The Yoga Loft Storybook: Elizabeth Renieris

Why/When/Where did you start practicing yoga?

I’d been to a few classes in college but I really took up yoga as a practice about 15 years ago as a first-year law student. In law school, it’s easy to get trapped in your analytical brain. Yoga helped me get back into my body and tap into my more creative and intuitive self.  

How has yoga changed/influenced your life?

I have always worked in very competitive and intellectually demanding environments. If I go too long without practice, I can forget that I am more than just a head on shoulders. As it did in law school, yoga continues to keep me rooted in my physical experience, which helps me overcome rumination and analysis (and self-criticism). I’ve also traveled and moved a lot in my adult life. I've lived and worked in more than twelve cities in six countries on three different continents. My friends and family are scattered around the world, and I’ve often struggled with the question of where “home” is. Now I can see that, in many ways, yoga has been my home. It has always brought me great comfort to know that no matter where I am or who I am with, I can step onto my mat, breathe, and come home to myself.

What keeps you busy outside of the studio?

In my day job, I spend most of my time researching, writing, and speaking about technology policy and ethics. Outside of work, you’ll find me walking around town (I’m still new to Marblehead), searching for sea glass at low tide, reading non-fiction in the sun, daydreaming about writing a memoir, and learning to cook (mostly plants). Oh, and in the "before times," traveling around the world for yoga, music, or to visit friends and family. 

A quote that you love or would like to share?

"Not all those who wander are lost." - J.R.R. Tolkien