Discover Body Confidence and Self-Love Through Yoga with Emily Ezola

What if you could reclaim your body confidence and self-acceptance through an unexpected ally—yoga? That’s exactly what happened to my cousin Emily Ezola. Listen in as Emily talks about her transformative journey with yoga. She unveils how this ancient practice has not only enriched her physical health but also elevated her body confidence and self-acceptance. But yoga's magic doesn't stop at Emily's personal life; as a music professor and youth conservatory director, she lets us peek into how the principles of yoga have influenced her teaching and interactions with students. Hint: the power of yoga goes beyond just physical poses!

You'll also get to hear Emily's advice for yoga novices. She talks about her favorite yoga pose and the top time slots for a yoga session. And that's not all; we clue you in to our next episode where we'll be exploring body shapes, how to dress to flatter your body type, and ways to feel fantastic in your skin no matter what you wear. Stay tuned as we continue unearthing paths to body confidence and acceptance, all through the lens of yoga and personal style.

Connect with Emily at emily.ezola@usu.edu

Read Emily's Bio here

Learn about Transcend Yoga School Here

Visit saprea.org to learn more about hope and healing from child sexual abuse

Visit Defend Innocence for resources on child sexual abuse prevention

Buy makeup, skin care and collagen here and help survivors of child sexual abuse

Connect with Ciera on Instagram @confidentlybeautifulpodcast

Visit saprea.org to learn more about hope and healing from child sexual abuse

Visit Defend Innocence for resources on child sexual abuse prevention

Buy makeup, skin care and collagen here and help survivors of child sexual abuse

Connect with Ciera on Instagram @confidentlybeautifulpodcast

Transcript

Ciera Lancaster: 0:03

You're listening to Confidently Beautiful with Ciera, a podcast to help you stay confidently beautiful, because we all have confidence inside us. We just need to bring it out and I'm here to show you how Body image, dreams, parenting, style, personality and more Here we cover it all. Get ready to stay confidently beautiful. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Confidently Beautiful with Ciera. I am your host, Ciera, and I'm so happy that you are here joining us and listening. If you find value in this podcast, it would mean so much to me if you could leave me a review. It really helps the podcast to grow. It helps more people to be able to find the podcast and it helps me to know what content is actually valuable to you as the listener. So if you could leave me a review, i would so so appreciate it, and I love to send my review leavers a little gift. So if you send me a review, screenshot your review, dm it to me on Instagram, e-mail it to me at confidentlybeautifulwithciera@gmail. com and I will send you a little something as a thank you for your review. It really means so much to me. I am so excited for today's episode.

Ciera Lancaster: 1:10

Today is a little different than what we have talked about in the past. I have had a couple of fitness episodes. We have the episode with Teresa Ford that was about physical and emotional connection with a confidence. That was episode 32. And so that's one physical fitness episode that I have had, but I really haven't had a ton of other episodes. But today I wanted to do one on yoga specifically, because I think there's so much benefit from yoga. Obviously there's the physical benefit, but then there's also a huge mental and emotional benefit that I think can really really help us with our confidence.

Ciera Lancaster: 1:47

So today's episode I have a very special guest, one of my all time favorite people in the entire world. Her name is Emily. She is my cousin and she is wonderful. She is going to talk to us about how her yoga practice journey has helped her to love her body and to be confident in accepting of her body just the way it is. So this is a really interesting episode. Whether you're a musician or not, it's an episode that I think you're going to get a lot of value in and maybe it will inspire you to try some yoga if you have never tried yoga before. Here's my episode with Emily. I hope you enjoy it. Well, thank you for tuning into our episode with Emily Izola. I am so excited. She is an incredible human. Emily, tell us a little about yourself, what you do for work and all the things.

Emily Ezola: 2:34

Okay, so my name is Emily Ezola and I have the great honor of being Ciera's cousin, and Ciera is amazing and I was so excited when she asked me to be part of this podcast to talk about yoga.

