For Marie Russel, founder and owner of It’s Yoga Toledo, this is a city with potential. “I think people in Toledo are open. The ones who have been coming here [to her studio] have been really dedicated. Their commitment is so inspiring.”
Daughter of Labib and Karyn Hajjar, owners of The Beirut restaurant, Marie Russel has roots here in Toledo. She has lived a unique life filled with extraordinary experiences and people, and yoga has been at the center of that life.
As a student at The Ohio State University, Russel was never one to frequent the gym. But after several hip surgeries in her 20s, a friend recommended that she try yoga. “I remember the first class I took at It’s Yoga in Columbus. It felt like this was so good for me,” Russel recalls vividly. “Yoga offered everything, it was holistic and strong. There’s a community aspect that I found really interesting too, providing the ability to meet new people.“
At first, Russel used yoga as physical therapy, not practicing consistently. But that soon changed once she realized the discipline’s benefits. “I noticed one thing was true, when I was practicing yoga I was happier and healthier. When I wasn’t practicing yoga I was stressed and unhealthy; I wasn’t living to my full potential.”
After graduating from OSU with degrees in History and International Relations, Russel worked for the government, both in Washington, D.C. and Columbus. Soon, however, she changed her career path from politics to yoga. “I saw myself making a bigger difference in the world teaching yoga than sitting behind a desk and trying to move policy.”
Following instinct, Russell moved to San Francisco to pursue her new-found passion. She trained with world-renowned yoga instructor and innovator of the Power and ‘Rocket yoga styles, Larry Schultz. “I just remembered loving it in such a big way. It was exactly what I wanted to do,” said Russel.
A Happy Lifestyle
When the one-month training ended, Schultz asked her what she wanted in life. She responded saying she wanted to be happy. Schultz proposed that he could make her happy, and so he asked her to stay, offering Russel a job and a lifestyle she could not refuse.
Soon, an apartment opened up, and everything aligned for her to stay in San Francisco. They ended up falling in love and eventually married. Russel started teaching in January 2005 at It’s Yoga in San Francisco and in six months she began leading teacher trainings with Schultz, traveling internationally with him for workshops.
Schultz himself lived a remarkable life. He founded It’s Yoga in San Francisco in 1989. He built a yoga empire, with instructors from around the world. Each instructor had the goal of opening up their own It’s Yoga studios. Many came to San Francisco to train with him.
At that time, It’s Yoga only taught the classical Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, which focuses on alignment of movement and breath during incrementally difficult poses. According to Russel, “Ashtanga Yoga is the ultimate health management system. That’s what attracted people like me, that’s what attracted famous people too, because they ask how can they manage their health.”
A Yoga Community
Before 1970, Schultz had an underground practice. He is credited with being the first instructor to market himself as a classical Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga instructor. He separated himself from the traditional community by creating his own.
By the late 1980’s, Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga was gaining the attention of the press on the West Coast. In 1989, the manager of the psychdelic rock band The Grateful Dead contacted Schultz, looking for an Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga teacher to travel with the group.
Schultz toured with the Grateful Dead from 1991 to 1994. He had a great relationship with each of the band members, and the band even inspired Schultz to write down what he was teaching. “Before Larry’s book, Ashtanga Yoga was an oral tradition,” said Russel.
During his time with The Grateful Dead, Schultz recognized that the band members had trouble with the poses. “The main challenge in classical Ashtanga Yoga is that you have to perfect every posture before you get to the next pose. So when Larry was on tour with the Dead, he found it really difficult to tailor the practice to them because their bodies were western,” said Russel. “For example, Phil Lesh’s back was in a backbend for eight hours a day playing the bass guitar. So when you asked him to fall forward, it was difficult.”
Westernized Methods
Westernized MethodsIt was then that Schultz took a step back and examined the whole pose sequence. He saw that eastern methods did not come so easily for westerners. Recognizing some flaws in the classical teachings, Schultz changed the sequence of the postures to accustom the western body.
“Instead of focusing on the muscles, it [Schult’z technique] focuses on the joints. Once the joints are open, then the muscles can stretch safely and effectively,” stated Russel, adding “Western body’s are tight in the hips, so Larry stacked six hip opener poses together, which opens the joints faster.” The Grateful Dead saw improvements from this technique. According to Russel, the story goes that when Schultz asked Bob Weir what to call this new practice, Weir replied “‘We’re going to call it The Rocket.’” Schultz asked “‘Why?’” to which Weir responded “‘Because it gets you there faster!’”
Thus birthed The Rocket, a yoga technique that is credited as being the first power yoga sequences, developed from, but based upon, the classical Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga method. The Grateful Dead saw improvement from this new technique.
With the passing of Jerry Garcia in 1995, the band ceased touring which lead to the end of an era for Schultz. While the band transitioned, Schultz went back to San Francisco to teach The Rocket in his studio, It’s Yoga. The same studio where he would one day meet Russel at one of his trainings. Beginning in 2006. Russel taught The Rocket, traveling with Schultz across the globe to Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, Sweden, Italy, England and Spain.
Schultz brought Russel back home to Toledo in early 2011, recognizing that she needed to be closer to family. They planned on settling down in Toledo, saying that she would open up It’s Yoga in Toledo. Unfortunately, Schultz passed away suddenly from natural causes a week after arriving in the city, a shock to Russel and the yoga community.
Beginning in Toledo, an international effort
Russel stayed strong and following the bereavement, opened It’s Yoga Toledo. Soon after, she helped found It’s Yoga International, a company that brings together international communities at its fifteen centers, further preserving Schultz’s legacy. It’s Yoga has locations all over the world including: Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Italy.
People from all over the world come to It’s Yoga Toledo to partake in teacher trainings. “A lot of these international people really dig Toledo. They love it!” said Russel. She shows them around town—The Docks, the Toledo Museum of Art, and other interesting attractions.
Since coming back to Toledo, Russel has noticed a culture shift, inspired by the people who come into the studio. “It also makes me feel like It’s Yoga can be anywhere. I was thinking for a long time that It’s Yoga wouldn’t work in Toledo. That people wouldn’t be open to it. But I found, actually, the opposite is true. People in Toledo really love it. They love the routines, they love the practice, they love the community,” said Russel. She is looking into opening another Toledo location soon.
Yoga continues to be the means by which Russel makes a difference. Her passion and love for yoga is undeniable. “I can’t take my treadmill with me, but I can take myself and my mat with me. I can teach poses on a mat that will take you all the way to the end of this life.”
“Yoga really is about service. And serving through yoga has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done,” said Russel. “Larry was about sharing the love of yoga. He loved it so much, it did so much for him.”
In the spring of 2011, Russel met Daniel Russel, in Stockholm, where she was leading a yoga teacher training session. Both It’s Yoga instructors married by the end of that year and are now expecting their first child. They plan on staying in Toledo, continuing to grow It’s Yoga and the community.
It’s Yoga,135 N. Michigan St.
707-934-5818.
To celebrate Larry Schultz’s three year
memorial, It’s Yoga Toledo will be hosting free The Rocket training sessions February
24th – 28th. Learn more at itsyogatoledo.com.
