Lara Donnelly
E-RYT 500
In 2019, I found a beautiful symbol to sum up the crazy path my life was taking. It’s called an “unalome” and at 36 years old, I got my first tattoo. It represents the path to freedom. Or slightly more down-to-earth, your life's path. The has three parts: the spiral, the swirl, and the dots at the end.
I got this tattoo because I needed the daily, visual reminder that
1) things often get worse before they get better
2) success is never a straight line
and
3) “what got you here, won’t get you there.”
I didn’t know it at the time, but it’s also the perfect representation of how Yoga is transforming my life for the better!
In my youth, the stress of college and the demands of a sales career landed me in the gym as an outlet for anxiety and frustration. Discovering that building physical strength directly affected my mental clarity and confidence got me hooked. Before long, I became certified to teach all my favorite classes and eventually studied for and passed the personal training exam.
Then, having kids in my 30’s, I quickly realized the weights, cardio, and barre I loved were no longer enough to fill my cup. My patience, confidence, and enthusiasm plummeted at the same rate my exhaustion, stress, and mom-brain were skyrocketed. I felt lost, disconnected and disheartened. I no longer felt like ME, but I couldn’t put my finger on what was missing….
As it does, yoga found me when I needed it the most. Materializing at the perfect moment, the practice weaved together mind, body, and spirit in just the way I was craving. It renewed my enthusiasm and passion for everything—being healthy for my family, for my friends and hobbies…FOR LIFE! I knew immediately this holistic approach to wellness was my dharma (calling) and I threw myself headlong into trainings.
My first step was a 200-hour training with Life Power Yoga, which heavily focused on the subtle art of effective teaching and the life skill of getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Then I spent a whole month in Costa Rica (I will forever owe Nana for taking amazing care of my kids those weeks!), where I was totally immersed in a 300-hour training anchored in active muscle engagement to prevent injury while increasing strength. That program was co-taught by an amazing Sanskrit and philosophy scholar who shed new light on cornerstone texts while deepening my pranayama and mantra practices. Since then, I’ve explored continuing education in Yoga Nidra, Yin Yoga, and Manifestation practices. I’ve also been fortunate enough to help lead two Yoga Teacher Trainings and a multitude of workshops on various topics.
In the spring of 2023, an off-handed comment to a long-time friend (and original yoga mentor), Lauren Vogel, gave birth to Zentric. An idea we’d been dancing around for years— creating an inclusive, engaging online community focused on integrating yoga into modern life in an achievable way for other women.
We’ve learned “the hard way” by supporting each other through marriages, divorces, jobs, kids, pandemics, etc., and feel called to serve others by sharing what actually works so you can THRIVE rather than SURVIVE!