Emily Ezola: 2:49

And really, for me, yoga has incorporated fully into my real work life, which isn't yoga at all, but it's actually teaching music and teaching piano. I'm here at Utah State University on the piano faculty, where I teach various music classes and work with. We have a youth conservatory so that students from the community can come up and have piano lessons with piano majors, and I help oversee that program and work with those brand new teachers who are often teaching for the first time, and then, of course, teach private studio, both on the pre-college and college level myself. But I've actually found that my love for yoga and the importance of yoga in my life definitely spills out into my everyday teaching. I feel like I'm teaching yoga when I teach piano, in a way, because there's just some overall principles in yoga that I feel I can carry over into every single, like engagement, interaction and even like the state of mind that I have as I move through the day. I actually met my husband in yoga class.

Ciera Lancaster: 4:04

That's fun.

Emily Ezola: 4:06

I know It's amazing. It really brought, like made, a lot of things click in my life, one of them being meeting Brian and we just practiced at the same studio And, yeah, he is amazing and he's been married now, heading into our 10th year wedding anniversary, so that's pretty exciting. And we have three dogs, which is we love them so much but we never really planned on having three. It's kind of a lot at home, but it's great, it's fantastic And, yeah, our dogs are our babies for sure.

Ciera Lancaster: 4:39

How long have you been practicing yoga, like could you even put a number on it?

Emily Ezola: 4:43

Yeah, so I actually took a yoga class in high school and it was probably one of the only classes maybe the only class that I didn't get an A in. It's so funny because I feel like I really didn't truly embrace the beauty of yoga. Maybe I wasn't ready for it until I was older and more mature and could take it more seriously. But I did it a little bit then I took that class and then really just never thought about it even at all very much and spent most of my undergrad just like kind of beating myself up in the gym instead of doing something like yoga for exercise. But I have always been pretty physically active and it was actually with a personal trainer named. her name is Shantel Gurfin and she was my trainer just at the local gym here in Logan and she just kind of would sneak in here and there. You know you should really think about yoga and I finally took her up on it and she is the one who also is in charge and runs Transcend Yoga School, which is where I got my yoga certification.

Emily Ezola: 5:51

And, long story short, she kind of grabbed me from the gym, dragged me into a yoga studio after, urging me to give it a go, i think, knowing that I needed something that was going to be a little bit more. you know, gentler, instead of letting those workouts be something I was using as a way to kind of like beat myself up. And you know, she did say she's like I really think you'll try it and you'll get addicted. and I totally did. I absolutely, you know, loved the way that it felt, to still feel like I was, of course, efforting and working hard, but in a space where it really does encourage acceptance and listening to your body and not being obsessed about changing and improving and trying to get somewhere, but really just a focus on being truly present, connected to your breath, and really trying to love and appreciate who you are now, instead of striving to become something else.

Ciera Lancaster: 6:49

Do you feel like when you started practicing yoga, that was like way more beneficial for you like physically and also like mentally or emotionally, than what you were doing before in the gym?

Emily Ezola: 7:01

Yes, and I feel that way both physically because yoga is this incredible thing where you really can combine strength and flexibility as well as endurance. I mean, i was shocked because in my mind, you know, yoga was something to do to kind of recover and not really build strength, but rather like relax, and I did not know how to relax or to spend time. Relaxing to me felt like just a horrible idea. I almost felt guilty in doing that and yoga felt too gentle, but no like. As soon as I got into it I realized it can definitely be as rigorous as you want it to be, and one of the things that comes up that you know Chantel would say often, and it seems like to be part of this yoga world in general is this idea of 100% work then equals 100% relaxation. So I felt like, even within you know one yoga practice, i really learned how to put in that full effort but then also allow myself to just chill and be okay with how that was and then embrace the calm and the peace and while also feeling like I'm, you know, physically efforting.

Emily Ezola: 8:17

The mental part was the first time that, honestly, in any type of workout or even at the piano, at trying to gain any skill.

