Today we’d like to introduce you to Anne Spear.
Hi Anne, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hello, my name is Anne Spear and I teach yoga… I have a specialization in Prenatal and Postpartum Yoga, am Raja trained and love teaching yoga for all humans. My teaching is infused in the roots of yoga and modern science. I work with people to address their unique needs to reach their goals with the holistic approach of yoga.
My yoga practice began over twenty years ago when I was eighteen when a friend invited me to join them for a series of classes. Class met in a hallway at a high school, and I didn’t even have a mat. It was amazing. I fell in love with the practice of yoga nearly instantly. I still remember some beautiful imagery that the teacher used for meditation. I was just beginning college so I had neither the time or money to attend classes. So, I built a steady practice at home. There was a yoga studio I walked by frequently on the way to class. One day I noticed a sign in their window advertising Yoga Teacher Training. Suddenly I knew that I wanted to train as a teacher. I couldn’t then because of my full school and work schedule. I set that dream aside but kept practicing yoga at home.
Fast forward to more than a decade later, I was finally able to take teacher training. By then I had gotten married, lived in Wales where our son was born and moved to Colorado. I was ready for this next chapter of my life to begin and eager to teach. It’s often said that when a person takes yoga training that it will change more about them than they ever imagined. I would say that my experience was more like discovering myself and becoming a friend to who I always was. That still continues every time I practice, especially when I am working with all of the eight limbs of yoga.
As I was beginning my new venture teaching classes, I surprisingly found I was pregnant with our second child. We were thrilled! Now I had to sort out how I could keep teaching while pregnant and soon, a new baby. Having had a child who was well into adolescence, I knew the challenges that were ahead, but I also knew I was up for the task. Little did I know that there would still be unexpected surprises ahead and that this would be the catalyst which sparked my passion as a teacher.
I sought out any and all yoga training for pregnancy and postpartum that I could find. There was not very much available. However, it was in one of those first training sessions which happened to be on postpartum that I discovered things about myself that would alter the course of my studies. I realized how my first pregnancy and birth had affected me on a physical level and that I still had many lingering issues despite it being ten years since my first child was born. I learned why my hip and knee hurt. I learned why I had been incapable of kicking up into a handstand nor could I jump on a trampoline. Notably, I had abdominal separation (called diastasis recti), and a few forms of pelvic floor dysfunction. I also learned that the debilitating pain I had experienced during pregnancy was dysfunction in my pubic bone. My mind was blown. I had no idea any of these things existed before, nor that they were actually very common issues people experience post-birth.
My mission shifted from simply learning how to teach yoga while pregnant, to learning how to help myself and enable my body to heal. This task proved challenging as there are very few yoga resources on the subject of pregnancy and especially postpartum. I quickly learned that what I wanted to learn was going to require much of my own resourcing. I approached the situation as one might a dissertation. I took any training, read any book, and research study that was even remotely relevant. I found I had to apply what information and research to yoga. I was pioneering in the field of developing postpartum yoga. After years of research, I resolved to put it all into a book which I am currently writing.
As I did the work for my own interests, I soon realized that if I had this experience post-birth, there must be countless others who do too. My focus shifted again to not only helping myself but to helping others. I began creating methods to resolve my diastasis recti, improve my pelvic health, prevent the pubic bone pain during pregnancy, and finally be able to kick up into that handstand. I am happy to say that I did do just that, all of it. Today I have worked with hundreds of people over the years teaching prenatal and postpartum yoga. My prenatal classes have a focus on facilitating community, easing pregnancy, preparing for birth, and setting yourself up for a more easeful recovery post-birth. My postpartum classes are usually taught as Baby & Me classes to make them more accessible since post-birth people quick often have an infant to care for. Those classes focus again on community (it’s so very important!), easing back into physical exercise with movements that support the natural healing process, addresses common ailments of a new mother, and even special time for bonding with baby which I call “Baby Asana”. That includes infant massage techniques based upon its roots in traditional Indian practices, songs, and other movements which resemble yoga poses. In addition to group classes, I also work with people one-on-one to offer them tailored solutions to their needs.
I also offer yoga which is not focused on pregnancy and postpartum. I teach in a gentle style that is welcoming and accessible to most people. You can find me teaching flowing vinyasa classes, restorative, yin, yoga nidra (guided “yogic sleep” meditation), meditation, somatic, and functional movement. My philosophy is that yoga is for everyone. It’s everyone’s practice. Yoga is what each individual makes of it attuned to their evolving unique needs throughout their lifetime for the purpose of easing and supporting their time upon this Earth.
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?
It has not been a smooth road. I specialize in prenatal and postpartum yoga. Prenatal Yoga has only been a certification by the major accrediting body of yoga for less than two decades. Relatively speaking, it’s a new specialized practice when compared to the more than half a century old roots of yoga in the West (i.e.. the United States) and especially when compared to the thousands of years old roots of yoga in the East (i.e.. India). Postpartum Yoga is even newer than prenatal. In part, this is due to the lack of understanding of the special needs postpartum involves. For both Prenatal and Postpartum there is also a general lack of scientific research due to these being what are considered Special Populations which greatly reduces the amount of people willing to research these subjects. While there is training and educational resources on yoga for pregnancy, there is very little specifically on postpartum yoga. That creates the situation in which I have had to find sources of information on postpartum and apply them to yoga. This is both exciting to be a pioneer in the field, but also the challenges being one of the first to do a line of work brings. I have spent so much time on this research that I am writing a book on the subject to document my work.
