Meet Christine Stump: A Yoga Powerhouse

Newbie Yoga was able to catch up with Christine Stump and not only have her give words of wisdom to beginners in yoga but also do some guest writing. She is an amazingly active yoga instructor based in New Mexico.

Christine has been practicing yoga for the past thirteen years and has been meditating for thirty years, She has also studied Tai Chi, both Western and Eastern philosophy as well as Metaphysics up to the graduate Level. Christine also works as a freelance writer and paramedic.

Christine began teaching yoga five years ago and recently taught a groundbreaking 12-week corporate yoga series demonstrating effects on blood pressure and subjective stress scales.

What made you first interested in Yoga?

Christine: My Mom! I remember playing on the floor under, around and near her while she did yoga with a television program, and imitating her when she was in what I'd come to call Down Dog and giggling uproariously. I dabbled around the edges for years while I threw my heart into harder physical activity. After many injuries and some quieting in my mind, I came back to yoga and felt like I'd rediscovered home.

Which style of yoga did you start with? Which one do you currently practice?

Christine: Frankly, I'm not much for 'styles.' Hatha yoga is hatha yoga and the words we teach to get us to the experience are all pointing to the same thing. My first class back when I was 30 or so was taught by a teacher who calls herself a Tantra. I passionately practiced Ashtanga Primary Series for about a year and a half and have studied with teachers who teach from Iyengar, Anusara, Yin, Restorative, Vinyasa and Flow perspectives. I practice Hatha Yoga with a meditative focus. My practice on any given day is determined by time of day, my level of energy, how I want to regulate that energy - do I want a wake up or a slow down? - and the time I have available. I might do Sun Salutations in the morning and several Yin poses in the evening. Or some soft reclining twists in the morning, a bit of flow in the afternoon and legs up the wall before bed at night. I love the endless variation of yoga.

What do you enjoy most about your practice?

Christine: Most.... that's difficult because there's so much to enjoy! I always feel better when I roll up my mat than I did when I unfurled it. That's the number one thing I return to over and over. No one has ever told me they feel worse after a class than they did walking in, and everyone glows after practice. I think it's because you can't help but move into the present moment when you hit the mat. You get closer to home - maybe not all the way there every time, but closer.

How do you currently teach others about yoga?

Christine: I love teaching and sharing yoga. One of my other roles in life is a Paramedic, and I've been known to get down on the ground under a tree, in uniform, combat boots and all, and get other medics - even just folks passing by! - down on the ground for a down dog or up into Warrior II. I just love the looks on their faces when they feel the pose.

Group classes are amazing experiences, too, because as a teacher you show up with a plan and then adjust given the bodies and energy and tone of the room. Sometimes you throw the whole plan out because it's not what would serve those folks in that moment, but more often it's like jazz and you weave in the things that they need most to feel and groove into the poses you have planned.

These days I teach primarily by video conference and Skype and I just love the medium. Students always receive a template from our practice they can use to guide and inspire their home practice within an hour after the lesson. People love this feature because it's tailored to their specific concern and what we actually did together, and consistently report that this supports and encourages them to practice at home. Not simply to practice the specific sequence or routine every time, because I encourage them even in class to listen and respond to their bodies' openings and needs; rather the templates serve as a gentle reminder and guiding hand. They can pick and choose for a given day.

I recently moved temporarily to new place and wanted a way to stay in touch with my peeps. We were all apprehensive at first; video conferencing can seem so cold and remote. But with the camera right down on the ground with the mat, there's so much warmth and connection coming through the practice that it permeates the medium. With this new tool, I can connect with anyone, anywhere and having used it so much I have great confidence in the process.

I've also come to love yoga parties. Years ago I thought they were a distraction, a commodification of the real thing. But I've come to have so much more of a sense of humor about my own practice and how to share it with others, and yoga parties are a great way to honor the yoga in everything we do and cultivate that sense of lightness.

The arc of a class really creates that connection. We always, always, always begin with the breath and spend a few minutes finding the fullness of breathing and settling into that rhythm before any more specific breathing practices. Moving slowly at first and generating the heat of practice, we move toward the pinnacle pose that either I choose from interviewing the student about their desires and aims or that they request, and then wind down toward a lovely, long Savasana. Savasana is one of the most advanced poses in all of practice and singularly important. We never spend less than 10 minutes here, and I might read a poem or meditation, or simply savor the silence.

What advice do you have for a "Newbie" in Yoga?

Christine: Meet yourself on the mat every day. Every day, at least unfurl the mat or enter the space, stand in Mountain or sit in vajrasana. Show up. Breathe. Do the next thing your body asks for, and just keep doing that.

Christine does Yoga gourmet camping retreats in the quiet of New Mexico, private lessons by Skype, and has an upcoming book on home practice and beginner's guide.Find out more about her or contact her on her blogs at Yoga Everyday and Alignment Yoga NM