Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Asha.
Hi Tiffany, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
In 2005, after graduating from UT Austin, I discovered yoga while working as a new school teacher on Austin’s annual Free Day of Yoga at the old Yoga Yoga North West. At the time, I was a stressed-out public school teacher and closet smoker, making unhealthy choices to cope with a stressful career. The school librarian was a yogi, and invited me to join her. I did. The experience was utterly transformative and changed my life forever. I quit smoking cold turkey, changed my lifestyle, what I ate, how I spent my free time, my whole life. I started practicing yoga 5-6 days a week and everything changed. For me, as it does for many, it began as a physical workout – but when you keep going, you begin to realize yoga is an entire way of life. I started practicing Ashtanga yoga, and learning about the 8 limbs of yoga. The physical portion, or asana, is actually a very small part of the practice. We move our bodies so we can calm and still the mind. I love teaching people so much that combining my love for education and yoga made sense. 2015, after a decade of dedicated practice, I signed up for yoga teacher training with Black Swan Yoga, where I now teach. Although I am no longer in a public school setting, I continue my passion for teaching by helping others through yoga and sound events. I aim to hold space for people and their innate potential for creativity and expansion while also creating customized sacred healing environments. In my yoga classes, my heart-centered approach encourages students to challenge themselves safely with loving support while having fun and being creative. Exploring the body through play allows us to remain present in our space. Students are constantly reminded of their autonomy and to practice what feels good in their bodies at that moment.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Teaching – whether teaching public school or yoga classes, has its challenges. We all have our struggles and energy to bring to the experience, which can and does shift the energy in the room. I have learned the art of holding space for people regardless of age or classroom setting. There have been so many times where people underestimate me because of my age, my gender, my curves, you name it – and I do enjoy blowing their minds! Yoga, meditation, and sound healing have literally saved my life. This practice has guided me through sexual assault, subsequent PTSD, divorce, the death of many friends, and parents. This past year has been particularly challenging with the declining health and death of my father. My years of yoga, meditation, sound, and holding space were there to guide me and now help me guide my family. I have never been so present and so mindful as I was in the last days of my father’s life, through to his last breath. We worked with an End of Life Doula, creating our special rituals for my dad before and after his transition. I was combining meditation, sound, and mindfulness with these moments. It was crystal clear to me that this was my dad’s last gift to me on this earthly plane. I am now training to be an End of Life Doula, and I plan to combine all of these modalities as I did for my dad to help others transition. I keep returning to the practice in some way every day because it works.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’ve been told I have big Jupiter energy! Expansive, optimistic, generous, and the teacher. That’s me. You can find me teaching yoga around Austin and hosting sound healing events. I have been fortunate to host some extensive experiences at venues like Haute Spot and the Moody Amphitheater, but helping others is my jam in any shape or form. Whether one-on-one or a group of a few hundred, I love it when I can help someone and they experience a shift. Be it a tiny one or a seismic shift, my heart is happy when we move energy and a person leaves my presence feeling more grounded and more regulated. The more regulated people we have, the better off we will all be. When we heal ourselves, we heal our family line. The ripples are vast. As a teacher, building relationships with my students is my top priority. Maya Angelou’s quote, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel,” deeply resonates with me. I take pride in creating a safe and welcoming environment where all students feel comfortable expressing themselves and owning the space and learning. With 18 years of practice rooted in Ashtanga/Hatha yoga, my classes incorporate playful sequencing and an amazing soundtrack. I’ve taught yoga in various unconventional settings – hallways, swimming pools, loading docks, gyms, parks, beaches, and traditional yoga studios – with classes ranging from one student to as many as 200. Regardless of the location or number of students, I always prioritize building relationships and creating an exceptional student experience. Teaching has been my lifelong passion, and I am incredibly fortunate to be able to help others.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
The pandemic flipped my life upside down. I thought I would retire as a classroom and part-time yoga teacher, but that is not what the universe had in store for me. After 17 years as a public school teacher, I had to resign. Both of my parents were diagnosed with cancer in the fall of 2020, and I knew I had to be with them. I resigned, and the heavy grief began. I lost my identity. I lost my sense of self. I was aimless for a while, and I even enrolled in real estate school, thinking that was the answer, but it was not. Halfway through, I realized it was not for me and quit. Covid taught me how to quit jobs, people, and places that were no longer for me. Time is too precious to spend doing anything that doesn’t serve us. I got an offer to start working with a studio and then a yoga teacher, and all of a sudden, I was running a small business, helping folks in wellness with event planning and marketing. I started my LLC and found my groove, but something was missing.
I needed to hold space for people, and I later discovered I needed the gong. Many of my yoga classes had gongs played during the final rest (savasana), and I was never too fond of it. I know now that’s because, at the time, my nervous system was too dysregulated from PTSD to receive percussive solid sounds. During the pandemic, I had the opportunity to learn the gong, and I fell in love. I knew the gong in another full circle moment and began working with Mehtab Benton, who owned Yoga Yoga, where I first discovered yoga. When I started to play the gong, I could feel my energy moving, and I experienced kundalini rising for the first time ever. My body felt like a bottle of soda shaken up and opened. I started playing daily and hosting sound healing events to help others. Many of my students are working through traumas similar to what I have been through. We often attract what we have healed. Helping others is my purpose in this body, in this lifetime.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tiffanyasha.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yoga_sounds/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiffanyashatx
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanyasha/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChQvvnIWEKGL7VJonFc20Ig
- Other: https://linktr.ee/Tiffanyasha
Image Credits
Taylor Williamson, Anastasia Poss, Nicole DiDaniele
