AYGMyJune2015

33

may/june 2015

yogajournal.com.au

photos: (top) Kim

sallaway

photography; (below) courtesy of s

eane

corn; (facing page) Kris Dahl

connection and subtle energies, and followed

the work of Caroline Myss and Anodea

Judith. She also travelled throughout India

to study Ashtanga yoga with Sri K. Pattabhi

Jois and spend time with spiritual mentors

at Sri Aurobindo Ashram.

Finding her voice for greater good

Inspired by many diverse teachers, Corn

is renowned for her eclectic approach and

magical way of weaving prayers into her

teachings. It turned out that finding the

courage to share the poetry in her heart

proved to be a leap worth taking.

“When I finally decided to pray and offer

an intention in class, I was scared – what

were people going to think?” she says.

“When I opened my eyes, people seemed

connected to it. That felt authentic in my

heart and I found my voice. I realised I had

ability to hold a transformational space, to

be in touch with something greater than my

small self in that environment. Once class is

over, it dissipates and I am just Seane.”

Considering her commitment to

activism for social and political change,

being “just Seane” is impressive. In 1998,

she established a yoga program at a Los

Angeles shelter for sex trafficked teenage

girls, Children of the Night. Motivated by

this work and her interactions with gay

men during the HIV/AIDS crisis, Corn

became a representative for YouthAIDS in

2004 and was named their national yoga

ambassador the following year. Regardless

of her many accolades, Corn confesses she

wasn’t always a healthy activist.

“I always had issues around injustice,

even as a child; bullying especially triggered

something primal within me,” she says.

“I was passionate, but didn’t know how

to listen, deal with rage or engage. It took

lots of training to learn how to serve in

an effective and mindful way.”

Corn’s journey led to the birth of non-

profit leadership training program Off the

Mat, Into the World (OTM), which she

co-founded in 2007. OTM bridges the gap

between yoga, transformation and social

justice by guiding students on an inward

Busy lady This pic: dancing at

Wanderlust; below: helping out

the Cambodian Children’s Fund. “ I found my voice... I

realised I had ability to be

in touch with something

greater than my small self”

yj43_30-35_FEA seane corne.indd 33 31/03/2015 8:48 am