YM: How did your yoga practice start?
HR: In 1996 Yoga found me in New York City, while sitting in a chiropractors office experiencing some numbness in my limbs. There was a library where you could borrow books and BKS Iyengar’s book, Light on Yoga drew me in.  I borrowed the book and a new world opened up to me that I never knew existed. Then I found a studio in the Flatiron district and had my first yoga experience, which, left me curious and wanting to learn more of this ancient practice for living life.

YM: Please tell us about what happened in 1996 and how this has affected your practice and your teaching.
HR: After my visits with the chiropractor my symptoms became more intense and then I saw many doctors that led me to a neurologist who diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. After going through a mini breakdown of my life being over I then realized I had a choice to become a victim or get involved with the process. I chose to get involved and began to pour myself into the process of seeking  a healthier lifestyle using the diagnosis as the platform to create a new foundation. Yoga showed me that my diagnosis was the Guru for me, essentially my teacher. In the beginning Yoga offered me a way to accept my diagnosis and see that I am not this diagnosis and to honor my body – to listen to the intelligence within which was being ignored for many years. Then over time with practice when I was able to do poses that were challenging, I found that I was more than a label that I could learn from my challenges. From embracing the MS as a blessing to see the gifts it has offered me to pay attention to my body and integrate healthy choices and ways of healing now I am able to help others find there connection to the self within them.
 As far as my teaching I am able to empathize and give my students permission to be themselves, allowing what it is to be the place to begin. Since I have gone through a long process with my healing the students see results and trust me. I understand loosing faith, being in pain and feeling alone as well as have used tools to move from that place to where I live today. I do my best to encourage them and show them how to use yoga as a way to feel better and see that every day is an opportunity to be grateful. When we can see the mat as the nucleus then look from that place into the world there is a great opportunity to work on areas that may have been blind spots. Grace is in all experiences and when we see that there is work to do then our yoga gets sweeter.


YM: How do you stay so strong, both physically and mentally?
HR: Each day I check in to feel where my body is, I listen then take appropriate action for my yoga practice that day. I practice as much as possible but life sometimes gets busy. Depending on my energy, I follow with a yoga practice that helps me. For a while I did a lot of restorative and therapeutics then worked up to a stronger practice. Pranayama is essential to stay connected for me to the source. I also integrate prayer and meditation so it becomes a more full practice offering me many tools to connect to my deeper self, to God. Sometimes I will hike with my dog then come home stretch and take savasana and she will lay with me – this is good yoga.
Yoga has been a lot for me and taught me to be more disciplined. This discipline crossed over into the way I eat and keep up with my health. Ayurveda helped me a lot along the way teaching me the healing properties of foods, herbs and the cycles of nature. I have also found the conversation I have with myself to keep it kind, supportive and watch that I don’t create grooves, samskaras that will have an effect on my health.

YM: Please explain your teaching style?
HR: Yoga opened me to see that at our foundation we are all inherently good. This was a radical shift on my life and why I focus on the foundation in yoga, literally to pay attention to how your hands and feet touch the earth it does make a difference; many people don’t even realize how important this is in your practice. That is why I created my Yoga DVD titled Foundations with Hillary Rubin. The DVD shows my approach to yoga even better than I can say in words, as every day is different and I will draw from different parts of myself, pending on what I am reading or even experiencing in my life. Yoga has inspired me to feel good about myself and I strive to do the same for my students. I draw from many places, at the moment I am inspired by the teachings of Anusara, Rajanaka Tantra and Agape International Spiritual Center, which are all based on non-dual philosophy. Using a spiritual context in my classes and workshops feeds my enthusiasm and shows that yoga is more than just stretching. In Anusara we begin a theme, which is usually steeped in a philosophical context but I choose to hide it in the mundane, the everyday being out in the world, so its not overwhelming for the students. Even if I have a theme from a myth or scripture, I will always take it back to how are you driving, talking and being in your world.
Sometimes, I joke and say I am the self-help yoga teacher,  but it's really true.

YM: What is the most important thing to remember when practicing yoga?
HR:  Every day is different, Be patient, Be grateful, Be you!!!!
I know you ask for the most important but this is an edited list….


YM: Please explain how you have brought teaching yoga to those with injuries, in chronic pain and dealing with a medical diagnosis.
HR: One of the gifts yoga has shown me is that when in good alignment everything works in better harmony. After studying, assisting and teaching I grew to love helping those who feel they cannot do yoga because they are in pain, too tight, not flexible or have an injury. For many people they see the images in the media and it does not look like them but I have found that what brings most people to yoga is pain, a diagnosis or some kind of problem they want to get rid of or there Doctor said yoga is good for stress.
Being that I was diagnosed with MS and was able to use yoga to better my life and get out of pain, I feel there is a lot I have to share with my students. I know what its like to be in a place with my health and feel frustrated, along and wanting to get rid of the “problem”.  Since I have used yoga successfully as a process this gives me first hand experience.
As I was very busy with privates specifically therapeutics I realized that a class would be great to create and offer. I saw there was nothing in LA like it and went for it. I offer a therapeutics class at City Yoga on Friday’s at 6pm. This  is my favorite class to teach and perhaps the most challenging to do. I always share my story to help the student understand the possibilities of  embracing where they are. Then by teaching them to breathe and move they become more empowered which leads them to the evolution of themselves.
In my therapeutics class we do poses that are specifically designed to help the bodies’ natural healing ability in Ansuara  we see good alignment as good therapy. I show my students how to stand, walk and even sit in a chair and it helps greatly. From time to time we will bring in some restorative – active and passive. In the beginning of the class I take inventory and then we thank what brought us to the class, the exact pain or problem and use it in a new way for transformation.

