Thrive Hot Yoga Success Story: A. Danielle Adams (Part 1)
“Yoga has given me a journey into myself.”
This month’s featured student comes highly nominated by several instructors at Thrive, and with good reason.
A member for over 14 years, A. Danielle Adams regularly attends Jenny’s Tuesday 10 am class in Farmington HiIls, where she has become a calm, steady presence in the studio. Always in the front row, the energy of the room tends to align around Danielle’s steadiness when she’s in class. Her positive energy is a role model for others, making her the perfect candidate for our Student of the Month.
DANIELLE A. ADAMS STUDENT PROFILE: PART 1
MEET DANIELLE A. ADAMS
Ian: Danielle, thank you for taking the time to share your yoga story today!
Danielle: Oh, thank you for having me. I am honored.
Ian: Do you remember how you were first introduced to yoga?
Danielle: I was trying to find a place where I fit because the gym was never my thing. I prefer to work out in an organized setting, like a class with an instructor. In my last pregnancy—my daughter is now 14—I had the thought, ‘I want to do prenatal yoga’.’’’ So I started that. It was very calming. After that, my husband heard me talk about yoga. And he came to your studio, and for Mother's Day, he got me a 30-Day Trial Pass.
And in the beginning, I was slightly insulted, like ‘What are you trying to say?”, but he knew I talked about yoga so much and how I love it. So he thought he had found this great class! I don't think he understood that it was a hot room.
My first class was very challenging. I had the wrong outfit on. I was sweating. It was uncomfortable. But I looked around at mostly women there; they were so in tune and calm, and I wanted that. I needed that. So that encouraged me to come back. It was hard to fit it into my schedule because I was working in corporate America.
If I'm being honest, my hair was an issue as a black woman. It was like, ‘Oh my god, what am I gonna do with my hair coming to yoga sweating?’. But I figured it out. I worked yoga into my weekly schedule two days a week. And I was able to figure it out. The more I came to yoga, the more I wanted to come, but it was hard while I was working.
But it was something I never gave up on—the energy of the instructors and even the people around me inspired me. And I'm not one who communicates with a lot of students, but it was just the energy of it all. So that's what kept me coming back, seeing the results, and feeling the energy.
I took a few of your classes in the beginning. And I just loved the energy that you gave and the passion you had for what you did. And just seeing you, your wife, and your mom, I was like, wow, this is awesome. So I became part of the yoga family officially.
“But I looked around at mostly women there; they were so in tune and calm, and I wanted that. I needed that. So that encouraged me to come back. ”
Ian: What year was that when your husband got you the Mother's Day trial pass?
Danielle: 2009. I had my daughter in 2008 in November, and he got the pass for Mother's Day 2009, when you guys were in the corner of the building, remember the old studio?
Ian: I do; that was our first yoga studio we built and opened in April of 2007. No windows in the yoga room, and it got steamy, very steamy, and a little stinky sometimes! Can you remember your first instructor?
Danielle: She wore glasses and was tall and thin. I think her name was Jeanne. The room used to be so hot. I was like, ‘Oh my God,’ but I loved her, because I felt she was tough, and I knew I was going to feel good after. So it was a challenge for me.
Ian: How old were your kids at the time?
Danielle: When I started, I had a 6-month-old, a 5-year-old, and a 14-year-old. They are now 14, 19, and 28.
Ian: With a 6-month-old and two older kids and working in corporate America, you found the time for self-care with a couple of hot yoga classes a week.
Danielle: Yes, I did. And that was very important. It kept me grounded. It kept me focused and just gave me peace. Like a calming inner peace where I wasn't so frustrated and so annoyed with the everyday things of being a working wife and mother.
Ian: That's 14 years of regular practice!
Danielle: Yes. And there was a student yesterday who said, "How long have you been working out here?” I said, “2009.” He said, “Wow because you have this down pat.” I said, “Oh no, I have my days where I want to sit down, but then I’m like, no, if I can make it through the week, I can make it through yoga. And if I can make it through yoga, I can do whatever.” It's a motivator for me.
