Interview with Erin Motz: Part One
This past week, we were very excited to sit down with Erin Motz, the founder of Bad Yogi and talk with her about her yoga style, her history with teaching and what brought her to yoga in the first place!
Q: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me, I really appreciate it.
A: Of course!
Q: Just to start — tell me a bit about yourself
A: I’m Erin Motz and I’m the cofounder of Bad Yogi. While I used to teach regular yoga classes in studios and the gym… I was always a little bit different than other teachers, even though I really tried not to be. But over time I realized that pretending to be like other people was a really fast way to fail. So, I decided to just own who I was. Own the fact that I didn’t drive a Prius, that I wasn’t vegan, that I wasn’t this perfect yogi.
I’m not a perfect good yogi. I’m a bad yogi.
Somehow that kicked off this movement of people who completely agreed. I still remember so many yogis who reached out and said ‘Actually, I’m so glad you said that because I also don’t feel like I fit in.’ As time went on, teaching full time in a studio quickly became unsustainable. So, my partner/husband Adrien and I decided to move into an online space and bring my classes and style of teaching with us!
Q: So how long have you been practicing yoga?
A: 14 or 15 years.
Q: Wow that’s a long time. What motivated you to start teaching in the first place?
A: I actually had no intention of teaching when I started practicing. I just really loved it. I had gone from trying Zumba classes at the gym and running on the treadmill to being really bored with that and wondering what I should do next. I was looking for something else to do that was more interesting and I saw on the schedule there was this yoga class.
I thought oh yoga, I’ve heard of that. That would be cool. So, I tried it and I really loved it! A few weeks later, the teacher had to move, and she suggested I get certified and take over her class. So, after a gentle bit of peer pressure, I decided ‘Okay why not.’
Q: So, would you say you have a particular style of yoga you like the most? Or do you like a mix of everything?
A: I really enjoy teaching Vinyasa flow, but I also enjoy teaching Yin classes and other restorative classes. My favorite thing to teach is anything I can really break down and go into detail about. I love the nitty gritty, details of poses, and how to make them more effective, and how to make them make sense for your individual body. I think that is the most interesting and functional way of teaching someone yoga because it has to apply to their actual daily life. You know it’s one thing to see something on Instagram and it’s another thing to make it make sense to you.
Q: I completely agree. So, on that note, what advice would you give someone who just started practicing?
A: Honestly, I would say not to worry too much about the way you should be doing something and instead just focus on things that feel good. Don’t worry about getting poses perfectly right. Don’t even worry about the anatomy. Just focus on getting to class and committing yourself to a few minutes a day. Just get comfortable with the names of the poses and with moving your body in a different way. The rest will come later.
This is part one of two of our interview with Erin Motz.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Erin Motz, you can find her on Bad Yogi, sign up for the Perfect Body Yoga Program (PBYP), sign up for her Bad Yogi Online Studio, take her classes on yoganect, and read Bad Yogi Lifestyle Magazine.
