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Originally from the former USSR, yoga teacher and lululemon ambassador Mona
Lisa Godfrey grew up in Sweden and then California. Now a familiar face in
London, she wants to help more people discover the magic of yoga
How did you first get into yoga
When I was in my early twenties, I got into a
car accident on the freeway. Driving home
on a calm and sunny Sunday, my car was
sideswiped at 70mph and went straight
into a concrete wall. Just under a month
before the accident happened, immensely
desperate for money after having travelled
the summer through Europe, I accepted a
low paying marketing job at a yoga studio.
I thought it was a joke and was going to
peace out as soon as I found something
better. But after the accident, I felt
absolutely broken. I had just enough in me
to show up to work, and it just so happened
that my doctor recommended yoga - which
was suddenly free and too convenient for
any excuse. Alongside physical therapy, I
began to practice gentle styles every day
after or before work to aid my recovery. So,
although I’d done some random gym yoga
before that whole incident, I would say that’s
when my yoga journey truly began.
How did you become a teacher
As life will have it, ironically, I continued to
work there for almost three years, during
which time I also completed my first 200-
hour teacher training. That accident put
me on a very different path than the one
I’d previously been on. It was a forest fire.
Only many years later was I able to see
the blessings that came out of that very
difficult situation.What does yoga give you personally
The initial practice of yoga asana led me to
meditation, that has been the biggest gift.
Meditation has a constant residual impact
on my everyday moments - how I form my
thoughts, how I speak to other people, the
place from which I base my decisions, and
how I show up in life. The practice has given
me the ability to hear (and the courage to
listen) to the subtle whispers of my intuition.
It’s always a work in progress, but I’ve
made many bold decisions that bore exoticfruits – which I would never otherwise have
encountered without the guidance of my
breath. I would be living a different life, much
more ‘laid out’ for me, had I not stumbled
upon yoga.How would you describe your own
teaching style
The single most difficult thing that I’ve
had to learn over the years is how to stop
attempting to dominate my body. Therefore,
in my classes, there is a strong emphasis on
moving in a quality of authenticity in caring
for the self. Force and aggression only omit
the consciousness that we are trying to
create through the practice of yoga asana- so whether I am teaching Vinyasa Flow,
or Power Yoga, or Yin Yoga, or Hatha – I try
and always keep the focus on the breath
and moving in a healing and nourishing way.
For me, the most powerful shifts seem to
happen when I am not trying to get anywhere
or achieve anything, so I try and remind my