Article by Guest Contributor Taylor Levine
My main focus from age five to fifteen was cheerleading, dance, and gymnastics. I believed those things made up who I was, but I was in for a life twist.
A group of girls who had bullied me in middle school joined the high school cheer team with me. While they pretended to be my friends, they mocked me behind my back. I then became the target of cyber bullying. For months I was ridiculed on social media, felt trapped within my anxiety, and lost touch with my true self.
As I grew from this painful situation, my aspirations changed, which led me to seek out something that could help me deal with all my emotions in a healthy way.
Why Yoga?
That’s when I found yoga. I started my journey at Core Power Yoga the summer before my sophomore year. Quickly I fell in love with the way yoga made me feel, and how it fostered my growth and development through something so simple, yet so positive.
I spent the last two years doing over 400 hours of yoga teacher training with Core Power, and was the youngest person to train as an instructor. I even founded my own business called Taylor Levine Yoga where I dedicate my classes to the empowerment of young people.
My goal is to inspire young girls with powerful meaning that can make them strong enough to handle whatever life throws their way. If I can instill strength in others to have compassion when someone is unkind or to think positive things of themselves instead of feeling insecure. That will make the biggest impact I could possibly ever imagine.
I’m also currently working at a children’s yoga studio in Del Mar as a yoga instructor for tweens experiencing a heightened state of vulnerability. A major aspect of my job is to be a voice of inspiration, to teach self-love, and to share my story. I enjoy teaching yoga because I carry on the light, love, and energy in my heart and make an impact on other people’s lives
At the end of each of my yoga classes, we practice mantras geared towards the theme of the class, such as self-confidence and kindness. I have the students repeat back to me, “I am loving, I am compassionate, I am grateful.” I remind them to keep these words in the back of their minds when negativity surrounds them.
About Taylor Levine:
Taylor was inspired to begin yoga by her mother and a family friend who is an instructor at CorePower Yoga. In 2015, Taylor completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training program and a 100-hour extension program. She began teaching at Fletcher’s Cove in Solana Beach, is an instructor at a local children’s yoga studio in Del Mar, and teaches a weekly teen class at the Rancho Santa Fe Community Center. Additionally, she’s currently interning at Integrative Educational Therapy and will be teaching Integrative Movement classes soon.
At Torrey Pines High School, Taylor’s favorite class is Peer Tutoring, where she works with special needs students on life skills, social skills, and academics. After graduation she plans to attend college to major in special education.