Emily Ezola: 8:26

I feel like there had never been such a reinforcement on just being kind to yourself and trying to make your inner voice help you, which is, honestly, i feel like once you can figure out for me, once I figured out that that voice inside of my head could be my friend and it could be like a safe space instead of this voice that was always trying me to do more and be better. Like that's when real, honestly, transformation could occur for me and I could start to really like feel happiness and calm on a level that I never had really felt before, and then that feeling can carry into, you know, my teaching and performing and the other things that I have to do for my entire day. So it's almost like I feel like when I found yoga, i was finding this superpower where you could get everything all at once, and it is, it's truly a way that you can then move through the world, for everything to feel a little bit less difficult.

Ciera Lancaster: 9:23

I love that. So it, like that feeling, extends not just from, like, the one hour practice or however long you're doing it, but throughout your whole day.

Emily Ezola: 9:32

Yes, and one thing that came up for me, more so when I completed my training, which was I decided to do my training in the first place, not because I felt really excited to start teaching, necessarily, but because it was actually during the thick of COVID And going to the studio just wasn't an option. So I I found this as an option. You know, shantel's training is all online but you meet on zoom, so it had super interactive components but there's also self paced. So I was able to, you know, still continue my full time busy job while doing this training. And the training had a very heavy meditation component which, for me, aside from the meditation that came like in that you know 60 minute yoga class that I was doing, it was not something that I was even thinking about spending time on.

Emily Ezola: 10:27

But because of this training, i had to take it serious and and learn how to meditate, which really all meditation I've, i realized, is just trying to focus your mind. You know and you know they call it the monkey mind just where your mind, your thoughts, are going from here to there. They can spiral into good places or bad places, but often it's not ever. You know, often our thoughts aren't necessarily keeping us present and keeping us here, and more times than not, we're either worried about the future or the past. But when you meditate you're supposed to be focusing on you know one single thing, and there are so many different types of meditations And the training takes you through. You know various ways that you can meditate And the common thread in all of them is that you're constantly drawing your focus to one thing And, man, it feels so good, for some reason, for our brains to just take that time. The breathing is huge. It feels good for our bodies. I cannot believe the clarity that it then can bring throughout the rest of your day, and it almost just feels like for me, my inner voice and my mind can just feel a little bit more settled, i can listen a little bit better and hear and understand a little bit more, and I'm not just as as reactive as I feel like I can often be.

Emily Ezola: 11:55

So that was a huge thing that yoga brought into my life that I never thought I needed, wanted or cared about, but has really transformed the way that I and actually there is one meditation that I teach my students, it's the loving kindness meditation I feel like, especially before you have to perform or do something.

Emily Ezola: 12:17

Often your mind is racing and you're thinking about the worst case outcomes, because that's what we do when we're nervous. But what this meditation is is, you just repeat in your mind may I be blessed with loving kindness, may I be well, may I be peaceful on that ease, may I be happy. And you can reverse it and replace may I with may you be blessed with loving kindness, may you be well, may you be peaceful on that ease, may you be happy. And I feel like letting those thoughts run through your mind just puts you in a place that nothing Else that I have found, you know, can and brings a lot of calm and peace, and so I've been so grateful to learn those types of things to then give to my students so they can also, you know, feel a little bit better before even just heading into a stressful class or a stressful day, you know, not just performing situations.

Ciera Lancaster: 13:12

That's beautiful. So you just teach them to like say that to themselves before like going on the stage or wherever.

Emily Ezola: 13:19

Yeah. So something that's been fun is in the music world. I feel like they're really big divide, as I'm sure there are in any, like most careers. There's a big divide between, like, what you're trying to do and Your mental state in doing it, and musicians often, you know, beat themselves up. So I've got the grind and working hard. I are performing in that, like negative self-talk is so real and even just It's easy to stop taking care of yourself, you know your body and getting enough sleep and things like that. So one thing that has been fun is to be able to give presentations to music teachers and or students.

