{"id":5870,"date":"2018-03-02T11:06:29","date_gmt":"2018-03-02T16:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theyogasanctuary.biz\/staging\/?p=5870"},"modified":"2023-07-31T12:02:13","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T16:02:13","slug":"yogi-of-the-month-diane-smolen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/yogi-of-the-month-diane-smolen\/","title":{"rendered":"Yogi of the Month: Diane Smolen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Diane Smolen<\/p><\/div>\n

The Yoga Sanctuary:<\/em><\/strong> Can you tell us a little about yourself?<\/p>\n

Diane Smolen: <\/em><\/strong>Talking about myself does not come naturally. I arrived in Florida following retirement from a career in Michigan where I had earned a PhD at Michigan State University. Several years were spent working at Lansing Community College, where I met and married my husband, Chuck Bettinson. I went on to work for the Department of Education, State of Michigan. There I was involved in developing, implementing and then directing a number of different programs with state wide scope, responsibility and high visibility.<\/p>\n

Chuck and I have a son, Tim Bettinson. Tim, and Margo Schwarberg, own and operate an independent restaurant in the suburbs of Cincinnati. Both have had long careers in the restaurant business.<\/p>\n

Two of my proudest undertakings have been sharing my life with the Bettinsons and my educational attainment.<\/p>\n

TYS: <\/em><\/strong>When and why did you first start yoga?<\/p>\n

DS: <\/em><\/strong>Yoga for me began 5 years ago at our very own Yoga Sanctuary. At the end of a lengthy rehabilitation period following major back surgery that fused the last two vertebrae of my lumbar region, the therapist suggested I try some form of exercise that would be a bit kinder to my body. At that time, I was willing to try anything. I had already had a hip replacement and was faced with giving up many of the activities that I loved \u2013 long walks, running, working with my performance dogs and competing with my dogs in canine agility.<\/p>\n

I attended a Yoga Sanctuary Open House, bought a mat and a strap and signed up! Margit helped me through my orientation session. I even wrote down all the props I would need for my first gentle yoga class. I wasn\u2019t certain I would remember them and Margit had shown me how to use them safely.<\/p>\n

Since that time every class, every instructor, every gentle correction has been a positive and life changing experience.<\/p>\n

TYS: <\/em><\/strong>What are\u00a0the\u00a0greatest benefits\u00a0of\u00a0practicing yoga?<\/p>\n

DS: <\/em><\/strong>I love my yoga practice for many reasons. I\u2019ve strengthened my spine, back and leg muscles and my balance has improved. I learn something about myself and my body with every session. I have learned to quiet my mind and be still. I have learned what it means to be present even though I still find it a challenge to achieve. Yoga has helped me strive to be a better person. My life is much richer as a result of yoga.<\/p>\n

TYS: <\/em><\/strong>What is your favorite yoga pose and why?<\/p>\n

DS: <\/em><\/strong>Downward facing dog is my favorite yoga pose as it stretches my back and my hamstrings, two of my tightest areas and reminds me to re-establish my breath<\/p>\n

TYS: <\/em><\/strong>Do you have a favorite book or quote that you would like to share?<\/p>\n

DS: <\/em><\/strong>Several years ago in a gentle yoga class and then later in a meditation class, Melissa taught us a mantra that I have come to use almost daily.<\/p>\n

May I be safe,<\/p>\n

May I be happy,<\/p>\n

May I be healthy,<\/p>\n

May I dwell in peace.<\/p>\n

I have added – with acceptance and understanding for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Yoga Sanctuary: Can you tell us a little about yourself? Diane Smolen: Talking about myself does not come naturally. I arrived in Florida following retirement from a career in Michigan where I had earned a PhD at Michigan State University. Several years were spent working at Lansing Community College, where I met and married […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[101,114],"tags":[77],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5870"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5870"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5886,"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5870\/revisions\/5886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theyogasanctuary.biz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}