Interview - Carmen Campoverde

Carmen, 40, first came to the United States 16 years ago to teach English as a second language. She loved New York and decided to stay.  Carmen gave birth to her son in NYC and gave birth to her daughter after she moved to Baltimore in 1994.  Carmen is from Ecuador, South America.  In Ecuador, yoga is thought of as a religion, not a practice so not many practice it.

Carmen first got interested in aerobics.  With aerobics she found no peace of mind and was exhausted afterwards.  She then tried yoga in a Baltimore gym, but didn’t like it.  When her church finally formed a studio, Carmen learned to love yoga.

Carmen says understanding the instructor’s English isn’t a problem, but it may seem like it because she likes to hold the poses longer, until she can feel them deeply.  ”That’s when you feel the difference with yoga.”  Carmen’s favorite part of yoga is breathing and floating with the poses.  She loves Vinyasa style.  “Iyengar props are sometimes helpful because they open you up more and allow you to relax.”

Yoga has changed Carmen’s life.  She says, “I found myself being more friendly and calmer, not running people over on the roads. Life shouldn’t be rushed.  Now to get my husband into yoga - he likes to run, play soccer and tennis.”


By Suzy Pennington