April 8, 2026 • 30 mins
Hypnotherapy and yoga were the tools that helped Laila El iDrissi let go of who she wasn't — after she quit architecture and burned everything down.
Laila El Idrissi grew up in Morocco, discovered yoga at 17 through YouTube videos, and within weeks was teaching her high school classmates. What began as curiosity grew into a calling that eventually pulled her away from a career in architecture and led her to Bali, where she now teaches full time. But the real turning point wasn't a teacher training — it was a burnout that stripped everything away: the job, the relationship, the life she thought she wanted. Through hypnotherapy and yoga, Laila began clearing the beliefs and stories keeping her stuck, learning to return to her authentic essence rather than chasing what she thought she should want. She trained at an ashram in Rishikesh, studied with teachers Byron, Talia Sutra, and Thai Landrum, and developed a style she describes as grounded, intentional, and a little challenging. She also recently qualified as a hypnotherapist. Her goal in every class is simple: help people feel a sense of belonging and inherent self-worth — no matter where they are in their practice.
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Episode Chapters:
00:00:29 Introduction
00:01:06 Laila's Background and Journey to Bali
00:02:17 First Experience with Yoga
00:05:00 Teacher Training and the Road to Bali
00:07:28 Studying with Inner Dimension and Key Teachers
00:09:31 Influential Teachers: Byron, Talia Sutra, Thai Landrum
00:16:13 Teaching Style: Grounded, Intentional, Challenging
00:18:04 Favourite Pose and What Laila Brings to the Studio
00:20:00 What Students Feel Walking Out of Class
00:24:03 Hypnotherapy: The Practice That Changed Everything
00:26:38 The Burnout That Stripped Everything Away
00:28:58 Letter to Her 16-Year-Old Self
00:29:55 How to Connect with Laila
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Mentions & Resources:
Michael Henri’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelyoga.pt/
Laila El iDrissi’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lailaelidrissi_/
The IN Movement Instagram: https://www.instagram/com/the_in_movement/
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Teachers referenced:
Yoga with Adriene (YouTube)
Kino MacGregor
Pattabhi Jois
Byron (Inner Dimension TV)
Travis (Inner Dimension TV)
Paul (Inner Dimension TV)
Talia Sutra (Ghosh/Ashtanga lineage)
Thai Landrum — course on Energetics of Sequencing
Schools / Centres:
Heal Center, Canggu, Bali (hypnotherapy training with Steph)
East-West (Laila's 200hr teacher training, Bali)
Practice / Method mentioned:
TBM (To Be Magnetic)
Upcoming:
Retreat — October, Morocco, oceanside. 6 days. Yoga + hypnotherapy.
The IN Movement Podcast was formerly the Going Pro Yoga Podcast — and before that, the Yoga Teacher Evolution Podcast and the Rat Race Rebellion Podcast. Same mission, evolved name.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey there, before we get startedon this week's episode, I would
love to ask for your support by reviewing this podcast.
We want to share yoga with as many people as possible and this
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(00:23):
and then give us some love. Thank you so much, and let's get
started with this week's episode.
Welcome back to the In Movement podcast.
This is one of your hosts, Michael Henry, and we have a
guest, a new guest, actually, someone we've never had on the
podcast before. Layla is in the house, El El
Derisi. El Derisi, I think I got it.
(00:46):
So Layla's on the podcast because she's going to be one of
the teachers at the In Movement studio, which is really
exciting. So, Layla, welcome to the
podcast. Thank you, excited to be here.
Yeah, I'm excited to have you aswell.
So let's allow people an opportunity to get to know you a
little bit more where you're from, what are you like, what do
you, you know, let's give them some context a bit.
Yeah. So I'm, I'm from Morocco, born
(01:08):
and raised there. And four years ago I came to
Bali and stayed. I have a background in
architecture so I studied that, Been doing that for a few years
and now I fully transition to yoga and I'm also a
hypnotherapist. Recently.
(01:28):
Yeah, recently. Since October, yeah.
Where did you do that here in Bali?
Yeah, in Changu in heel center with Steph, she's amazing.
Cool. I knew that, but I also forgot
about that, So thanks for reminding me of that.
And your background is in architecture.
And you, I know when I met you, you were at where you're kind of
doing that. I think you were working at the
(01:49):
time, actually. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And you? Were when we met in Roosters, it
was like I was having a meeting,an architecture meeting.
Right, yeah. And then you were.
I remember you saying like, yeah, I kind of think I want to
start teaching yoga or somethinglike that.
So it's interesting to see the full circle of now you're like,
I've transitioned over. Yeah, which is actually cool.
And maybe that'll come up in thestory because I know some people
are actually in some sort of joband they're either, you know,
(02:11):
doing both or they're thinking of the transition.
So maybe there's something that can be distilled there for
people. So what is your first experience
with yoga and when did it shift for you as a personal practice
to wanting to share? So it's been few years ago maybe
maybe 12 years ago. I was 17 and I remember I was
(02:35):
looking into some YouTube videosjust to work out things and I
just found this thing that was called yoga but I didn't even
realize. Was it yoga with Adrian?
Yes, it was. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
She's like the famous. One, yeah, I did with Adrian and
then I was, I did as well with Keno and I did some with Patavi
(02:57):
Joyce as well. So I tried that the first time
and I never heard of the word yoga.
I didn't know what was it about and I just tried it and
something felt different. So I kept coming back to it over
and over just with curiosity andstarted as well to try some
(03:17):
meditations, like guided meditations.
And all of that was like new andsomehow strange but exciting.
Kept me coming back. And yeah, so that was my first
encounter with it. At 17, that's crazy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, in my room andlike I didn't really like it
took me some time to share with the word that I was doing yoga
(03:40):
because I, I didn't know what I was doing.
Actually the first time actuallyI felt that I wanted to share.
It is just like few weeks after I started practicing it.