Other challenges have included finding places to teach, studios, and students that understand me. Since I approach yoga in a unique way that is not commonly seen, it poses the issue of being understood. When you are different, it is not always seen as a benefit. The saying “before their time” comes to mind, for people who were doing things before they were appreciated for what they gave to the world. There have also been many people along the way who have supported me in a variety of ways, my teachers, my writing coach, studios which welcomed me to offer my unique qualities, and of course my family: my two kids and my loving husband. I couldn’t have made it to where I am without all of them.
Then of course being a mother of two kids while working has its challenges. I have always been the daytime caregiver to our children, so my teaching schedule is built around those obligations. It is both challenging and a part of what and why I teach what I do. I strive to support others who are living similar experiences to mine.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a yoga and meditation teacher who serves the area in and around Boulder County. I am trained in Raja (Eight Limbs Ashtanga) Yoga, as well as Tantric, Hatha, Yin, Restorative, and Vinyasa modalities. Additionally, I have specialties in Prenatal and Postpartum Yoga, Corrective Exercise and Functional Movement. I have experience teaching everyone from infants (in class with their adult) to toddlers and preschoolers, teens, adults, and seniors. I believe yoga is for all humans. It should be taught with consideration to the variety of needs for each individual. I teach yoga to encompass the practice as a support system for a healthy life. The Eight Limbs of yoga as taught by root teacher Baba Hari Dass, coined as Ashtanga or Raja Yoga involves practices for the mind, body, and spirit. My classes honor these teachings by including many aspects of these eight limbs such as meditation, pranayama (breathing practices), storytelling, yogic philosophy, and asana (poses).
I have a passion for applying modern science to the ancient practice of yoga. Combining these ancient practices and teachings with the understanding of human anatomy and movement. I especially enjoy neuroscience, anatomy, somatic movement, functional movement, and biomechanics. I have extensive training in exercise and yoga for pregnancy and post-birth (postpartum/ postnatal) including health of the pelvis and pelvic floor, diastasis recti (abdominal separation), and other common ailments or conditions associated with pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.
I love to teach all people how yoga can support a healthy life. One of the principles of yoga is that it intends to ease suffering in the physical body and emotional body. My goal is to teach my students that yoga is so much more than a fitness class. It is a means to become a friend to yourself and at home in your heart.
You can find me teaching private lessons and group classes independently as well as through local yoga studios.
Current offerings are independently taught classes offered as 6-week series at The Birth Center of Boulder. These include Prenatal Yoga and Baby & Me Postpartum Yoga. I also teach studio classes at Soul Tree Yoga in Lafayette (East Boulder County). I also facilitate a group for pregnant people and moms (with kids of any age) called Mindful Mamas at Family Village Coop in Lafayette. Private Lessons are offered in the student’s home. Many of my private clients are focused on pregnancy and postpartum such as addressing pelvic pain like pubis symphysis dysfunction, helping baby find an optimal fetal position for birth (i.e.. flipping baby), core restoration including fixing diastasis recti, correcting posture/ alignment, as well as general needs of
More information and current schedules can be found on my website.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up in the Midwest I was awkwardly thin, with unruly hair, and I wore glasses from the fourth grade. This led to me being reserved and shy so I wouldn’t draw attention to myself. Being “skinny” was something I was embarrassed by. As with a lot of young people, I didn’t have much body awareness. I think that contributed to my interest in yoga. Yoga is many things, and one important aspect is that it teaches you to become more attuned with yourself both physically, and emotionally. It provides practices to hone your interoception (internal awareness), exteroception (external awareness), as well as proprioception (where your body is in space). I played sports, but I didn’t have much talent for them. I got hit in the face from close range with a soccer ball once and that pretty much ended my interest in contact sports. I really enjoyed the arts and creating things. What began as crafts as a kid developed into painting the walls in my parent’s house like my room and even expanded into my friends’ rooms. I valued a few close friendships over casual friendships with numerous people. As I grew up, I got into music. I went to my first concert when I was sixteen and fell in love with the experience instantly. I loved unique music and spent my time listening to the local college radio station, 97X The Future of Rock and Roll (yes, that one from Rain Man). Music has remained very important to me. I have been to more concerts than I can count. Back then we recorded mixtapes from the radio and would listen to them while driving around with my friends. Today that pastime has become easier with music streaming services, and the playlists are now for my classes. I have changed a lot since my youth, in fact, my senior year I was voted “Most Changed” for the yearbook superlatives. Yet, I still feel like the same person only with a greater sense of who I am and the confidence to pursue what I enjoy.
Pricing:
- Sliding Scale for independent classes
- Sliding Scale rates average $20 per class with reduced to benefactor rates
- Studio classes are subject to studio set rates
- Private Sessions – please contact me for details and price options
Contact Info:
- Email: AnneSpearYoga@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gratefulbeauty_annespearyoga/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnneSpearYoga/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj4ATLUxw8WpaHR7A2dl0Iw
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/anne-spear-yoga-lafayette
Image Credits
Barbara MacFerrin Photography
Briana Brown
