We recently connected with Tanisha Taylor and have shared our conversation below.
Tanisha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Looking back at internships and apprenticeships can be interesting, because there is so much variety in people’s experiences – and often those experiences inform our own leadership style. Do you have an interesting story from that stage of your career that you can share with us?
This takes me back to a time in my life when I struggled to find my place in the professional workforce, in my hometown. When I was away, I had professional jobs. Returning home I wouldn’t have thought it would be this challenging, by this time I was a little bit older and more educated. I applied for employment and obtained several interviews but couldn’t land a job. After getting frustrated with that process over and over again. I decided that I needed to get more training. I enrolled in college to pursue another master’s degree this time in social work (MSW). I felt that this degree program would enhance my educational background and easily get me into the career field that I was most interested in. It also allowed me to meet other like-minded people. We both shared the struggles of being older and discovering those employment challenges. Sharing this process with others like me was a bonus. We were a community of people working together to successfully obtain the goal of not only graduating but also pursuing a new professional career. Through my studies, interactions with classmates, professors, and most of all my internships, I discovered that I was more interested in following a non-traditional track of offering services to clients with this degree. Instead of doing the more traditional route with my MSW, going after my license as a clinical social worker, and then seeking employment at a public, or private social service agency, I decided to obtain additional training in a different service-oriented field. It was a field to which I felt a greater connection and one in which I wholeheartedly believed I could better serve clients in a more meaningful and authentic way. In addition to believing that it would give potential clients alternatives and other options for obtaining more transformative healing outcomes. I wanted to offer my potential clients, holistic ways of healing their traumas and or life’s struggles through physical movement and breathing techniques. I decided to enroll in a Yoga Teacher Training program to become a Certified Yoga Instructor and a Certified Trauma Sensitive Yoga Instructor. I am also a candidate for my 500-hour Certified Yoga Instructor certificate. With the combination of my MSW degree and my multiple trainings in yoga, I believe that I can bring an array of healing/helping services to communities.
Tanisha, 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?
Yoga In the Moment LLC (YITM) is known for being a place where yoga meets healthcare. I am Tanisha Taylor, the yogi, and my partner is Ronnie Taylor, the doctor. I have dual master’s degrees; one is called Social Responsibility, and the other is Social Work. I am a professional social worker with experience in both clinical and administrative settings, in addition to being a certified yoga instructor. I have been a vegetarian for over 25 years and an advocate of healthy eating as well as a healthy lifestyle. I serve as the principal instructor for YITM. I specialize in challenging sedentary people to find their power and strength so they can become more physically active and fit through yoga. I work with various populations including kids, young adults, and the elderly. Our cooperate clients are from communities such as mental health facilities, athletics, and police cadets. Dr. Ronnie Taylor completed his professional training as a chiropractor, along with additional training in the field of Sports Injury Management. He has experience treating a variety of patients, as well as sports injuries and low back pain. He also currently teaches Sports Medicine and other healthcare science courses. Dr. Taylor serves as the wellness coach and business manager for YITM. We are both healthcare professionals and educators who saw a need to provide a meaningful alternative for people who desired to improve their present physical and mental state but who lacked the confidence and supervision to execute their goals. Yoga In the Moment LLC will exceed your expectations by creating a unique and individualized yoga experience for all clients. We meet our clients where they are and provide opportunities for them to grow their yoga practice.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
To be successful in my field one would need to have an internal passion/drive and be resilient. Your passion/drive will fuel your purpose and help to keep you motivated on those days when no one shows up to your yoga class. On the other hand, your resilience will give you the strength to continue to stand and push through those same “low days.” A resilient attitude can also encourage you to not see those “low days” as a waste but instead as a time or an opportunity to create more content, and or a private time to develop your practice.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I believe people view me as more than just a yoga teacher but rather a regular person, they can relate to. When people see you as someone they can relate to, they feel more connected to you. On our social media platforms, it is important to us that people can see me doing other things besides yoga. We purposefully show me as a regular human being, doing some of the same things that they do, such as shopping, going to a ball game, or attending a faith-based service. Truth be told I am all of those images that we share on our social media platforms, I am a regular person with a life that includes other things besides yoga. We also make it a point to highlight our clients to show that we work with regular people, just like them. In turn, we hope that people who view our platforms will connect with someone they see on our social media platforms and develop the confidence they need to try yoga for themselves. We market ourselves with this theme, “Real People, Real Yoga,” and we stand by these words. We aim to make yoga accessible to all people.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://yogainthemoment.com
- Instagram: @yogainthemoment
- Facebook: Yoga In the Moment LLC