Oh, really? Yeah, so like 1718 ish time.
Yeah, I was still in in high school and I just like felt that
everyone should do this thing, right.
(04:02):
Yeah. And I remember back then I asked
my gym teacher if I could teach my how do you call them your
peers? Yeah, my peers.
Yeah. Yoga class.
Right. And then we've done that.
They gave us a corner. And there was some few girls
there with me. And I don't, I have no idea
(04:22):
what, what I was teaching them, but I remember I was like, just
like love these warrior poses and was just like they're giving
them some poses one after the other, whatever I could remember
from the 20 minutes classes thatI was doing at home.
So that was actually the first time I.
Thanks. So you've been a teacher for a
lot longer than Yeah. No, I did that and then I
(04:44):
stopped like after, yeah. But I definitely felt the urge
to share it right away. And then so when did you do your
first like official teacher training where you felt actually
like more qualified or certifiedto actually do it?
Yeah. So I did it four years ago, but
I would say my first immersive experience was in India where I
(05:07):
went to a an ashram and he was actually in 2018.
So I went to India for a volunteering program and I just
thought that I would go to Indiaand I'll find yoga everywhere.
I was practicing back then, but like, mostly on YouTube from
home, I don't think. Yeah, I only, I had once like an
(05:31):
experience of practicing in a studio in a surf camp, but that
was it. So going to India, at some
point, I didn't really like the program I was in.
And I remember I had these travel book, I was with a few
friends and I had we had this travel book and I started
looking where I can find yoga, where I can go and practice
(05:52):
actually yoga. And I found this thing called
Ashram that I never heard of. I found this place called
Rishikesh that I've never heard of.
And I was like, that's where I want to go is specific Ashram
Rishikesh. I didn't know how far it was,
but I went with one friend. One friend decided to join me.
The rest of the friends stayed in the program and we just took
(06:16):
a night bus and then we got there early in the morning.
We showed up, we didn't book before anything and then they
had some space for us. And that was like the first time
actually where I really experienced what is it like to
practice and what was beyond theass in a practice as well and
(06:37):
how also the practice can support you in many, many, many,
many ways. So I ended up staying there for
a month and it was one of the most beautiful experiences in my
life. So after that, definitely it
added so much depth to my practice.
And then after this experience, 2018, that's where I started to
be more regular in my practice and trying to find classes, go
(07:02):
find more like teachers and try to expand.
Like going to the classes more for example because you said
your experience was more. Yeah.
Yeah, you know at home and yourself created practice
exactly and then actually havinglike being LED.
Yeah, right. Like because yeah, then I was
like in a city where I could find actually a studio.
(07:23):
But before I, it wasn't the casefrom there.
Then I in 2020, I decided that Iwanted to go make to do my
teacher training. And before that, actually for a
year or so, I was practicing with inner dimension and I got
to practice with Paul, I got to practice with Byron, with
Travis. And that was like, I was
(07:43):
following these classes for, forover a year.
And at some point I really wanted to understand what we
were doing. And also for me to be able to
have A, to have a more like autonomous practice and try, you
know, understand everything about the sequencing and
(08:05):
alignments. And so that's where I decided to
do my teacher training. But then COVID happened, I
didn't go. And then I had a burnout,
stopped working. And something in me was like,
you're not going to do anything until you go to this teacher
training. So I spent like around a year
(08:28):
just waiting for Bali to open its borders and me to come.
And during this year actually, Istarted to just study by myself
through YouTube again, looking into these sequencing, how to
sequence the class, how to queue, and then writing on all
the queues and. Just fully immersing yourself,
(08:50):
yeah, just getting you're just like a I'm a student right now
and you're. I'm a student.
I waited for for the training tohappen and after COVID it took
so much time and I I was not working at the time and I was
like, I might just start that weneed by myself.
So I got to do that and started actually teaching before my
teacher. Training.
(09:11):
Oh cool. Which happened here in Bali in
2022. So what was your first like 200
hour training for example? Oh yeah, it was with East West.
It was with East West, yeah. Yeah, it was the first training
before, right after COVID. The first, yeah.
And we were, I think 9 students,OK.
Really nice. Oh wow, small group.
(09:31):
Was there a specific teacher or experience or life moment that
shaped the way that you're teaching today?
Yeah, there's, there was few, few teachers who really like
inspired me, but I would say so when I came here, I I had the
chance to go to Byron's in person classes and just like
(09:52):
seeing his incredible way of holding space and the way he was
using words and it was like creating a real experience for
you to really go deep. And the fact that he wasn't, he
was like mostly queueing and, and taking you all the time
there. That was something that really
(10:13):
inspired me. So learned so much from him.
And then as well I, I got to study with Talia Sutra in
person. She also inspired me in many,
many ways. And I feel with her, the thing
that really suit up for me was the way like her practices
(10:35):
always felt were when we did theTwitter training, it felt really
challenging. And she's very strict, but she's
also very, very loving. So you feel that she's
challenging you, but at the sametime she really believes in you.
What kind of lineage was it? So she's coming from the GOSH
(10:56):
lineage. It's it's actually where Bikram
is coming from. The sequence where Bikram is
coming from, this is from Ghosh.It's actually not his creation.
OK, yes. And she's, she's mixing between
Ghosh and Ashtanga and she created her own like sequence.
But yet the thing that I got from her is that this balance
(11:18):
between like she's really challenging you because she
believes you can. And there was not she, she
didn't intellectualize the practice a lot or the asanas or,
and she didn't really believe inthe limitations of the body.
So you couldn't be like, you know, I, but for me, for
(11:41):
example, you know, like backbends come to me easily, but
like everything arm balance or inversions really, really hard.
And she just didn't want to hearanything about it.
She's like, do you, how many times do you try, you know, like
just keep showing up and whatever comes.
