Georgia Ogundipe

Wellness is doing for your body what it doesn’t do for itself.

I find the most is that people think that you have to be well in order to be there. Like even when you think about wellness, you see the pictures of people that look like floating Lululemon angels and they, you know, they kind of think like that's how you have to show up. I like to think of wellness as something you don't achieve,...it's an ongoing word. It's a verb. It's what you do. It's not who you are.

Fitness changed my outlook in the world. I believe that we always have what we need and the things we find we need that we don’t have, are the journey’s we should take. In 2016, I found that I didn’t have quiet spaces. I was introduced to a hot yoga class. It was so hot that all I could think about was staying alive, and using my breath to do it. But during that 60 minutes, my problems didn’t matter. Breathing did. I’ve been practicing ever since and became an instructor because of it in 2022.

it's such a powerful practice. the most meaningful experiences that I have, it's probably the person that comes to my class and has never done yoga and they just say it's maybe it's the top of the year like you always get that the January the new year new me people decide I'm going to do yoga. It takes a little bit of bravery to just walk into a space that you know nothing about and for some reason that I'll never know, they chose my class and they're like, "This is my introduction. I really hope it goes well. I feel honored. It feels like a privilege. Sometimes my skin gets like a little warm thinking about it.

I'm a nine-to-fiver, so sometimes I might work then scadaddle to the studio and teach at 5:30 which is very hard. I'll start my class off as slow as possible with a meditation and I teach power yoga largely. So it's usually pretty quick & hot–it's intense. I also know I'm not the only person in the room that might have had a rough day or a rough experience. I'm doing this for you all, but it also helps me. If we just start off with a little breath work, I feel more present. I feel more in the room to be able to hold the space because that's the job.

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I'm holding the space for you all to do the yoga. I'm just providing it. So, I think starting off with meditation is a really good one. Something else that I will do, I'll think about an intention for how I plan to show up...it takes the pressure off.
 

I've got to stop by the Starbucks. Sometimes just a mango dragon fruit just really sets it off for me. Rest and relaxation. No alarm clocks. None. I don't even know what time the day is going to start because my body is just going to say we have rested my child. I am turning into a little old little juice lady, so juice a fresh squeezed orange juice and I put a little bit of pineapple plus turmeric for the muscles to get out inflammation. Listen to the Breakfast Club or Sarah Jakes Roberts. Maybe take a walk, pick up food..no cooking of course!!

With 10 minutes, you can change your day. Breathe with your movement. Reach for your toes and hang out there! Neck rolls, cat and cows, put your legs up the wall and stay still. Get the blood flowing in a different direction.