Name: Debi Lewis Age: 52 Job: Yoga Instructor and Certified Yoga Therapist Photo by Courtesy Kim Murriel
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
An artist.
Describe your workday in three words.
Busy, unpredictable and different.
What tools could you not live or work without?
My creativity, passion, inspiration and my studio.
What steps brought you to this position?
It took me finding out what I didn't like to discover what I really wanted to do. I hated working a 9-to-5 job, being in an institutional-like setting and being told what to do. A while back I got fired from a receptionist job, and my boss told me, "This is not where you need to be." From then on I kept searching until I found yoga and my calling.
What's the strangest aspect of your job?
Teaching yoga in Mississippi. People have different ideas of what yoga is. A lot of people think that yoga is for the pretty, flexible, acrobatic gymnasts they see on the front cover of magazines, and many people think yoga is going to conflict with their Christianity.
What's the best thing about your job?
I get to be me. I get to be barefoot and be comfortable. I like being able to do what I want, and I also deal with lots of wonderful people.
What advice do you have for others who would like to become a yoga instructor?
Take it seriously. It's a way of life. Take a lot of yoga classes, and do a lot of yoga on your own. And keep your day job.
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