Q and A with Samantha from Tucson, Arizona

“Nothing is personal. Nothing. I spent a lot of years thinking everything was about me. I still do it sometimes. But, when I figured out that everyone is just as self-conscious as I am and are all worrying about themselves and not me, it freed me to be a little more myself and hopefully be more compassionate to others in the process!”

Q: Tell us about yourself.

A: My passions are my family, yoga, and being in nature. I am a homebody and love spending a lot of time at home with my husband and two dogs. My boys are grown now, but I love seeing them whenever I can. Yoga is my passion because it changed my life. I love how it makes me feel and the philosophical side too. It has helped me change my perspective on lots of things; it helps me keep an open mind and reminds me of my purpose. It is why I wanted to teach it.

I have been teaching yoga since 2007. After a long time of driving around all over to teach, I got burnt out. So, I took a break so that I can refocus and get connected to my own practice again. Right now, I am working on taking my teaching online. I only started last year, but I am finally feeling like I am getting better and getting over my fears of being on camera. I teach a few free classes weekly on Zoom, and I am loving it! As for nature, I am now working part-time and am a docent at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. It has awakened my passion for all things nature and the desert I live in. It has made me see everything through new eyes, even yoga! The desert museum is my happy place. Every time I go there I see something new, I learn something new and I can feel that I am part of something bigger than myself there. I also love hiking and learning more about the desert has really turned all my hiking into learning adventures.

Q: What were your younger years like?

A: As a child, I was very active but not really into sports or anything like that. I loved jumping on the trampoline, roller skating, and swimming. When it came to competition sports, I guess I was just too sensitive for that. So, as I got older, I found myself avoiding physical activities. The thing was, I loved being active, I just found myself feeling self-conscious about it. Looking back, it makes me realize why I love yoga so much. As a kid, without realizing it, I was always on an inner journey. Thinking about God and purpose, solving mysteries of humanity, and trying to figure out the world and my place in it. I believe yoga ignites that same passion I had as a child. As a little girl, I was very sensitive and I was made fun of for it, and yoga has helped me explore that and accept that about myself. By teaching yoga, I want to impart that self-acceptance to others and help them learn to love every part of themselves too.

Q: What is something valuable you’d like others to know?

A: Being alone doesn’t mean being lonely. My grandma once told me, “There are worse things than being alone.” She said that in the context of a bad relationship I was in at the time but now I realize she was right but not because of a bad relationship. It is pretty awful being alone if you’re lonely. Over time, I have realized that loneliness is an attitude problem. It is a lack of relationship with myself. Loneliness isn’t about who I am with, or what relationship I am in, being lonely is about how good my relationship is with myself. It is not about me. Nothing is personal. Nothing. I spent a lot of years thinking everything was about me. I still do it sometimes. But, when I figured out that everyone is just as self-conscious as I am and are all worrying about themselves and not me, it freed me to be a little more myself and hopefully be more compassionate to others in the process! We are all worthy. I have a problem with the word deserve, just because, in life, none of us are promised or entitled to anything. That said, it is important to know my worth. It took me many years to realize that I am worth working for, so long as I was the one willing to do the work. I am worth taking care of. I am worth having an amazing life. That shift in thinking really opened me up to the possibilities for me. As long as I am willing to do the work because, I know my worth, I can make anything happen for myself!

Q: What does feminism mean to you?
A: That women are respected in all positions in society. A woman who decides to stay at home, a woman who decides to work a career, and a woman who decides to stay single, or not have children are just as worthy as anyone else to make the best choices for herself without judgment. All life paths are just as valid as any other. I also see it as a frame of mind that women need to have with other women. Many women are communal in nature, and we really know how to build each other up! So, when we are given the opportunity, we need to not see each other as competition. We are allies. We don’t need to look outside of ourselves for validation. We are strong enough to create it for ourselves. Our nature is to help each other so we should not let societal ideation stray our standards from that.