And also she has a really devotional practice and
(12:02):
consistency. So she inspired me in a way
first knowing that she really has a consistent practice and
she, you can feel that in her presence and, and the way she
shows up, she's always studying all the time and, and you can,
you could also feel that. And then the other teacher who
(12:22):
continues as well to inspire me is Thailand, Rome.
And I got to study with him before Talia.
Actually, it's been maybe now six years and I've been studying
with him online for a long time.And he actually, he actually
influenced and inspired my way of sequencing in many ways even
(12:42):
before my teacher, my first teacher training, because he, he
had the answer to a question that I always had.
And it was what's beyond the physical aspect of the asanas
and the physical aspect of the sequencing.
I kind of studied before my teacher training.
(13:03):
OK, this is how we prepare for apeak pose.
This is how we prepare the different muscles and things.
But I was like, I feel there's something else which makes us
feel in a certain way after we do an asana practice and why in
some classes we feel better thanothers.
(13:25):
And he had this just like a release, this course about the
energetic sub sequencing where he like explains the alignments
from an aortic perspective, likethe alignment of the pose, which
which goes with the physical alignments that we, but it's
just like explains why we're doing it from an aortic purpose
(13:47):
or point of view. And also the sequence, why we
put the sequences in a certain way and what makes them feel
powerful or grounding or opening.
So he inspired me in that way. But then also I got to meet him
for the first time when I went to India this year and had to
spend six weeks with him. And yeah, there's something
(14:10):
about the embodiment of love that I found between, like him
and as well, Talia Sutra to actually really affected me and
touched me. And it's, they're both teachers,
but you feel their ability to see you, to witness you, to, to
believe in you. And it doesn't have anything to
(14:34):
do with how good you are in the asana or how beginner or how
advanced. It's like a really like steady
loving presence that they that they offer.
And this gave me as well the space to be able to expand and
try and fail and come back againand just show up every day as I
(14:57):
am not trying to impress, not trying to hide, just being there
how like as I am and and feelingthat however I show up in this
day, in this practice, I will besupported and I will be seen
and. It's like giving you permission
to be yourself even though you don't need it.
(15:18):
And like, having that as a teacher, I feel that's what I
but that's what I feel like. I want to also be able to share.
Yeah. Like, I want the students who
come to my classes to feel seen and feel that they can be who
who they are and also to get to help them to move beyond the
(15:39):
limitations of whichever storiesthey came in to the class.
And a lot of people come and they come to see me before the
class and they're like, they, they try and justify.
Sometimes it'd be like, you know, that's my first class or I
actually have this. Then just helping them as well
to, to see beyond the limitations and the
(16:00):
possibilities and believe in them until they can believe in
themselves. Like, yeah.
Sounds like you had an element of that already, but then, you
know, Talia was one of the teachers that seemed to almost
reinforce that a bit more because she seemed to have that
energy. So coming back to you a little
bit more, how would you describeyour teaching style in three
words? Something came in grounded,
(16:23):
definitely intentional. So before you choose your third
one, yeah, Why Grounded? Why did you choose Grounded?
Just tell me a little bit more. I think that's the word that
came to me because maybe that's the intention I want to create.
I feel that like usually I don'tuse music or I would use like a
(16:49):
mantra in the back, the same mantra repeating.
So there is like the least distractions possible and I feel
this offers a lot of grounding. OK.
And then intention was your second one.
Everything is intentional in my classes, in my sequences, in my
(17:12):
words. So intentional.
Any words you put in, any pose you put in, any alignment queue
or whatever you're doing, any adjustment you're giving, and
everything has a reason, any intention behind it.
OK. So grounded, intentional, and.
Yeah, it can be a little challenging, OK?
It takes you to your edge. Challenging.
(17:33):
Yeah, OK. That's a good word.
There is like a sneaky way like between softness and challenge.
And you're so sweet. And yeah, but at the same time,
you're a little bit of a stick person.
Yeah, we, we use the, we use theBuddhist analogy a lot.
So the stick person giving a little.
Yeah, yeah. So there's a balance between
(17:54):
softness and. Well, that's good.
Yeah. Cool.
I like it. You got a cheeky smile and you
said the challenge. I appreciate that.
I'm sure Paul would appreciate that too.
What's your favorite yoga pose? I would say first thing that
comes to my mind is. Why?
(18:19):
I don't know, there's there's something about like more like
simple poses, the, you know, thebasic poses that we keep coming
back to and how they keep opening up.
And I feel, yeah, triggers and is one of them.
Yeah. I would probably think of some
backbends as well. I figured you were gonna say a.
(18:40):
Backbend, yeah. Yeah, if it wasn't obvious,
Layla is a backbend master. Basically, eventually we're
gonna tell people to come take your class, and if you're
interested in backbends, Laylas got your back.
So much needed, yeah. Got your back.
What do you feel you uniquely bring to the studio through your
classes? So the in movement studio that
we're going to be kind of going in and obviously you might even
(19:01):
be doing this already. You might even even answer the
question already, but who knows what comes through like what
what, what feels unique from youcompared to let's say some of
your teachers? Maybe it's a blend of things or
what comes through. One thing.
You said, yeah, like I said, what comes through for you as
might be a blend of some of the teachers that you shared before
that inspired you, But like, what is it that you feel like
(19:24):
you bring? Two things that come to my mind
is taking people a little to theedge and exploring maybe unusual
asanas or edges, and also the aspect of no distractions, which
(19:46):
make it sometimes a little more challenging the practice, but
also very, very rewarding. Yeah, you'll find in my classes
more a push in the backbends a little more than others for
sure. Yeah, so that's the obvious
answer. So when someone walks into your
class, what do you want them to experience or what would you
(20:06):
like or hope that they experience or feel after they
walk out? Of your class after they walk
out. Yeah.
So what's coming to my mind is knowing or feeling or
experiencing that they a sense of belonging and worthiness that
(20:26):
is not related to how beginners or how advanced are they in the
in in the in the practice and how much they were able to
achieve were struggle or howeverwith their experience is to get
to yield a sense of inherent self worth.
