YOGI OF THE MONTH

July 2021 - Mindy Arnold

What first brought you to yoga and how long have you been practicing?

I discovered yoga while living in San Diego in the early 2000s. A local dance studio hosted Hatha yoga classes two evenings a week. My roommate, who had experience with yoga practice, encouraged me to try it with her. In hindsight, it was the perfect all-levels class for me— as someone who was learning— with a generous and gentle instructor. She taught me many techniques that I still apply today.

What is/are your intention(s) for your yoga practice?

For me, yoga is mostly about grounding. I am almost always setting an intention at the beginning of my practice to achieve calm or focus or patience. I learned to love yoga because of the oasis it provides within my busy life. I often laugh at myself because I’ll be racing around, stressing about HAVING TO GET TO YOGA!!!!!!! and then I come out on the other side of the class and I’m in a totally different space mentally and emotionally.

What is your favorite pose and why?

I have two: Pigeon and Dancer.

I have always loved Pigeon. It’s the perfect blend of intensity and letting go. It gets to muscle areas that always feel tight and tense. The Yin style of the pose helps me breathe deeply and really focus on the areas that need release.

As my practice has progressed, I’ve found great benefits from balancing poses. The concentration that balance requires helps me to ground— literally. Dancer is such an elegant pose; I just love how it looks and feels.

What is your favorite class at InsideOut Yoga?

I don’t have a favorite! I get valuable benefits from all the different classes at InsideOut. I enjoy the variety.

How has the practice of yoga influenced your life?

Yoga is profound for me because it’s so much more than a workout. I love how Susan closes class by asking us what from our practice we can bring with us off the mat. I often leave a yoga class wanting to be a more kind and generous person. I definitely don’t get that kind of aspiration from cross-training.

What advice would you have for a beginning yoga student?

One insight that I did not understand when I started is that, within the many different varieties and styles of yoga practice, it’s really mostly about the energy and approach of the teacher. If you find an instructor who is the right fit for you, then the practice can be transformative, no matter what style you are accustomed to. I’m a fan of sampling all the options to find the right match.

What is your occupation?

I work as a Certified Professional Organizer and entrepreneur. In 2010, I founded a home organizing and move management company called Abundance Organizing. We offer household decluttering, downsizing, and packing & unpacking services. We have business locations in Williamsburg, Richmond, and Charlottesville. My role in the company is primarily speaking and training.

What activities do you enjoy?

My favorite hobby is reading, mostly contemporary fiction. My husband and I love to cook and entertain— at one point we were in two supper clubs! We are also serial renovators who always have a project in progress. We just finished renovating the kitchen in our house in Topping.

I am a therapy dog handler with my Australian cattle dog, Obie. Right now, he’s my sidekick when needed on organizing/downsizing jobs and when I attend networking events. Hopefully, post-COVID, we will be visiting senior living communities and other places where people need a sweet dog to cuddle.

What is your favorite thing about living in the Northern Neck or Middle Peninsula?

The water views and slower pace of life.