Heather Perry

E-RYT/YACEP 200hr, Mindful Meditation Certified

WHERE WERE YOU BORN AND RAISED?
I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and lived there until I moved to California right after college in 1998.

TELL US A BRIEF HISTORY OF YOUR PERSONAL PRACTICE
My yoga journey began during a health crisis in my life.  As a young woman, I felt my body was failing me, yet yoga helped me to see that I needed a deeper understanding of my body, to truly love my body and nurture myself through what became a long journey.  Through yoga, I was able to respond to challenges I faced with a wise and wakeful heart open to accept myself just as I am with grace. My yoga practice has been the constant companion to my wellness journey ever since.

TELL US A BRIEF HISTORY OF YOUR TEACHING EXPERIENCE
I taught my first official Yoga class in 2009, after encouragement from my friend and Yoga teacher/mentor Tina Nichols, whose wise teachings I deeply cherish today.  Much of what Tina taught me then, is the basis of my teaching style today. Yoga is my full-time occupation and I have taught in gyms, community centers, schools, private athletic clubs, parks, homes and studios in both Ventura and Kern County.  Today, I am a full-time yoga teacher and mindfulness meditation teacher/mentor, and I am the operations manager for the yoga and wellness community of Venture Well in Ventura.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE YOGA POSE?
Tadasana.  Tadasana (or mountain pose) is in every pose in yoga. Tadasana is a pose one embodies within. Be a mountain in every posture in your practice and in life: formidable, composed and steady, no matter the weather.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE YOGA/SPIRITUALITY/SELF HELP BOOK?

Too difficult for me to choose.  I hope to read as much as I can in this lifetime. I currently am reading The Radiance Sutras: 112 Gateways to the Yoga of Wonder and Delight by Lorin Roche with a forward by Shiva Rea.  They are so far the most poetic and heart-illuminating Yoga Sutras I have dug into so far.

ANY ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS?
The fruits of the yoga practice are inside, not on the outside.

WHAT DOES “COMMUNITY” MEAN TO YOU?
Community is a group of like-hearted folks who understand that their actions affect all others within the community and are concerned with the well-being of their fellow community members.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT VENTURA?
Ventura is one of the most uniquely beautiful places on earth.  Where else can I teach yoga outside almost every week of the year?  I am so grateful for my home.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION?
Donate Life.  I received a kidney transplant from my stepdaughter Sara in 2013 and it saved my life. I am so profoundly grateful for this gift and tell everyone I can that they too can offer someone the gift of life through altruistic donation, even while they are still alive.