(20:50):
Yeah, and yeah, and sense of belonging.
Cool. So that seems like an element of
like trying to remove, you know,self judgement or self criticism
in some ways to just be like whatever you're doing is enough
ultimately. But also at the same time, let's
see if we can, you know, challenge you in a healthy way.
And see, yeah, in a really healthy way.
(21:12):
See it like, I always like to bring an example of a child.
And I saw that like recently when I was back home.
And it's kind of inspired me like a child when like a newborn
and when they're going through the journey of trying to walk
for the first time, they, they try to stand up or try to walk
(21:35):
and they fall and they kind of laugh about it or you know, they
don't, they don't think I don't belong to this life.
I don't belong with these humansbecause they all can walk around
me. It cannot.
They just try again and again and again.
And on one day they start walking or they stand.
(21:58):
So basically the same thing comein and trying and like seeing
this challenge as a way or as anopportunity for expansion rather
than a limitation. I might steal that, actually.
Yeah. It's a nice little, nice little
analogy or perspective. So what is being part of the in
movement community mean to you? So the in movement, what does
(22:22):
the in movement even mean to you?
Maybe we can go there. Have you thought about that?
No, you haven't. Yeah.
Well, we'll put you on the spot.Yeah, yeah, definitely.
If you try try and think about it, it feels like steady thing,
something that is real and legit.
(22:42):
Legit. What's what's?
What does it mean? Legit means like like valid or
like not fake. It's like real.
Yeah, that's, yeah, that's that's part of it.
But it feels like something likethat.
You can lean it like you that you can trust.
Yeah, legit is like yeah, trust is an element.
There. Yeah, you will.
(23:03):
Like authentic almost would be another.
Word authentic, like there's an element of strength that can
hold you like you can just you can be part of this community
and feel held and feel that you will be supported.
But that was the case of like, you know, the creators, With my
experience with them, it's like,that's how I always felt.
(23:26):
I mean, I've heard people say different answers for that, of
course, but it's it's coming back to a lot of the same stuff,
which is just like, you know, they're trying to be as real as
possible. They're not trying to be fake.
There are yoga teachers trying to run a yoga teacher business.
It's not like, you know, just someone that's trying to write,
create a business for yoga to make money.
(23:46):
It's more so just like we're, you know, trying to build
something that's more meaningful, more legit.
Yeah. For example, yeah, and and, but
also not any yoga teachers. I got some experience I guess.
What are you currently exploringor refining within your own
practice right now? Yeah, hypnotherapy definitely is
like something that was added but was also there in my life
(24:10):
for the past six years. And I feel hypnotherapy and yoga
were the main supporters and hypnotherapy was the main thing
that really helps me to shift mylife, I would say and.
So you had experience with this obviously beforehand.
Yeah. And you said it was one of the
(24:30):
main things. So now I need to know more about
that. Yeah, yeah.
I'll just, yeah, maybe say like tell a story of how it actually
did. But basically, and it was all
online. And I think Christina is into
the same thing. We talked about it before, but
basically it was this practice of manifestation related to
(24:51):
you're talking. About TBM.
Hypnotherapy, yes, TBM and, and he was, I remember I was working
as an architect and I was like, OK, I'll I want to manifest more
things. And I remember I brought this
manifestation list of many things.
(25:12):
And then I started these, like, hypnotherapy sessions with the
intention to get, yeah, like, wanting all of these things or
thinking of what's next. And somehow what was meant to be
next for me didn't feel right. Or it felt like more it's just
(25:36):
something automatic. And I remember, and I still have
this note in my phone from few years ago and I was in the train
and I just wrote, I will just focus on being or coming back to
my authentic essence. That's, that should be my focus.
And then with that, everything that is not aligned will fall
(25:59):
off And everything that is aligned with this essence, which
I, I didn't know back then will come to me because frequencies,
you know, so I don't need to understand what do I want?
I just need to, to, to know and come back to my essence and, and
vibrate in this frequency. And I think just writing that.
(26:24):
And then from there, starting todo these, like, hypnosis
sessions to get into my subconscious and start to know
actually what's what's real, what's mine, what's not mine,
what's mine and what's conditioning.
Everything that I had in my lifeback then, except for a few,
like, stable things like friendships and family.
(26:45):
But everything started falling out, like, dramatically.
Yeah. It felt like everything started
like the place I was living in the job, like relationship, like
everything was like falling apart.
And then I was left little say with nothing and with a burnout.
And then during this time, I started to look into who I am,
(27:10):
you know, like what do I like? What do I want?
And during this whole time, the practice of yoga was the thing
that I was coming back to the whole time and then continuing
with hypnotherapy and, and then slowly made my way to Bali.
And before I came to Bali, I hadto clear so many beliefs and so
(27:34):
many stories and come in here and starting to slowly, like I
started working in architecture a little bit and then starting
to teach and all the things thatI've that came to me or I don't
like the the word achieving, butlike the things that I've or
(27:56):
came to me where I was blessed with up until now.
It was a lot of and it just, yeah, it just shows how how much
control the mind has over us. And that's something I I learned
through yoga, you know, and and then the hypnotherapy showed me
(28:19):
like the layers of the subconscious and how it's
actually controls you because you can practice, you can
meditate, you can separate yourself from your thoughts and
all of these things. You can have a willpower to wake
up and do a certain thing. But in moments where you feel
overwhelmed or you feel tired, where I oversimulated the
(28:41):
subconscious takeover, it's alsomore about processing.
Processing, yeah, whatever happened and accepting.
Cool, so let's let's try to bring this home a little bit
more. What would you tell your 16 1/2
(29:02):
year old self before you knew all the things that you knew
now, if you could, what would you inform that person in what
way and in a way that you know that they would be able to
receive it? What would you, what would you
say to them? You are loved and supported by a
(29:22):
divine force. Do you think that would be
received? Yeah, I think it was received
that why she kept going. Yeah, I've got me here.
