How Austinite Adriene Mishler, the woman behind Yoga With Adriene, stays rooted in her practice and continues to rack up a loyal following along the way.
Austin Woman caught up with YouTube fitness sensation Adriene Mishler to chat about why she loves yoga, how she continues to grow and challenge her practice during busy day-to-day activities and the impact she wants Yoga With Adriene, her video channel that now has more than 1 million subscribers, to have on women and yogis throughout the world.
How she first got interested in yoga
“I have a background in dance, theater and film. I originally was attracted [to yoga]because I knew I wanted to be an actress and I was trying to think of what else I could do to supplement that. I started going to yoga classes and fell in love. Every time I went, I felt both challenged and good. I always left feeling good. I started going regularly and saw how much it benefited me as a performer, so then I started teacher training in college and haven’t looked back since.
“I love the idea of using the tools of yoga not just to workout, but to help people love themselves. That’s a really great way to balance the industry of acting and being in film with something healthy.”
Why she started the channel
“We started off doing the YouTube channel for fun and to maybe pay the phone bill, and it’s really taken off into a good business over time. It’s been a big blessing to me, being able to be an artist who can work from home and feel good about what I’m doing.”
Where she teaches
“I teach regularly here in Austin, three times a week. When I’m not traveling, I try to maintain the classes here so that I keep fit and present as a teacher and still connect with the Austin community. A lot of people are visiting from all over. They’ll see my classes online and come to Austin and track me down, which has totally changed the vibe of my classes. It’s really fun to have visitors from all over.”
Her favorite type of yoga
“After 15 years spent learning how to teach and guide people in yoga, I [choose to]teach a blend of Hatha yoga—something my business partner and I call find-what-feels-good yoga. I try to share it from my viewpoint and my experience. Overall, [my practice]kind of depends on where I’m at in my body, how the weather is or if I’m tired.
“Because I’m human, I totally pump it up for the summer. We do the same things over and over to work the same muscles.”
How she keeps her practice on point
“I like to keep my mat out so I can see it. I used to think I had to have the perfect little yoga corner, but I realized that any space in my home is a space where I can roll out my mat and hop to it. If I’m doing something more yoga-related, I will light a candle, but if it’s cardio, I will put on some tunes. The beauty of a home workout is you don’t need a lot.”
Number of times she practices yoga daily
“Since the Yoga With Adriene business took off, I’ve really been inspired by the community to maintain a home practice, so I try to do something every day. I used to be really hard on myself, trying to keep up a yogi plan, but through conversations with the community and through life, I’ve realized I have to give myself more space and freedom. Now, I try and just do something, even just one thing, each day. All it has to include is me connecting, being present and tending to my body and mind. If sitting on the porch drinking a bottle of wine with someone is what you need in that moment, then that was your yoga. You’ll bounce back [to your mat]tomorrow.”
On taking a break
“I honestly think in your fitness routine you have to cut yourself breaks and follow your heart. You will want to come back and work hard. It’s not something you have resistance to doing. You want to get on your mat and do yoga. [You don’t want to be] thinking, ‘Ugh. I have to.’ ”
The concept behind the new online Yoga Camp program she started last month
“I’m proud of Yoga Camp because it’s next-level in our community. There’s a 30-day yoga challenge that is all over the Web and stems from people wanting to be a part of something exciting and big, but also for people wanting to be held accountable. We decided to do 30 videos last January and call it a journey instead of a challenge. It was a hit.
“Yoga Camp is essentially the sequel to that. I felt like a lot of people were going to be doing 30-day camps this year, so I thought about how I could get creative and I took a risk and laid on some mantras and affirmations. At first glance, that could turn people away. The cool thing is you still get a badass workout. I’m just seeing if we can take it a step further and check our self-talk. It may seem a little cheesy, but I’m trying to get people to do the workout and realize there’s no point to doing [the workout]if you’re not connected to yourself. We are trying to make self-love cool again.”
Her personal mantras
“Find what feels good. If you’re not feeling good or if you’re feeling resistance toward something, pause and see if you can take another route. That’s also a great mantra for dieting.
“My other go-to mantra is: The universe is for me and so is everything else. That’s the ultimate thing to say if you’re sitting in your car and thinking you can’t get through the day.”
Why it’s important for women to do yoga
“It’s important for anyone to give himself or herself time to be with themselves. For women, in particular, especially with where we are in our culture, it’s clear that we have issues when it comes to the body, how we treat ourselves and what the norm is. It’s a deeply rooted thing, and I think we learn that stuff as young women because it’s just everywhere.
“With technology at our fingertips, now more than ever, we need to make sure we are taking time to counterbalance negative body image. When it comes to the way we see our bodies, the way we regard ourselves, it’s become all too crazy normal to say, ‘I’m so ugly. I’m so fat.’ Everyone is afraid to be beautiful, to be awesome—all because of ego. I’m trying to use the tools of yoga to share with women, in particular, that in addition to helping us tone and be healthy, yoga is a perfect opportunity for us to learn to tend to the mind and remember how powerful our thoughts are. The more compassion women have for themselves and their bodies, the more likely they are going to have compassion and acceptance toward other women.”
Want to take a class with Adriene? You’re in luck. When she’s not posting free videos online at yogawithadriene.com, she can be found at the following locations throughout town:
Salvage Vanguard Theater, salvagevanguard.org
- Tuesdays at 5:30 p.m.
- Saturdays at 10:30 a.m.
Practice Yoga Austin, practiceyogaaustin.com
- Mondays at 9 a.m.
Blanton Museum of Art, blantonmuseum.org
- Third Thursday of the month at noon
Photos by Lauren Logan.
