#12: Lara Hocheiser on Digital Human Interaction, The Pendulum of Social Movements, and Yoga vs Glorified Stretching

Summary

In today's episode, Eric Schleien sits down with interview guest, writer, and registered yoga teacher Lara Hocheiser. They talk about the need for gender conversations, the concept of Sushumna Nadi, the relation between political identity and people’s reality, and Lara’s experience as a transformational coach.

In this episode, Lara also emphasizes inclusivity and how the privileged can and should support the marginalized by changing the system along with them. While being married to a trans woman, she saw with her own eyes how trans people often struggled through the years and how important it is for them to be comfortable in their skin and share their experiences. Hence, Lara advocates for other cis-gendered people to support the trans community by bringing them from the margins into the majority, hearing them out when no one else will, and giving them a chance to speak when they can.

As you listen further, tune in to Eric and Lara’s discussion about the different realities people face and how it affects their political identity. For Lara, we need to facilitate an environment where people can see what their capable of, be proud of it, and help others do the same. She also believes that through sharing our experiences, we bridge the different realities we all experience, come to an understanding and take a stand for each other.

About Lara Hocheiser

Lara Hocheiser is the founder of Flow and Grow Kids Yoga, a registered children’s yoga school which aims to instill lifelong healthy habits in children. Lara has worked in the early childhood education sector for 19 years. She began her career as a Spanish Immersion teacher, and during that time, she integrated yoga, social-emotional learning, and mindfulness into circle time.

Now, Lara has over 15 years of experience studying, teaching, and living the yoga path. She has also taught more than 9,000 hours of early childhood yoga and mindfulness classes to date. She continues to speak at university early childhood education departments.

After receiving certification as a Registered Yoga Teacher, she started her own business, Flow and Grow Kids Yoga. She even garnered notoriety for her training programs, professional development, and student programming, offered globally and virtually. Now, Lara has trained more than 300 people in the career track of children’s yoga and mindfulness. She has also worked with hundreds of educators, parents, and mental health professionals.

Show Notes

• [03:21] How the pandemic and technology changed how we connect with people worldwide.
• [12:26] Lara’s experience as a transformational coach, training other yoga teachers online.
• [19:25] The use of 'they' and 'them' in Lara’s books and her experience being married to a trans woman.
• [29:15] Finding your gender identity and sexual orientation, and the struggle of trans people.
• [34:45] The value of inclusivity and why the privileged should support the marginalized by changing the system along with them.
• [48:27] How sharing experiences by any means can help bridge the gap between people.
• [50:45] Political identity does not apply to everyone’s realities and the need for political discussions.
• [01:11:34] How Lara’s curriculum of children’s yoga and teacher training is different from the standard.
• [01:19:43] Sushumna Nadi: The process of how energy channels through a person.
• [01:25:52] Training yoga teachers to use Sushumna Nadi and to teach others to do the same.
• [01:27:38] The gradual effect of mental illnesses and the value for mental health discussions.
• [01:39:38] Why we need to facilitate an environment for professionals to feel valued and