We were lucky to catch up with Paradise Taylor recently and have shared our conversation below.

Paradise, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I used to work as an accountant in an extremely toxic work environment. At the time, I had just embarked on my Yoga Teacher Training journey, without any intention of actually teaching. However, reflecting on that period now, I realize that my hesitancy largely stemmed from fear – fear of not measuring up, fear of standing in front of a group and guiding a practice, fear of failure.

During one of my early training sessions, we delved into the significance of our surroundings and their profound impact on our well-being. We discussed how being in toxic relationships or environments, living in a state of “dis-ease”, can eventually manifest as physical ailments and disease. This concept resonated deeply with me, prompting me to take a leap of faith and resign from my job in order to pursue yoga teaching as a full-time profession. Looking back, I can confidently say that this was one of the most remarkable decisions I have ever made.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have always enjoyed fitness and movement! I danced and ran track in high school and was introduced to Yoga in my late teens. My practice began in the Ashtanga lineage, which I still dabble in from time to time. It didn’t take long for me to discover that the practice was not only good for lengthening and strengthening the muscular system, but also provided a sense of balance and calm throughout my life. After years of reaping the benefits of yoga I felt the desire to give back and to share yoga with others through teaching.

Today, I teach many different styles of Yoga, ranging from Beginners to Power. In whatever style I am teaching, I aim to cultivate a space that empowers students to grow in the practice by fostering a nurturing environment. I encourage playfulness, authenticity, and enjoyment as each student explores and creates their individual practice and experience. I believe passionately in yoga’s ability to unite mind, body and spirit and improve relationships. I love to combine energetic forms of yoga such as Flow and Vinyasa with quieter practices of Yin and Restorative, for a well-rounded class.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I was born and raised in Iran and moved to the states at the age of 10. By 17 years old, I dropped out of school & ran away from home to Austin due to my rough home life. At 19, I found yoga, or yoga found me, & that’s when my life truly changed! Despite dropping out of high school, I managed to graduate from UT with a psych and accounting degree where I also met the love of my life! We then had 2 kids, who I love like crazy, & well… here we are. Yoga really saved my life. It helped shape how I viewed myself and the world. It taught me that I am enough. I am worthy. That my body is a temple. To not be judgemental about myself and others. Yoga helped improve almost every single one of my relationships, especially (and most importantly) my relationship with myself! I was a dropout runaway who got into way too much trouble as a teen, had a horrible relationship with my parents and had very little self worth, and now look at me!

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Absolutely! As I mentioned previously, yoga has improved every aspect of my life. I wouldn’t be who I am today without it. And I love the person I am becoming! If I had to do over, I would choose this path every time!

Contact Info:

• Website: paradiseyogatx.com
• Instagram: @paradiseyogatx
• Facebook: Paradise Yoga
• Youtube: @paradiseyogatx

Image Credits
all images by KEELYN COSTELLO MEDIA