200: Practice, Parenting & Perfectionism with Judith Hanson Lasater & Lizzie Lasater

The Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast 200: Practice, Parenting & Perfectionism with Judith Hanson Lasater & Lizzie Lasater   Description: We’re celebrating 200 episodes of the Connected Yoga Teacher Podcast! On this episode, mother-daughter duo, Judith Hanson Lasater and Lizzie Lasater, share more about their yoga journey, parenting, and running a yoga business.    Judith, Ph.d. and physical therapist, is a well known figure in the yoga world, and one of the leading yoga teachers in the US. She has been teaching yoga for 50 years, helped found a nationally-known yoga teacher training program in San Francisco, CA, which has trained thousands of teachers since 1975, and collaborated with other yoga teachers to start the Yoga Journal magazine. Judith has authored 10 books, including her latest: Yoga Myths -  What You Need to Learn and Unlearn for a Safe and Healthy Yoga Practice, and specializes in restorative yoga.    Judith has three children, and one of them is Lizzie Lasater, who is a mother of twins, and also a yoga teacher in her own right. Lizzie learned yoga from her mother, and now teaches restorative yoga teacher training globally via her virtual platform. In addition to sharing her work through live online events, curated digital trainings and her Sunday Savasana Series newsletter, Lizzie also has a heartfelt spirit jewelry collection. Together, Judith and Lizzie share a variety of courses such as Living Your Yoga, Yoga Myths, Savasana Intensive and more on their combined online platform - lasater.yoga.   In this interview, Lizzie shares her insights about what it was like growing up with a yoga teacher for a Mom, and how that has influenced her in journey of teaching yoga and running a yoga business. Judith and Lizzie discuss “being enlightened”, how yoga translates into their daily lives, and holding boundaries. They also talk about their own personal experiences with parenting, and why we all struggle with the idea of perfectionism and not being able to be “perfect parents”.   This is an incredible interview about how yoga relates to parenting, perfectionism and your own practice - from the unique perspective of a mother-daughter team.   Key Takeaways: [10:29] Shannon introduces her guests for this episode - Judith Hanson Lasater and Lizzie Lasater. [12:38] For Judith, what does it feel like to have been teaching yoga for 50 years, and what does she see in the yoga world now? [15:51] Lizzie shares a bit about how growing up with yoga all around influenced her to become a yoga teacher. [17:55] Did Judith's children ever rebel and move away from yoga? She shares how she held space for her children apart from yoga. [21:22] Lizzie talks about what it was like to grow up with a yoga teacher as a parent, the feelings she encountered as a teenager, and how that has influenced her own parenting style. [25:36] What is it like for Judith and Lizzie to work together as yoga teachers now? [31:06] Judith shares her perspectives on the idea of "becoming more enlightened" through the practice of yoga. [36:12] Lizzie reflects on her working relationship with her mother and the boundaries she holds with each of the roles she has with Judith. [37:40] Judith explains how setting and holding boundaries spills into the teaching of yoga and personal relationships. [42:48] It is important to remember not to hold ourselves up to the standards of the yamas and the niyamas, or some sort of perfection. [47:53] Do parents now face more pressure to be perfect? [50:45] Shannon, Lizzie and Judith reflect on what it's like to parent their children. [55:12] How much of Judith's experience in the yoga world has been translated into her latest book, Yoga Myths? [57:01] What are Lizzie's thoughts on teaching yoga for a shorter time and reading Judith's book? [01:00:25] Judith explains why cueing is not a practice she recommends, and what she suggests instead. [1:03:23] How will moving yoga teacher training online impact the level of yoga? [1:10:14] Lizzie shares some thoughts around impermanence, and Judith shares a short poem to end off. [1:15:25] Find out more about Judith and Lizzie's work via their websites. [1:17:19] What is your biggest takeaway that you will implement?   Links: Judith Hanson Lasater Judith Hanson Lasater on Instagram and Facebook Lizzie Lasater Lasater.yoga Yoga Journal Books by Judith Hanson Lasater Lizzie Lasater on YouTube Lizzie Lasater's Instagram Post   Gratitude to our Sponsor Schedulicity and Sukhasana Chair.   Quotes from this episode:   "Yoga is a life-changing, soul-changing, body-changing practice, but its power is predicated upon choice and intention." - Judith Hanson Lasater   "What is the point of this practice on the mat, this pranayama, this meditation, if it has no effect in the world?" - Judith Hanson Lasater   "The most important question to begin with is not 'What am I going to teach?'. The most important question is 'What is going to be the relationship I have with my students?'." - Judith Hanson Lasater   "I'm finding that [parenting] is so much more full mind-body-spirit than any of the books I read led me to believe." - Lizzie Lasater