Changemaker Spotlight: Tim Senesi
by Yoga Digest | January 27, 2017 5:31 am
After graduating San Diego State University, Tim Senesi started training with Megan Bello from Orange County Yoga Studio. Soon after, he began an apprenticeship with Anna Delury while regularly taking workshops with Manouso Manos. He says the opportunity to study with such knowledgeable Iyengar teachers was priceless and eye-opening. “The Iyengar method made sense to me; it was concrete, focused and effective,” says Senesi.
However, it wasn’t until he was introduced to Vinnie Marino’s class that he realized he could take ideas from his Iyengar foundation and blend his own style of Vinyasa Flow.
, was important, says Senesi, because it gave him a way to share yoga with people for free, and give a variety of practices that he’s done over the years for all types of people.
YD: How did you get into yoga?
TS: I started yoga through my school gym. I had a teacher I loved there, Kirk, but I really enjoyed practicing on my own. Kirk loaned me some books and videos, and I would practice every day from the videos and books.
This is one of the reasons why creating a YouTube channel with free Videos was so appealing to me. It’s a way for me to give back, and It’s a great way for people who aren’t as interested in taking group classes or don’t have the time to.
I think Yoga should be available to anyone who is seeking it out.
YD: What have you done in the past year to better yourself as a Yoga Teacher?
TS: I practice daily, and take one day off each week. This keeps me sharp when teaching, and I feel confident when I teach because I’m practicing what I preach. If I have to take too long away from the practice because of a skating or surfing injury I start to feel like a fraud.
I try to read the good books. I read from the sutras often or other books on Yoga.
I also like to take workshops and classes regularly from Senior teachers. I get a lot of my inspiration from some of the Iyengar teachers like , Paul Cabanas, Anna Delury, Megan Bello, and Manouso Manos. I also like Vinnie Marino for Vinyasa yoga.
YD: Why is yoga so important in the world we live in today?
TS: I think it’s always been important, but with what we’re doing to ourselves physically with all the time on computers, cell phones, sitting at desks and in cars, it has become necessary to keep the physical body from deteriorating. Most live sedentary lives, and our physical mental and spiritual well being are suffering as a result. It’s as if were de-evolving.
I think today, more than ever, we’re disconnected from the natural world and our bodies.
YD: What do you like the least about yoga?
TS: I’m mostly disappointed with the images that are pushed on us about what a yoga practice looks like. Minimally trained Instagram celebrities showing extremely risky postures to sell stretchy pants for companies pushing these images and then giving poor explanations on their “cody app” about how to do them with unintelligent, dangerous, sequencing.
I can’t tell you how many people I meet that have injured themselves by practicing handstand improperly because they were inspired by some ad or Instagram yogi.
I found that there wasn’t any adequate outline online or on YouTube for how to properly prepare the body for handstand or learn to practice them safely and effectively.
This is why I created the Handstand Course and have it available on my sight . It’s the most complete guide online to learning to properly prepare the body for and practice handstands.
YD: Where do you see the yoga industry in 10 years?
TS: I see the industry continuing to grow. I think many people are realizing how beneficial yoga is.
I also see it moving online. People are so stressed and short on time. The time commitment required to get to a studio and take a 1.5 hour class just doesn’t work for a lot of people. They’re finding they can stay at home and do a 20 – 55 minute video (depending on they’re schedule that day) on YouTube instead.
YD: What is your life motto?
TS: Do it for the sake of doing it, not for the results.
I think the American dream is to get as much as you can for yourself even if you have to suffer for a while and make others suffer so that you can retire to the golf course or condo on the coast and then be a sloth for the rest of your life.
I wasn’t buying into that. I want to Love the things I do and make sure they bring value and joy into people lives.
The Gita says it like this:
“Therefore, without being attached to the fruits of activities, one should act €¨as a matter of duty, for by working without attachment one attains the €¨Supreme.”
Source URL: https://yogadigest.com/changemaker-spotlight-tim-senesi/