We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sara Negri-Whitmer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sara below.

Sara, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. 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 started practicing yoga because of a back injury and surgery that occurred back in my 20s.

As I skeptically approached the practice, my only objective was to relieve my back pain. That was it.

But little did I know that this practice would become the best thing I could have ever done in my life.

As I continued on my yoga journey I noticed that things started happening to my body… I was getting stronger, leaner, and much more flexible!

The real defining moment happened one specific day. I was running late for an appointment, rushing up the stairs … and my foot got caught on a step. And I tripped. As I was face planning towards the ground, I took a deep breath in and I caught myself in a plank. It was like watching the scene in slow motion. I was so strong and incredibly calm!

In that moment, I came to the realization of what yoga had done to me! The seed was planted both in the body and in the mind, and little while later … in the soul.

Sara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Sara Negri-Whitmer. I was born and raised in Milan, Italy. I have been calling Florida’s Forgotten Coast home since May 2018.

In my early 20s I had back surgery and always suffered from lower back pain. I started practicing yoga hoping that it would help. But I skeptically thought, this may not be for me — I am too inflexible…

But here’s what I found: the more I practiced the stronger I felt, the better I felt, the less pain I felt.
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I am proud to have successfully completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training that is registered with Yoga Alliance and with almost 1000 hours of teaching under my belt, I love sharing the benefits of this wonderful practice with everyone in my community.

I offer all levels classes, advanced classes, and one-on-one sessions. In my classes I focus on alignment, offering postures designed to open and stabilize the body, building strength in the core as well as increasing flexibility and range of motion, all while establishing a deep connection with the breath.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

The connection with the people. There is no yoga training that will truly prepare you to become a good instructor. That is a knowledge you learn in the field.

I am so grateful to all the people that show up to my classes, putting their trust in me, but most importantly giving me the chance to learn from them.

As teachers, our mindfulness practice must include attention to our assumptions and judgments about our students. There is so much we cannot know. And in those moments when a student decides to do something other than what we have instructed, rather than judging their choice we might consider a modification within ourselves—of our plans, our expectations.

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

Right before I signed up for my 200 hour teacher training, the Forgotten Coast got hit by Hurricane Michael, a category 5 storm that truly devasted our area.

After that event, I fell into a sort of depression and stopped practicing and let go of the idea of becoming a yoga instructor. My husband and I had just moved to the area and while we had talked about events that could happen as we moved to the coast we never would have imagined that we would have to face such a devastation, so quickly.

After 6 months I decided it was time to get back in track. Little did I know that I needed to get on that journey more than anything else. So I did.

As I completed the training I started teaching locally, beginning to learn the ropes. And then COVID hit. That was devastating. We were just recovering from a Cat 5 storm and now we were facing a pandemic, that was centered on a respiratory virus…. wait – YOGA IS BREATH!

That was another incredible set back. No more in person classes. That was it.

I started offering free online classes during lockdown, streaming LIVE on Facebook. I had no idea that what I was doing meant so much to so many people. Until one day, I got a card in the mail from one of my students that said: ” Sara, I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and for offering these classes online. You have truly saved me from insanity, I look forward to turning on my computer every Wednesday and Friday to practice with you. You have been a blessing. Thank you”

That was another defining moment. The moment when I realized was doing what I was meant to do.

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