AYGMyJune2015

32

may/june 2015

yogajournal.com.au

Those doing yoga seemed to have better

tools to deal with conflict and be available

to life in a different way, and I wanted a

taste of that – so I tried yoga.

“It made me relaxed, but angels weren’t

singing instantaneously. I sensed the

physical practice was a gateway to

something else, yet that eluded me –

until one day I was smoking a cigarette

after class, and suddenly it didn’t taste

good anymore, didn’t feel good. Then

drugs didn’t feel good, and

meat didn’t feel good.

I organically eliminated

things preventing me

from feeling at

ease in body

and spirit,

including

relationships. After a few years of

processing that way, I was able to say,

‘I have tools, I am happy and yoga actually

works’. Then I heard angels singing.”

The teacher emerges

In 1992, Corn moved to Los Angeles and

landed her dream job as YogaWorks’

receptionist, where she practised

consistently with many esteemed teachers.

It was creator of Power Yoga, Bryan Kest,

who encouraged Corn to complete teacher

training. She then took five 200-hour

trainings back-to-back from 1994 to 1996;

firstly with Erich Schiffmann, then Maty

Ezraty, Lisa Walford and Kest.

“I retained about 10 per cent of the first

one; maybe 30 per cent of the second,” says

Corn, who admits her first three years of

teaching were incredibly challenging.

“By the time I took my fifth one I thought,

‘I’ve got this’. For me, it was like algebra –

if I didn’t understand it on day one, I would

never understand it on day two. I couldn’t

get the mechanics, so I had to really study

until it landed in my body.

“I was miserable for the first year of

teaching, but faked it well. I was young and

insecure, and wanted to make everyone

happy – which is impossible. If more than

eight people looked at me, my peripheral

vision would blacken. I would get dizzy and

lose my train of thought, like stage fright.

I was a hardcore asana teacher, but didn’t

‘OM’ or talk about God. I didn’t say

‘Namaste’ because my accent sounded

ridiculous. I loved yoga so much, and

thought putting my words to it would

minimise my students’ experience.”

Regardless, her popularity rapidly grew

within the yoga community and the media.

“I wasn’t better than half the people in my

teacher training – in fact, I was probably the

worst – but I got opportunities that others

didn’t because I was physically marketable,”

says Corn. “I realised that was a trap if

I bought into it, and that I had to take

advantage of this privilege to help others

have a healthier, happier, abundant life.”

During this period of soul-searching,

Corn became enthralled by mind-body

“ Those doing yoga seemed to have better tools to be available

to life in a different way, and I wanted a taste of that”

yj43_30-35_FEA seane corne.indd 32 31/03/2015 8:48 am