Yoga Teacher Spotlight: Meaghan Tozzi
We asked yoga teacher Meaghan Tozzi what makes her tick. Step off the mat with us to learn more about Meaghan.
Q: What are your yoga specialties or areas of interest?
Alignment and support of the whole Self. Asana, Pranayama and Meditation.
Q: What are your yoga classes like? What styles/postures/themes do you love to teach?
Intentional and thoughtful. Deliberate and deep. I like to teach postures that are attainable to most all bodies, with modifications, to allow the student to find that edge where they feel pushed and build confidence from the inside out.
Q: What kind of students would you recommend taking your class? What kinds of people can you help?
Students who want depth, who are curious and open to learn beyond what the Western world calls “Yoga.” To have fun, play and be pushed!
Q: What have you learned personally through your own yoga and meditation over the years?
Yoga has been a life force and bridge for me to manage and support my own nervous system and my body through injuries and recovery. My daily Sadhana practice is something I can’t live without and supports me every moment of everyday.
Q: Have you overcome certain obstacles, healed certain injuries or emotional wounds, and grown as a person in specific ways?
The practice of Yoga, along with my dear teachers, has pushed me to work through many emotional obstacles to find release in my body and my mind. Yoga has allowed me to find ways to manage my own mind to have it work with me instead of against me. The asana practice with meditation pushes and supports me to be my best self, be gentle with what my body will and won’t do in certain situations, through being in my 20s, to having three children, sports injuries, and the beautiful process of aging. It’s my life’s practice that grows and changes with me and will always be in my life.
Q: What’s your current favorite asana?
I would say my current AND work in progress asanas are Navasana and Sirsasana.
Q: What is on your yoga soundtrack?
I have many soundtracks I love listening to from chanting and mantras; Trevor Hall, Ludovico Einaudi, and Ajeet to name a few.
Q: What would you do if you weren’t a yoga teacher OR what’s your other job?
I work as an Interior Designer and an artist. I love to create with my mind and my hands that’s necessary to nourish myself.
Q: What’s your favorite place in Jackson Hole?
My backyard with my family!
Q: What other activities do you partake in besides yoga?
Hiking, biking, skiing, gardening, reading, sacred time with friends.
Q: What’s your favorite ski run/hike/walk/etc. in Jackson Hole?
Holly Lake, Teton Pass loops and Town of Jackson loops.
Q: Can you recall a special yoga class or workshop that you’ve attended that stands out to you and why?
There are so many incredible Yoga teachers in town so I’m thankful that I can say I have many standouts. Adi Amar and Ainslee Mintz’s Immersion Trainings, Brittany Belisle’s “Sacred Sunday” class, Bhavani Maki’s Yoga Sutra online classes. All have depth, meaning and asking the “why” of yoga. They encompass all the parts of yoga in support of the student’s curiosity, growth and sharing the path of introspection and learning.
Q: What three things are you most grateful for?
Devotion to taking care of myself in order to be a better person, wife and mother, my three beautiful children and husband, and my health.
Q: What is something surprising about you that someone might not expect?
That I am a very sensitive, deep person with immense compassion for others on their personal journey, and that I have a very silly side to me!
Q: What was it that made you fall in love with yoga? A certain class, teacher, or did it help you through a tough time in your life? Another reason?
It has not been one particular thing, but has shown me again and again that Yoga is endless in supporting personal growth and change. Adi Amar and I have been practicing together as teacher, student, friend and mentor. She and I have grown and pushed each other for many years, so if there is a person in my life that has guided and encouraged me in the yoga practice the most, it’s she.
Q: Is there a pose that you used to dislike that you now love?
Crow pose and I have really come to grow on each other. Arm balances are still where I’d like to push myself more.
Q: How has your relationship to yoga changed over the years?
When I first started practicing it was only about using my body. Over the years, it became a combination, and now my meditation and pranayama are my guides in supporting what my body needs physically.
Q: If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice about your relationship to your yoga practice, what would it be?
“When the student is ready, the teacher presents.” Stay open and disciplined to know it’s not an overnight process. It’s a lifetime of work and dedication to feel the effects of all the practices and it will change your life in ways you never imagined
Photos: Lisa Flood Photography