YM: How does first hand experience help?
HR: I have noticed that working with my students who have dis-ease, discord or chronic pain that I am able to connect with them on a deeper level. I can be empathetic and understand the frustration that comes from being in a place of pain or even fear of the unknown. Once I began to go public with my story I saw it inspired many people and this does help as I look healthy and fit.

YM: How can yoga help with pain?
HR: Simply by learning to turn your awareness on the pain and breathe deeply there will be less pain. Breathing is very important and when I am in pain I have to stop lye down and rest my hand on my heart and belly and focus on the pain and breathe into it. Also, when you engage your muscles and set the body up in the most optimal alignment then keeping engaged stretch the bones you are able to move energy and properly stretch a body that may have become stiff or stagnant. After stretching and breathing with a focus on being grateful for instance there is a shift in the mind and body. Good alignment is good therapeutics and when we follow this with precision then great results happen. It takes time but to breathe and move the body in simple motions allows the blood to flow and support the bodies’ natural process to heal.
I have many clients who deal with pain from slip discs to spinal stenosis we work on specific poses with repetitions and breath. Consistency make the difference as well as learning you habits of standing, sitting and the way you move in the world that may be out of alignment. Doing some exercises each day as I offer my clients I will choose 3 or 5 exercises for a specific injury show them the best alignment then they do it for 5 breaths 3 times. 15 min a day makes a huge difference then work up to more time on the mat.


YM: Please tell us about your new DVD. It sounds Amazing!
HR: Last Year, I was in the middle of writing my new book, I Am Not A Mess—You Are More Than A Diagnosis, and was offered a unique opportunity to teach on the celebrated Yoga Month tour.  While it was planned to have the book ready for the tour, the opportunity to move forward with a much sought after Yoga DVD began to gain momentum from the success of my free online yoga podcast, Hillary’s Yoga Practice.  I chose to embrace the shift from the book to produce the DVD with my Husband to see what would unfold and best support my own evolution.
Together we created, birthed and are now offering, Foundations with Hillary Rubin under the I am not a mess ™ DVD series. Once the creative process began I followed my heart and opened to see what I could offer.  From my personal experience of how yoga has helped me heal and get stronger from the ground up I wanted to share this and offer a way to transform life’s challenges into a platform for wellness. Then gathered 5 students, 3 of which are interviewed on my podcast (www.hillarysyogapractice.com), and it all unfolded with grace from there. Yoga was very useful as the entire production was one big asana, obstacles opened me up to breathe and see how more was always revealed– staying in alignment with balanced action was imperative boy am I grateful for Anusara Yoga’s teachings.
I Am Not A Mess™ Series is a new approach to yoga DVDs, offering yoga not just as fitness, but as an all-encompassing set of holistic tools for creating a healthier lifestyle. From my interest in technology we made sure to have a team of talented artists and technicians in the film/ television business.  We used the talent of each individual to create a series takes the traditional yoga video into the New Media Age, integrating how-to content with technology to serve the home student in a supportive community for personal growth.
The content is fresh and rich there is a class with or without music for about 35 mn, then you have an option to do the class with inserted demo’s which last about an hr if you just want a boost and are sitting at your desk there is a 8 mn chair sequence and more... Keeping with my podcasts we offer an audio class 20mn, extended healing relaxation and you can even meet the students and watch a mini-documentary about yoga and how its benefited the lives of the students.
I am very excited to share the title is Yoga Foundations with Hillary Rubin. The yoga program provides tools for healing for anyone who is ready for personal transformation. Yoga helped me to embrace my own diagnosis of MS, create a strong foundation and help me to evolve within my limitations.
We are what we give and to give back to the community I wanted to touch the lives of children. 10% of proceeds will benefit the Agape Youth and Family Ministry (www.agapelive.com), a ministry which is here to serve the next stage of a child's evolution, the recognition of their Oneness with the Spirit. Serving over 800 children a month, our purpose is to be a place of love for our children to fully embody their divine nature.

YM: Thank you so much for joining us! Where can we find out more about you?
HR: You are most welcome my pleasure to serve…
To purchase a DVD and find more info www.iamnotamess.com for free online yoga podcasts www.hillarysyogapractice.com