NICOLE BLACK

What’s your favorite way to start your morning before teaching? 

A hot cup of tea with my feet on the PEMF machine while I review the class plan and drop into intention for the practice ahead.

Coffee, tea, or green juice? 

Tea, always.

What’s your go-to post-yoga meal or snack?

Thirty grams of protein without overthinking it. A protein shake, salmon and rice, or nourishing leftovers.

What’s your current song or playlist obsession?

Music with positive words and affirmations. Spotify has become a joyful rabbit hole and I love discovering something new almost every day.

When you are not teaching yoga, what are you doing?

Lifting weights, taking barre class, hiking/biking in the mountains, or making/teaching art. Being a professional artist is my first love and still fuels everything I do.

What’s one thing your students might be surprised to learn about you? 

Sandpoint raised, 22 years married, mom to a 19 year old, and living at the intersection of strength and intuition with a deep devotion to self care and root level healing. I resisted yoga at first. I was convinced it was not for me.

Describe yourself in three words.

Strong

Nimble

Grounded

What originally brought you to yoga?

My friends basically hassled me into going. I was an athlete who loved vigorous training and thought yoga would be too slow and boring. Turns out I was completely wrong and fell in love.

How long have you been teaching yoga and what are your certifications? 

I’ve practiced yoga for 13 years and have been teaching for one. The community encouraged me to step into teaching, so I completed my 200 hour YTT with WE Yoga and the rest is history.

What’s your favorite pose right now and your “love-to-hate” pose?

Favorite pose is Skandasana also known as surfer’s lunge with a side body twist. “Love to hate” pose is reclined splits early in class. My hamstrings scream every time.

How do you want your students to feel when they leave your classes?

Hypnotized, connected, grounded, filled with light, and with a little more space and mobility in their bodies.

What’s the biggest lesson yoga has taught you off the mat?

Breathe through discomfort. Sensation is temporary. Breath and inward focus carry you through anything.