Nickname: Rachel K, because there are at least two Rachels everywhere, always.
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Where was that photo taken? The petting zoo at the Bristol Renaissance Faire, where I’ve gone since I was a kid.
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Job prior to becoming a yoga teacher: I’m a case manager for a group of lovely women at Misericordia, a residential facility for folks with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Now I get to teach yoga there, too!
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Best yoga experience ever: The first time I led a room of students into savasana. I was moved by how much trust they’d put in me and each other. That time is totally internal as a student, so sitting back to witness as a teacher is a pretty neat perspective shift.
Rachel Kalom
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(she/they) Yoga & Marigold Plus
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What do you remember about the first yoga class you ever took? It was at a gym and the studio’s enormous plate glass windows faced directly onto bustling Clark Street. It was terribly off-putting and I didn’t feel remotely welcome. I spent several years after that getting irritated by Rodney Yee every 6 months when I tried to follow along to thrifted VHS tapes in my living room. I had completely written off yoga when a friend invited me to one of Mindy’s Ganesha Plus classes, and the unicorns, rainbows, and shooting stars changed my mind.
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Guilty pleasure: Waiting a few extra days (or, um, weeks) to do laundry.
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Accomplishment of which you are most proud: I hated, really hated, meditating. I managed to work through the negative associations to develop a practice that’s now a comforting part of my morning routine.
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Yoga training/studies: In 2015 I completed the inaugural 200-hour teacher training at Ganesha. I can’t imagine studying anywhere else and am deeply grateful for the community I’ve found here. I’m looking forward to more workshops and trainings focused on adaptive and therapeutic yoga in the coming year.
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Yoga Pet Peeve: Teachers who don’t ask before adjusting, or give pep talks about burning off “naughty” foods during challenging poses. Nope.
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Athletic endeavor you have always wanted to try but are too intimidated: I was a kid who always walked the mile in gym class and as an adult I abandoned multiple efforts to start running. This spring I got over the physical and mental hurdles, started training and ran my first 5-K, learning to sincerely love running along the way. Next to conquest: rock climbing and paddle board yoga!