Well, thanks so much for coming in, taking the time to share and
talk and just, yeah, getting to know you a little bit more,
which is kind of fun. I'm not great at back then, so
(29:43):
maybe you can help me out with that at some point.
My thoracic spine is just like arock.
Yeah, but. We'll go to the classes and
we'll figure it out. You should come and I think
everyone come. I'm great.
So if people wanted to connect with you, I don't know.
They want to reach out, ask you a question they're curious
about. What's the best way to to do
that? Yeah, either finding me in my
(30:05):
classes, meeting me in person orfinding me through Instagram.
Instagram cool, so we'll make sure to add that in the show
notes. Have a retreat coming as well.
Oh cool, one's your retreat and where is it?
October OK in Morocco by the ocean.
Nice. Yep.
We can find more about it on Instagram as.
Well, how many days is that? Six days.
OK, cool. Yoga and hypnotherapy.
(30:27):
Amazing. Yeah.
Morocco, Six days, October. Great.
Thank you so much and thank you everyone for tuning in and
listening. And as always, have a beautiful
rest of your day.
Hey there, before we get startedon this week's episode, I would
love to ask for your support by reviewing this podcast.
We want to share yoga with as many people as possible and this
free resource, this podcast is one of the ways that we can do
that. And the best way that you can
help support us is by giving us a review.
So if you go to Apple podcast orSpotify or whatever podcast
platform you use, Scroll down until you find that star review
(00:23):
and then give us some love. Thank you so much, and let's get
started with this week's episode.
Welcome back to the In Movement podcast.
This is one of your hosts, Michael Henry, and we have a
guest, a new guest, actually, someone we've never had on the
podcast before. Layla is in the house, El El
Derisi. El Derisi, I think I got it.
(00:46):
So Layla's on the podcast because she's going to be one of
the teachers at the In Movement studio, which is really
exciting. So, Layla, welcome to the
podcast. Thank you, excited to be here.
Yeah, I'm excited to have you aswell.
So let's allow people an opportunity to get to know you a
little bit more where you're from, what are you like, what do
you, you know, let's give them some context a bit.
Yeah. So I'm, I'm from Morocco, born
(01:08):
and raised there. And four years ago I came to
Bali and stayed. I have a background in
architecture so I studied that, Been doing that for a few years
and now I fully transition to yoga and I'm also a
hypnotherapist. Recently.
(01:28):
Yeah, recently. Since October, yeah.
Where did you do that here in Bali?
Yeah, in Changu in heel center with Steph, she's amazing.
Cool. I knew that, but I also forgot
about that, So thanks for reminding me of that.
And your background is in architecture.
And you, I know when I met you, you were at where you're kind of
doing that. I think you were working at the
(01:49):
time, actually. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
And you? Were when we met in Roosters, it
was like I was having a meeting,an architecture meeting.
Right, yeah. And then you were.
I remember you saying like, yeah, I kind of think I want to
start teaching yoga or somethinglike that.
So it's interesting to see the full circle of now you're like,
I've transitioned over. Yeah, which is actually cool.
And maybe that'll come up in thestory because I know some people
are actually in some sort of joband they're either, you know,
(02:11):
doing both or they're thinking of the transition.
So maybe there's something that can be distilled there for
people. So what is your first experience
with yoga and when did it shift for you as a personal practice
to wanting to share? So it's been few years ago maybe
maybe 12 years ago. I was 17 and I remember I was
(02:35):
looking into some YouTube videosjust to work out things and I
just found this thing that was called yoga but I didn't even
realize. Was it yoga with Adrian?
Yes, it was. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
She's like the famous. One, yeah, I did with Adrian and
then I was, I did as well with Keno and I did some with Patavi
(02:57):
Joyce as well. So I tried that the first time
and I never heard of the word yoga.
I didn't know what was it about and I just tried it and
something felt different. So I kept coming back to it over
and over just with curiosity andstarted as well to try some
(03:17):
meditations, like guided meditations.
And all of that was like new andsomehow strange but exciting.
Kept me coming back. And yeah, so that was my first
encounter with it. At 17, that's crazy.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, in my room andlike I didn't really like it
took me some time to share with the word that I was doing yoga
(03:40):
because I, I didn't know what I was doing.
Actually the first time actuallyI felt that I wanted to share.
It is just like few weeks after I started practicing it.
Oh, really? Yeah, so like 1718 ish time.
Yeah, I was still in in high school and I just like felt that
everyone should do this thing, right.
(04:02):
Yeah. And I remember back then I asked
my gym teacher if I could teach my how do you call them your
peers? Yeah, my peers.
Yeah. Yoga class.
Right. And then we've done that.
They gave us a corner. And there was some few girls
there with me. And I don't, I have no idea
(04:22):
what, what I was teaching them, but I remember I was like, just
like love these warrior poses and was just like they're giving
them some poses one after the other, whatever I could remember
from the 20 minutes classes thatI was doing at home.
So that was actually the first time I.
Thanks. So you've been a teacher for a
lot longer than Yeah. No, I did that and then I
(04:44):
stopped like after, yeah. But I definitely felt the urge
to share it right away. And then so when did you do your
first like official teacher training where you felt actually
like more qualified or certifiedto actually do it?
Yeah. So I did it four years ago, but
I would say my first immersive experience was in India where I
(05:07):
went to a an ashram and he was actually in 2018.
So I went to India for a volunteering program and I just
thought that I would go to Indiaand I'll find yoga everywhere.
I was practicing back then, but like, mostly on YouTube from
home, I don't think. Yeah, I only, I had once like an
(05:31):
experience of practicing in a studio in a surf camp, but that
was it. So going to India, at some
point, I didn't really like the program I was in.