Emily Ezola: 14:01

I call it yoga from the bench and it's very much like a chair yoga class would be and I try and just Take time to teach a simple sequence that anybody could do in any environment from the chair, to just help you kind of check in with your body, become more Present and aware. I put a big emphasis on the exhale and really lengthening that exhale, because that's the quickest thing to help us out of any fight-or-flight situation. Just longer exhales, so helpful. And then I also throw in, after the physical practice of yoga from the bench, a little bit of this mental Meditation, and, yes, i use the loving-kindness meditation because, for me, i just feel like it has helped me the most, and so it's been the one that I've wanted to share the most. I.

Ciera Lancaster: 14:58

Love that. if you were just like in a quick answer, going to tell someone how you feel that yoga has helped you love your body, what would you say?

Emily Ezola: 15:08

acceptance and Appreciation is a huge component of what I think is embodied in practicing yoga. It's not about how you look in the pose or even if you can do the pose at all. It's about who you are in the pose, and That, for me, has been such a shift Emphasizing values instead of goals, you know, focusing on who. Who are you right now, today, and learn to love that person and be grateful for them, instead of obsessed over improving and changing and reaching goals.

Ciera Lancaster: 15:45

What is your favorite time of day to do yoga? Do you like it in the morning, because it kind of gives you that like superpower throughout the day.

Emily Ezola: 15:54

Yes, well, there was a time when I first practiced yoga. It really, in the most Time, was at night, and that was very fun. There was this hot yoga class that always ran in the evenings, but now, at this point in my life, totally it's the mornings that I love it and it's in, you know, the perfect day. The first thing that I try and do is something physical, and My yoga practice has moved from the studio into just my living room, honestly, and I think there will be a point where I go back to the studio, but I do love that. You can absolutely do yoga everywhere for any duration, and it's so. Even a ten minute practice in the morning Can really just change the way that I navigate throughout the rest of my day. So, yes, right now, definitely first thing in the morning, is my very favorite time to practice.

Ciera Lancaster: 16:46

Do you have any tips for someone who is brand new to yoga?

Emily Ezola: 16:50

Oh, oh, my goodness. So just don't be intimidated by not knowing the poses yet, because I remember I swear it took me years of practicing yoga before I felt like I could start to predict how sequences would move a little bit. And if a teacher was using the Sanskrit term for the pose, i didn't start to panic. But, like oftentimes, it just is a matter of accepting that it doesn't matter if you know the flow as well as the people next to you or even the words that are being used. Everyone in those classes admire the students that just take it at their pace and I promise just the more you go to class like, you'll start to learn the weird names for all the poses and then kind of the natural way that one tends to move to the other and it just takes time and in the meantime just remember that, like, what you do on your mat is 100% personal and everyone just loves you for that.

Ciera Lancaster: 17:47

Well and honestly, they're all probably so focused on themselves and trying to do the poses themselves, they're not even paying attention to you Fact. That is such a fact, and I also love it, because typically the lights are really low and so you can't even see them next to you.

Emily Ezola: 18:03

Exactly, i mean. A lot of instructors encourage closing your eyes, so even a lot of people have their eyes closed throughout the entire practice, which is amazing. Yeah, it feels great.

Ciera Lancaster: 18:14

You have, like. I mean, you said you do a lot of your stuff at home. Do you just do, since you are certified and you know a lot of the things? do you just kind of do your own practice or do you follow along with, like a YouTube or a workout video?

Emily Ezola: 18:28

I use Apple Fitness and I cannot say enough good about it. I love it so much, yeah, and all their yoga teachers are great and I feel like there's a big variety and I love that you can pick, you know, a 10-minute practice or something longer, and it's great. So for me, that's been what I've been using lately And I do, even though I have this dream of like, oh, i'll get a certification and I'll be a pro and I'll be able to just take myself through our long yoga practices. But I have found that when I myself am practicing yoga, i love somebody telling me what to do And really the context in which I'm imparting yoga on others tends to be in the context of at the piano or to musicians, incorporating it into, you know, the breathing parts and the kind of more of the mental mindset of doing yoga.