“Oh no, I have my days where I want to sit down, but then I’m like, no, if I can make it through the week, I can make it through yoga. And if I can make it through yoga, I can do whatever.”
Ian: Many yoga students experience struggle in the beginning stages of their hot yoga practice. Many give up as a result. Do you recall any challenges you had to overcome in your early days of yoga or feeling like you wanted to give up?
Danielle: Yes, it was the sweating for me and my skin. It brought out a lot of acne in the beginning. I was like, ‘Oh my god, is there something in the room?.’ But I knew it was the toxins. I listened to you all. You explained to us that it’s not easy. Sometimes you gotta tough it out. You got to get used to the hot room.
The instructors always used to say, “Even if you have to sit down, stay in the room, so your body can adjust to the heat.’’ That's one thing that I took for myself from the beginning, no matter how I feel, to never leave the yoga room. Even though there have been times when I felt nauseous and had to sit down and lie down.
So, in the beginning, with my skin and the acne, I knew that was just the toxins coming from my body, my body releasing all of these bad things through natural sweat. As for me, I wasn't a person who sweats a lot. But after yoga, I would go outside, and it's like, ‘Oh my god, I’m sweating!’ and I didn't like that. I thought maybe I should stop going to yoga so much because I couldn't stop sweating. Then another part of me said, ‘So you're not going to work out because, when it's hot outside, you tend to sweat more?’.
Those are some of the small things aside from figuring out my hair. I used to wear my hair straight. I would say probably due to hot yoga. I decided to go natural. I'm not gonna stop going to yoga. So I'm not going to be so concerned about my hair. So let's totally go natural and see how it all works together.
“...in the beginning, with my skin and the acne, I knew that was just the toxins coming from my body, my body releasing all of these bad things through natural sweat. ”
I can say from 2009, yoga has given me a journey into myself because I was always a person who was kind of standoffish, shy, and slightly insecure. Yoga helped me to get out of my head. Staring in the mirror at yourself the entire class—that was hard for me because it's like, ‘Oh my god, everyone's looking at me!’. But no, no one's looking at you in yoga. You are really focused on yourself. Even though you can see everyone in your periphery, you just really focus on yourself.
The yoga taught me to accept my body how it is. It's not perfect, but it's my body! My hair is not perfect, but it's my hair! Looking in that mirror for 90 minutes twice a week was an eye-opener for me.
“The yoga taught me to accept my body how it is. It’s not perfect, but it’s my body! My hair is not perfect, but it’s my hair! Looking in that mirror for 90 minutes twice a week was an eye-opener for me.”
Ian: What inspired you to continue your practice for the long term?
Danielle: I definitely felt the physical benefits. I lost a lot of weight in the beginning. And I was like, ‘Whoa, am I doing too much?’. But I think it got me to my standard weight. I know when I'm losing weight, and I know when I'm gaining weight. When I do yoga steadily, I'm right where I want to be.
I've never had issues as far as my joints or pain. It was more mental for me. But I saw the physical. I saw how it changed and shaped and molded my body, and that was great. It’s a bonus to it all, in addition to the mental piece of it all. And I wanted to be consistent in just keeping my body healthy.
Like I said, I'm not into the gym. I will go running in the summer, just to get outside and get some fresh air. I like to work out alone but with others. Yoga is that. I can work out alone, and it's like, no, we're not talking, but we're all here together on one accord. So I really love that.
Be sure to check back next week when we continue our conversation with Danielle and learn how 14 years of practice has changed her life—from her outlook to how she wears her hair and everything in between.
GIVE THE GIFT OF ORIGINAL HOT YOGA
Want to give someone the gift that keeps on giving? Get their Original Hot Yoga Practice started just like Danielle did. Thrive gift cards or our New Student Special make great presents—available now—just in time for Mother’s Day!
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