Leslie Phillips MS
All of my education and work experience (resume) has been in the health and fitness field. I have an M.S in Exercise Physiology and I’ve previously been in management positions in both the health club industry and worksite wellness field--I worked for nearly 8 years as Wellness Specialist and then Assistant Director of the University of Kentucky’s Employee Wellness Program. I am currently working on my Ph.D in Educational (Health) Psychology.

My husband’s collegiate football coaching career has required that we move around the country a bit and upon relocating to Minneapolis, MN in 1999 I began practicing yoga. I instantly fell in love with ashtanga yoga the first time that I tried it (and still am). Since then I have studied and practiced diligently and am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from some of the most highly qualified and well-known teachers around including David Swenson (with whom I've completed teacher training), Dr. Ranjani Cobo (MD) and Michael Gannon.

In the past I’ve enjoyed competitive distance running, racquetball, and strength training but several years back I became unable to do anything involving impact due to a bum left knee –a cartilage problem that was a result of running. Yoga has become a wonderful overall wellness program for me. I haven’t run nor touched a weight in several years. I don’t feel that I need to. For me, a very important characteristic of yoga is that it is gentle. But, don’t get me wrong, that doesn’t mean easy! I sweat and practice rigorously but without feeling beat up and exhausted afterwards. I know of no other activity that yields a higher “return on investment” than a regular yoga practice. I’ve heard it said “the practice is the practice” and the most important thing is to enjoy the process instead of looking at some sort of end result. The paradox is that pushing for a result impedes getting there.

I value the opportunity to expose Lexington, Kentucky residents to this extremely beneficial health practice. My goal is to not only teach others the “what to do” and “how to do it” but also the “why we do what we do.” And most importantly I try to do this with a light-hearted and joyful approach.(See student comments) I hope to inspire others to want to learn more and develop a personal practice--one of the best ways to learn. As Pattabhi Jois says, Ashtanga is “99% practice, 1% theory.”