And I remember I had these travel book, I was with a few
friends and I had we had this travel book and I started
looking where I can find yoga, where I can go and practice
(05:52):
actually yoga. And I found this thing called
Ashram that I never heard of. I found this place called
Rishikesh that I've never heard of.
And I was like, that's where I want to go is specific Ashram
Rishikesh. I didn't know how far it was,
but I went with one friend. One friend decided to join me.
The rest of the friends stayed in the program and we just took
(06:16):
a night bus and then we got there early in the morning.
We showed up, we didn't book before anything and then they
had some space for us. And that was like the first time
actually where I really experienced what is it like to
practice and what was beyond theass in a practice as well and
(06:37):
how also the practice can support you in many, many, many,
many ways. So I ended up staying there for
a month and it was one of the most beautiful experiences in my
life. So after that, definitely it
added so much depth to my practice.
And then after this experience, 2018, that's where I started to
be more regular in my practice and trying to find classes, go
(07:02):
find more like teachers and try to expand.
Like going to the classes more for example because you said
your experience was more. Yeah.
Yeah, you know at home and yourself created practice
exactly and then actually havinglike being LED.
Yeah, right. Like because yeah, then I was
like in a city where I could find actually a studio.
(07:23):
But before I, it wasn't the casefrom there.
Then I in 2020, I decided that Iwanted to go make to do my
teacher training. And before that, actually for a
year or so, I was practicing with inner dimension and I got
to practice with Paul, I got to practice with Byron, with
Travis. And that was like, I was
(07:43):
following these classes for, forover a year.
And at some point I really wanted to understand what we
were doing. And also for me to be able to
have A, to have a more like autonomous practice and try, you
know, understand everything about the sequencing and
(08:05):
alignments. And so that's where I decided to
do my teacher training. But then COVID happened, I
didn't go. And then I had a burnout,
stopped working. And something in me was like,
you're not going to do anything until you go to this teacher
training. So I spent like around a year
(08:28):
just waiting for Bali to open its borders and me to come.
And during this year actually, Istarted to just study by myself
through YouTube again, looking into these sequencing, how to
sequence the class, how to queue, and then writing on all
the queues and. Just fully immersing yourself,
(08:50):
yeah, just getting you're just like a I'm a student right now
and you're. I'm a student.
I waited for for the training tohappen and after COVID it took
so much time and I I was not working at the time and I was
like, I might just start that weneed by myself.
So I got to do that and started actually teaching before my
teacher. Training.
(09:11):
Oh cool. Which happened here in Bali in
2022. So what was your first like 200
hour training for example? Oh yeah, it was with East West.
It was with East West, yeah. Yeah, it was the first training
before, right after COVID. The first, yeah.
And we were, I think 9 students,OK.
Really nice. Oh wow, small group.
(09:31):
Was there a specific teacher or experience or life moment that
shaped the way that you're teaching today?
Yeah, there's, there was few, few teachers who really like
inspired me, but I would say so when I came here, I I had the
chance to go to Byron's in person classes and just like
(09:52):
seeing his incredible way of holding space and the way he was
using words and it was like creating a real experience for
you to really go deep. And the fact that he wasn't, he
was like mostly queueing and, and taking you all the time
there. That was something that really
(10:13):
inspired me. So learned so much from him.
And then as well I, I got to study with Talia Sutra in
person. She also inspired me in many,
many ways. And I feel with her, the thing
that really suit up for me was the way like her practices
(10:35):
always felt were when we did theTwitter training, it felt really
challenging. And she's very strict, but she's
also very, very loving. So you feel that she's
challenging you, but at the sametime she really believes in you.
What kind of lineage was it? So she's coming from the GOSH
(10:56):
lineage. It's it's actually where Bikram
is coming from. The sequence where Bikram is
coming from, this is from Ghosh.It's actually not his creation.
OK, yes. And she's, she's mixing between
Ghosh and Ashtanga and she created her own like sequence.
But yet the thing that I got from her is that this balance
(11:18):
between like she's really challenging you because she
believes you can. And there was not she, she
didn't intellectualize the practice a lot or the asanas or,
and she didn't really believe inthe limitations of the body.
So you couldn't be like, you know, I, but for me, for
(11:41):
example, you know, like backbends come to me easily, but
like everything arm balance or inversions really, really hard.
And she just didn't want to hearanything about it.
She's like, do you, how many times do you try, you know, like
just keep showing up and whatever comes.
And also she has a really devotional practice and
(12:02):
consistency. So she inspired me in a way
first knowing that she really has a consistent practice and
she, you can feel that in her presence and, and the way she
shows up, she's always studying all the time and, and you can,
you could also feel that. And then the other teacher who
(12:22):
continues as well to inspire me is Thailand, Rome.
And I got to study with him before Talia.
Actually, it's been maybe now six years and I've been studying
with him online for a long time.And he actually, he actually
influenced and inspired my way of sequencing in many ways even
(12:42):
before my teacher, my first teacher training, because he, he
had the answer to a question that I always had.
And it was what's beyond the physical aspect of the asanas
and the physical aspect of the sequencing.
I kind of studied before my teacher training.
(13:03):
OK, this is how we prepare for apeak pose.
This is how we prepare the different muscles and things.
But I was like, I feel there's something else which makes us
feel in a certain way after we do an asana practice and why in
some classes we feel better thanothers.
(13:25):
And he had this just like a release, this course about the
energetic sub sequencing where he like explains the alignments
from an aortic perspective, likethe alignment of the pose, which
which goes with the physical alignments that we, but it's
just like explains why we're doing it from an aortic purpose
(13:47):
or point of view. And also the sequence, why we
put the sequences in a certain way and what makes them feel
powerful or grounding or opening.