Ciera Lancaster: 19:20

Yeah, i found that like my favorite thing to do is just pick. Like 10 minutes is like I think that's for me Like at least right now where I am, that's like my sweet spot, like I like a 10-minute yoga, like I just it just is perfect, and I typically will just pick the same one, so that I because I like am so envious of the people who are just like don't even have to pay attention and they just do it And it's like just 10 minutes and they like have it memorized, and so I'm like I'm just going to pick the same one every day, i'm going to do that same 10-minute one until I like have it down and I can just do it without thinking.

Emily Ezola: 19:51

I think that's a genius idea. I had never even thought of that, but I love that idea. It would almost become a 10-minute dance routine that you just do anywhere.

Ciera Lancaster: 19:59

Yes, I'm like how cool would that be to just like have that flow and just be able to. I mean 10 minutes. Anyone can memorize something for 10 minutes, so you know.

Emily Ezola: 20:08

I, i'm going to try it. I love that. Honestly, i did not. that thought hadn't occurred to me at all. because that's the part that I hate is I, you know, i know like the yoga poses, but I to piece them together in real time as I'm practicing takes so much mental power. But if you just have muscle memory of a flow that you don't have to utilize that part of your brain like, that's the dream. So I'm totally going to steal the idea from you. Do it 10 minutes 10 minutes.

Ciera Lancaster: 20:36

What is your very favorite yoga pose? Could you pick one?

Emily Ezola: 20:41

Oh well, what popped into my mind right away was, like inversions. I love handstands and headstands and trying to figure all of those out, but I also love a good dancer's pose, you know, anything that kind of harkens back to my past of being an actual dancer. Those balancing poses are super fun. And then, just a fun fact, and maybe this this is not my favorite pose, because I think there's truth to this, but they say that the most difficult pose is Shavasana, which is corpse pose, where you're just lying down with your eyes closed, being still at the end of your practice. But really I do know that there are times in my life where just taking the time to do that is so difficult You don't have the physical distraction anymore and you just have to be, so Shavasana is not my favorite pose for that very reason.

Ciera Lancaster: 21:34

Your brain just can't turn off.

Ciera Lancaster: 21:35

It's funny, you and I are completely opposite, then, because that is literally my favorite part, i'm like just let me lay there. I love it. I don't think I could do it if it was at the beginning of the workout. It is something like it's nice that it's at the end, because it's like I've like released. I think I've let all my thoughts go throughout the Yes And so like it is my favorite way to. I love the ends that way. you know whoever came up with that is smart, it's genius.

Emily Ezola: 22:03

They say it's the most important part of your practice. It's when, like everything like settles in and kind of manifests itself in your body. So and it is. it is amazing. I mean I do love a good Shavasana and, man, it feels so much different after you've put in the work you know, of making it through a yoga class and then just lying there, and I like that. every yoga class has that. I just say yoga, you know, it's these extremes of that 100% work and then 100% relaxation. It's so cool that it's all incorporated into one practice.

Ciera Lancaster: 22:34

It really is. Thank you, emily. Um, kate, kind of unrelated to what we've talked about, but maybe it will end up being related. But what is one thing that you like to do every day to just help you bring out your confidence?

Emily Ezola: 22:46

It really is playing the piano. That, to me, is just the most grounding, centering thing that I do And, in all honesty, part of why I love yoga so much is because it just seems like an extension of that and something that I carry with me when I play the piano anyway. So you picked the perfect career. It's definitely making me very happy. Yes, good.

Ciera Lancaster: 23:12

Well, thank you, Emily. This was really good, and I will talk to you all next week with our next episode. We're going to be talking about dressing for your body type, so you're going to want to tune into that one. So it's going to be fun. So have a great day and stay confidently beautiful. Thanks for listening. Connect with me on Instagram at confidently beautiful podcast and share this episode with someone in your life who could use a little reminder of just how amazing they already are. Have a great day and stay confidently beautiful.