About Laurel Hodory
Laurel Hodory, M.S., E-RYT 500 was the owner and Director of It’s Yoga Columbus for seven years. During her tenure at It’s Yoga, she trained and certified more than 35 yoga teachers (through her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training program), and introduced yoga to more than 6,000 students. Laurel has been an avid student of yoga since 1992 when one of her dance instructors first introduced her to yoga. When she discovered yoga, she felt she had come home to her true path. Among other miracles, yoga has supported her and many of her students in recovery from physical injuries, addictions, personal loss, and more. Her body wisdom has been informed by her experiences as a top-performing athlete, dancer, yoga teacher and by her studies with renowned teachers in the field of yoga, psychology, bodywork, and eastern/western medicine.
Laurel has spent six of the last fifteen years deeply studying the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga system, traveling to India and studying with master Shri K. Pattabhi Jois, working her way up to the Third Series. During her years of studying Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, she became well known for her powerful, graceful practice and her skillful hands-on adjustments. She obtained her certification in Ashtanga Yoga (200-hour level) in 1999.
After years of practicing and teaching students the Ashtanga Vinyasa System, Laurel saw a pattern of repetitive use injuries emerging. Out of a desire to help her students heal, she immersed herself intensively in the study of biomechanics and yoga therapeutics. She studied closely with Paul Grilley (Meridian Theory, Fascia/Skeletal Anatomy), John Friend, Sianna Sherman (Anusara Yoga), Dr. Robin Hunter, D.C. (Chiropractor to the OSU Buckeye sports program and Balletmet), and Arnold Coleman, personal trainer specializing in sports injury rehabilitation. Laurel has a wealth of study and experience in the Anusara System.
Laurel left her professional work as an environmental consultant in 2000 to help empower others to live in harmony with the environment of their first home—their body. In teaching thousands of hours of yoga, she has observed many of her students gain power over areas of their lives that were previously lost. Always a student first, Laurel continues to fortify herself with skillful knowledge so that she may better assist others to live with purpose. She has attended training at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, Polarity Therapy Training in Columbus, and has studied Ayurveda apprenticing with her teacher Sonam Targee over the last seven years.
Among her accomplishments, Laurel was selected as an SNP (Suburban News Publications) American Business Woman and was featured as a select business woman in Business First. Her teachings have been published in Yoga Chicago and she was a guest speaker at the 2006 OSU Addictions Conference. Last year, she recorded an instructional yoga video that will be streamed online as a part of a national health education campaign provided by an independent contractor to managed healthcare providers.
As the founder of the first dedicated yoga center in Columbus, Ohio, Laurel is both a leader in the community and an example of embodied wisdom. She is a lover of life, indulging in the beautiful outdoors, delicious food, friends, and music whenever possible with her beloved husband. She empowers her students to heal, grow and align with their fullest potential by teaching them self-reflective practices and inspiring them to transcend their limitations.
Mysore, India
As a yoga teacher myself, I marvel at Laurel’s teaching and how she has mastered the poetry of language, provides assistance, modifications and hands-on adjustments while never missing a beat. Her classes are creative and challenging for the seasoned yogi as well as inspirational for the novice. She is approachable and has a strong desire to help her students find something deeper within themselves. Laurel has an uncanny ability to listen and empower her students with just the right knowledge and technique so that they can align more optimally. What’s more, she does this all while making her classes fun and enjoyable.
—Jocelyn Lemichuk