So he inspired me in that way. But then also I got to meet him
for the first time when I went to India this year and had to
spend six weeks with him. And yeah, there's something
(14:10):
about the embodiment of love that I found between, like him
and as well, Talia Sutra to actually really affected me and
touched me. And it's, they're both teachers,
but you feel their ability to see you, to witness you, to, to
believe in you. And it doesn't have anything to
(14:34):
do with how good you are in the asana or how beginner or how
advanced. It's like a really like steady
loving presence that they that they offer.
And this gave me as well the space to be able to expand and
try and fail and come back againand just show up every day as I
(14:57):
am not trying to impress, not trying to hide, just being there
how like as I am and and feelingthat however I show up in this
day, in this practice, I will besupported and I will be seen
and. It's like giving you permission
to be yourself even though you don't need it.
(15:18):
And like, having that as a teacher, I feel that's what I
but that's what I feel like. I want to also be able to share.
Yeah. Like, I want the students who
come to my classes to feel seen and feel that they can be who
who they are and also to get to help them to move beyond the
(15:39):
limitations of whichever storiesthey came in to the class.
And a lot of people come and they come to see me before the
class and they're like, they, they try and justify.
Sometimes it'd be like, you know, that's my first class or I
actually have this. Then just helping them as well
to, to see beyond the limitations and the
(16:00):
possibilities and believe in them until they can believe in
themselves. Like, yeah.
Sounds like you had an element of that already, but then, you
know, Talia was one of the teachers that seemed to almost
reinforce that a bit more because she seemed to have that
energy. So coming back to you a little
bit more, how would you describeyour teaching style in three
words? Something came in grounded,
(16:23):
definitely intentional. So before you choose your third
one, yeah, Why Grounded? Why did you choose Grounded?
Just tell me a little bit more. I think that's the word that
came to me because maybe that's the intention I want to create.
I feel that like usually I don'tuse music or I would use like a
(16:49):
mantra in the back, the same mantra repeating.
So there is like the least distractions possible and I feel
this offers a lot of grounding. OK.
And then intention was your second one.
Everything is intentional in my classes, in my sequences, in my
(17:12):
words. So intentional.
Any words you put in, any pose you put in, any alignment queue
or whatever you're doing, any adjustment you're giving, and
everything has a reason, any intention behind it.
OK. So grounded, intentional, and.
Yeah, it can be a little challenging, OK?
It takes you to your edge. Challenging.
(17:33):
Yeah, OK. That's a good word.
There is like a sneaky way like between softness and challenge.
And you're so sweet. And yeah, but at the same time,
you're a little bit of a stick person.
Yeah, we, we use the, we use theBuddhist analogy a lot.
So the stick person giving a little.
Yeah, yeah. So there's a balance between
(17:54):
softness and. Well, that's good.
Yeah. Cool.
I like it. You got a cheeky smile and you
said the challenge. I appreciate that.
I'm sure Paul would appreciate that too.
What's your favorite yoga pose? I would say first thing that
comes to my mind is. Why?
(18:19):
I don't know, there's there's something about like more like
simple poses, the, you know, thebasic poses that we keep coming
back to and how they keep opening up.
And I feel, yeah, triggers and is one of them.
Yeah. I would probably think of some
backbends as well. I figured you were gonna say a.
(18:40):
Backbend, yeah. Yeah, if it wasn't obvious,
Layla is a backbend master. Basically, eventually we're
gonna tell people to come take your class, and if you're
interested in backbends, Laylas got your back.
So much needed, yeah. Got your back.
What do you feel you uniquely bring to the studio through your
classes? So the in movement studio that
we're going to be kind of going in and obviously you might even
(19:01):
be doing this already. You might even even answer the
question already, but who knows what comes through like what
what, what feels unique from youcompared to let's say some of
your teachers? Maybe it's a blend of things or
what comes through. One thing.
You said, yeah, like I said, what comes through for you as
might be a blend of some of the teachers that you shared before
that inspired you, But like, what is it that you feel like
(19:24):
you bring? Two things that come to my mind
is taking people a little to theedge and exploring maybe unusual
asanas or edges, and also the aspect of no distractions, which
(19:46):
make it sometimes a little more challenging the practice, but
also very, very rewarding. Yeah, you'll find in my classes
more a push in the backbends a little more than others for
sure. Yeah, so that's the obvious
answer. So when someone walks into your
class, what do you want them to experience or what would you
(20:06):
like or hope that they experience or feel after they
walk out? Of your class after they walk
out. Yeah.
So what's coming to my mind is knowing or feeling or
experiencing that they a sense of belonging and worthiness that
(20:26):
is not related to how beginners or how advanced are they in the
in in the in the practice and how much they were able to
achieve were struggle or howeverwith their experience is to get
to yield a sense of inherent self worth.
(20:50):
Yeah, and yeah, and sense of belonging.
Cool. So that seems like an element of
like trying to remove, you know,self judgement or self criticism
in some ways to just be like whatever you're doing is enough
ultimately. But also at the same time, let's
see if we can, you know, challenge you in a healthy way.
And see, yeah, in a really healthy way.
(21:12):
See it like, I always like to bring an example of a child.
And I saw that like recently when I was back home.
And it's kind of inspired me like a child when like a newborn
and when they're going through the journey of trying to walk
for the first time, they, they try to stand up or try to walk
(21:35):
and they fall and they kind of laugh about it or you know, they
don't, they don't think I don't belong to this life.
I don't belong with these humansbecause they all can walk around
me. It cannot.
They just try again and again and again.
And on one day they start walking or they stand.
(21:58):
So basically the same thing comein and trying and like seeing
this challenge as a way or as anopportunity for expansion rather
than a limitation. I might steal that, actually.
Yeah. It's a nice little, nice little
analogy or perspective. So what is being part of the in
movement community mean to you? So the in movement, what does
(22:22):
the in movement even mean to you?
Maybe we can go there. Have you thought about that?
No, you haven't. Yeah.
Well, we'll put you on the spot.Yeah, yeah, definitely.
If you try try and think about it, it feels like steady thing,
something that is real and legit.
