk a little bit about your teacher training journey? What did you enjoy most? What challenged you most?

Murphy: I started going to CorePower Yoga in 2015, and I began fantasizing about joining yoga teacher training. I would see flyers when I would walk into the studio about it, and I always told myself that someday I was going to take this training and become a yoga teacher. I've always loved that no matter what CorePower studio you find yourself in, you feel a supportive community of people with similar goals.

Then, the pandemic happened and I went into extreme isolation. I can count on one hand how many times I left my house, and that was really just for doctor and dentist appointments. I believe it was my responsibility as a global citizen to help bring an end to the pandemic in this way. I became deeply introspective and focused on wellness and self care. And I revisited my yoga practice and meditated for hours every day. I'll always cherish this time because it allowed me to become the person that I am today.

When I received the Power Love scholarship to participate in Teacher Training, I remember looking at the syllabus and the requirements, and thinking that it was comparable to the studies that I had just completed in my graduate-level course at the University of Denver. I treated my Teacher Training program with that same mindset. I read every page of the manual, participated in every session that was offered, and had my camera on as much as possible. With every session, I approached the training as a beginner. That was probably the greatest challenge. As someone who has been practicing yoga for 20 years, you want to take the reins and you think, I know how to do this. But to be a good teacher, you want to understand how to do crow pose or do tree pose from that beginner mindset. And you're a beginner every time you touch the mat.

Niki: Yes, that's why we call yoga a practice. We're always a beginner, essentially.

You mentioned the Power Love Scholarship. As a recipient, why do you feel it's important to have diverse representation within the yoga teacher community?

Murphy: Yoga is a gift that should be honored in humility. I have always known that I'm an instructor. I often tell people, I've lived many different lives, and I've been a teacher in every single one. I wanted to gift others with the knowledge of yoga. I believe that all education should be affordable and filled with resources, so people can feel empowered to expand their own awareness. And scholarship opportunities, like the CorePower Power Love scholarship, are fantastic ways to allow people, such as myself, to access inclusion in places that may be beyond our temporary or permanent financial reach. So I really applaud CorePower for offering so many of us, not only the Power Love scholarship, but also the resources to become teachers if that's the path we want to take.

Niki: I agree, Murphy. It's so important to diversify the yoga teacher community, not only at CorePower but in the world. It needs to happen. So thank you for participating.

Can you tell me about a teacher or two who has made an impact on you?

Murphy: I was impacted by the CorePower teachers who led us through the 200 hours of the teacher training program, Katrina, Keisha, and Meghan, and all of our guest speakers who cared so much about providing a professional learning environment where all voices were included, and where there was a sense of belonging, even though it was a virtual environment. It was always centered on belonging, which allowed every session to really become a celebration of our own unique talents as instructors. And I would be remiss if I did not mention my teacher and friend, Thích Nhất Hạnh. Through his Dharma talks about mindfulness and interbeing, I've been able to see the world as a mirror of myself and find myself on a path to nothingness.

Niki: Beautiful. I love Thích Nhất Hạnh.

Murphy: I recently wrote a book, and as a writer, it was really great to listen to his lectures, watch his videos, and read his books, and really become inspired to change my life, to mirror a life of mindfulness. So definitely Thích Nhất Hạnh is one of my favorite teachers, and I consider him a close friend after all the hours we spent together.

Niki: Thích Nhất Hạnh got me through COVID. I live in Northern California, and I would do evening walks with Thích Nhất Hạnh on Audible. There's a ridge of a mountain and I could see the sun beginning to set over the ridge with his words in my head. I don't think I could've gotten through that time without him.

Murphy, is there anything else that you'd like to share or shed light on?

Murphy: From the bottom of my heart, Niki, I want to thank you for providing me and so many people the opportunity to grow in our yoga practice and community. CorePower Yoga is a testament to a global Sangha, or community, of practitioners dedicated to providing an equitable and accessible yoga community, and my life is forever changed because of it. I knew it was going to be changed. I just didn't know how much. I'm so thankful every day for what I've learned in CorePower classes.

Niki: Oh my gosh, Murphy, thank you so much. You just radiate, Murphy. You are radiating joy right through the screen. I can feel it and it's beautiful. I'm so happy to have met you, and I'm so honored to have been able to talk with you in this setting. I'm excited to share your joy and passion and light with our broader CorePower community. This has been the highlight of my day. Thank you.