ALUMNI FEATURE: Taylor Harvey

Taylor graduated from Alchemy of Yoga’s 200-Hour Teacher Training Program in Costa Rica last year. If you feel inspired by her story and Alchemy of Yoga aligns with your heart, join our tribe! Reach out to sarah@alchemytours.com and silvia@alchemytours.com for more information.

A lifelong competitive soccer player, Taylor Harvey discovered her yoga practice in Seattle after two back surgeries in college left her unable to participate in many of her previous athletic endeavors. A friend suggested she try heated power vinyasa and she was hooked after her very first class!

After practicing various styles of yoga for four years, including vinyasa, hatha, and ashtanga, she completed her 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training (RYT) in Costa Rica through Alchemy of Yoga. Since completing teacher training in August 2015, Taylor has been teaching yoga in Yangon, Myanmar, where she has resided for several years. She currently teaches at the only dedicated yoga studio in the country, the Yangon Yoga House, as well as at the Belmond Governor’s Residence hotel and the British Embassy’s Social Club.

“One of my favorite aspects of teaching yoga in Myanmar is that I can routinely see the effect that yoga has on my students. In many ways Myanmar is still a very challenging place to work, and many of my students work in stressful roles for development or humanitarian organizations with immense amounts of travel. In most of my classes I can see a visible reduction in tension on student’s faces between when they enter the class and when they open their eyes after savasana, which is incredibly rewarding as a teacher.

I also have a number of students who I see fairly infrequently as they are based in remote locations in Myanmar, but who have told me that attending my class in Yangon is one of the highlights of their occasional weekends here. That brings me to my other favorite thing about teaching in Myanmar – teaching here has provided an unprecedented opportunity to build a ‘community’ outside of classes.

Unlike the studios I used to attend in the United States, where most students take off immediately after class, I teach multiple classes per week here that are followed by an optional meal.  Every week I have a group of students (which varies a bit each time) who stay to relax a bit longer, connect with one another, and share experiences. It has been a really lovely way not only to get to know my students better but to share our collective experiences and support one another.”