(22:42):
Legit. What's what's?
What does it mean? Legit means like like valid or
like not fake. It's like real.
Yeah, that's, yeah, that's that's part of it.
But it feels like something likethat.
You can lean it like you that you can trust.
Yeah, legit is like yeah, trust is an element.
There. Yeah, you will.
(23:03):
Like authentic almost would be another.
Word authentic, like there's an element of strength that can
hold you like you can just you can be part of this community
and feel held and feel that you will be supported.
But that was the case of like, you know, the creators, With my
experience with them, it's like,that's how I always felt.
(23:26):
I mean, I've heard people say different answers for that, of
course, but it's it's coming back to a lot of the same stuff,
which is just like, you know, they're trying to be as real as
possible. They're not trying to be fake.
There are yoga teachers trying to run a yoga teacher business.
It's not like, you know, just someone that's trying to write,
create a business for yoga to make money.
(23:46):
It's more so just like we're, you know, trying to build
something that's more meaningful, more legit.
Yeah. For example, yeah, and and, but
also not any yoga teachers. I got some experience I guess.
What are you currently exploringor refining within your own
practice right now? Yeah, hypnotherapy definitely is
like something that was added but was also there in my life
(24:10):
for the past six years. And I feel hypnotherapy and yoga
were the main supporters and hypnotherapy was the main thing
that really helps me to shift mylife, I would say and.
So you had experience with this obviously beforehand.
Yeah. And you said it was one of the
(24:30):
main things. So now I need to know more about
that. Yeah, yeah.
I'll just, yeah, maybe say like tell a story of how it actually
did. But basically, and it was all
online. And I think Christina is into
the same thing. We talked about it before, but
basically it was this practice of manifestation related to
(24:51):
you're talking. About TBM.
Hypnotherapy, yes, TBM and, and he was, I remember I was working
as an architect and I was like, OK, I'll I want to manifest more
things. And I remember I brought this
manifestation list of many things.
(25:12):
And then I started these, like, hypnotherapy sessions with the
intention to get, yeah, like, wanting all of these things or
thinking of what's next. And somehow what was meant to be
next for me didn't feel right. Or it felt like more it's just
(25:36):
something automatic. And I remember, and I still have
this note in my phone from few years ago and I was in the train
and I just wrote, I will just focus on being or coming back to
my authentic essence. That's, that should be my focus.
And then with that, everything that is not aligned will fall
(25:59):
off And everything that is aligned with this essence, which
I, I didn't know back then will come to me because frequencies,
you know, so I don't need to understand what do I want?
I just need to, to, to know and come back to my essence and, and
vibrate in this frequency. And I think just writing that.
(26:24):
And then from there, starting todo these, like, hypnosis
sessions to get into my subconscious and start to know
actually what's what's real, what's mine, what's not mine,
what's mine and what's conditioning.
Everything that I had in my lifeback then, except for a few,
like, stable things like friendships and family.
(26:45):
But everything started falling out, like, dramatically.
Yeah. It felt like everything started
like the place I was living in the job, like relationship, like
everything was like falling apart.
And then I was left little say with nothing and with a burnout.
And then during this time, I started to look into who I am,
(27:10):
you know, like what do I like? What do I want?
And during this whole time, the practice of yoga was the thing
that I was coming back to the whole time and then continuing
with hypnotherapy and, and then slowly made my way to Bali.
And before I came to Bali, I hadto clear so many beliefs and so
(27:34):
many stories and come in here and starting to slowly, like I
started working in architecture a little bit and then starting
to teach and all the things thatI've that came to me or I don't
like the the word achieving, butlike the things that I've or
(27:56):
came to me where I was blessed with up until now.
It was a lot of and it just, yeah, it just shows how how much
control the mind has over us. And that's something I I learned
through yoga, you know, and and then the hypnotherapy showed me
(28:19):
like the layers of the subconscious and how it's
actually controls you because you can practice, you can
meditate, you can separate yourself from your thoughts and
all of these things. You can have a willpower to wake
up and do a certain thing. But in moments where you feel
overwhelmed or you feel tired, where I oversimulated the
(28:41):
subconscious takeover, it's alsomore about processing.
Processing, yeah, whatever happened and accepting.
Cool, so let's let's try to bring this home a little bit
more. What would you tell your 16 1/2
(29:02):
year old self before you knew all the things that you knew
now, if you could, what would you inform that person in what
way and in a way that you know that they would be able to
receive it? What would you, what would you
say to them? You are loved and supported by a
(29:22):
divine force. Do you think that would be
received? Yeah, I think it was received
that why she kept going. Yeah, I've got me here.
Well, thanks so much for coming in, taking the time to share and
talk and just, yeah, getting to know you a little bit more,
which is kind of fun. I'm not great at back then, so
(29:43):
maybe you can help me out with that at some point.
My thoracic spine is just like arock.
Yeah, but. We'll go to the classes and
we'll figure it out. You should come and I think
everyone come. I'm great.
So if people wanted to connect with you, I don't know.
They want to reach out, ask you a question they're curious
about. What's the best way to to do
that? Yeah, either finding me in my
(30:05):
classes, meeting me in person orfinding me through Instagram.
Instagram cool, so we'll make sure to add that in the show
notes. Have a retreat coming as well.
Oh cool, one's your retreat and where is it?
October OK in Morocco by the ocean.
Nice. Yep.
We can find more about it on Instagram as.
Well, how many days is that? Six days.
OK, cool. Yoga and hypnotherapy.
(30:27):
Amazing. Yeah.
Morocco, Six days, October. Great.
Thank you so much and thank you everyone for tuning in and
listening. And as always, have a beautiful
rest of your day.
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Betrayal Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. If you would like to share your story, you can reach out to the Betrayal Team by emailing them at betrayalpod@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram at @betrayalpod and @glasspodcasts. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations, and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience, and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack.