Balance, authenticity, mindfulness, and peace are just a few words that come to mind when thinking about yoga and embodiment instructor Rachel Tudor. Rachel is from Rochester, Michigan, and developed her natural love for all things movement, strength, and flexibility while being a gymnast as a kid. Her passion grew after she stumbled into her first yoga class at the age of fifteen. Although she could not put her finger on why she loved her first yoga class at the time, she recalls “being enamored with the weaving of physical, spiritual, and emotional wellness.”
2. Impact of Yoga, Meditation, and Embodiment
3. A Day in the Life of a Yoga and Embodiment Instructor in Tulum
After her first yoga class, the studio became a safe space to relax and let go of all the anxiety, chaos, and uncertainty she experienced in her teenage years. Rachel felt welcomed, accepted, and comforted in the presence of the studio. Thanks to her gymnastics background, the physical practice of yoga came quickly to Rachel, which enabled her to devote her focus to the spiritual and emotional aspects of the practice.
Daily yoga classes taught Rachel the basics of meditation. Then, Rachel began taking both yoga and meditation workshops, occasionally taking two classes per day. Meditation provided Rachel with a challenge. The practice required a deepened sense of discipline which finally clicked during her first yoga teacher training. Meditation has been a ritual embedded in her daily routine ever since.
Rachel Tudor has traveled the world teaching yoga and meditation and is currently located in Tulum, Mexico. She has accumulated over 500 hours in her Yoga Alliance Certification, has her Embody by Nadia certification, and has attended numerous training and courses in holistic wellness worldwide.
While traveling the world and teaching, Rachel discovered embodiment. Rachel defines embodiment as “the practice of allowing the internal experience to be expressed in the external body.” For Tudor, embodiment looks like putting on a random song and allowing her body to guide movement. For others, it might look like anything from jumping and screaming to swaying your hips. Embodiment embraces human’s full range of emotions: anger, sadness, joy, pleasure, and more. The practice allows emotion to flow through movement and release through movement without labels.
Rachel emphasizes how important it is to guide people to be fully expressed in their practices. In yoga, it is creating a safe space for people to listen to their bodies and honor where they are at in their physical practice. In meditation, it is letting people know it is okay if their mind is busy, as the practice of meditation is an observation of thought, not trying to force a still mind.
Yoga and meditation guide people towards understanding and connecting with themselves on a deeper level. The deepened level of connection and heightened awareness enable people to express themselves fully. Rachel notes how embodiment takes self-expression a step further, pairing beautifully with yoga and meditation through sensations of the body to create connection, presence, and balance.
While teaching around the world and experiencing the teachings of others, Rachel Tudor has found that yoga, meditation, and embodiment have a profound impact on people’s lives. These practices push people to meet themselves through a different perspective. It allows people to forgive and love themselves and others. People become more grounded in their emotions. They are able to nurture others and the world because they have nurtured themselves first.
Yoga, mediation, and embodiment also have a profound impact on the body’s health. They promote a balanced nervous system, less stress, more energy, better sleep, better digestion, better posture, more flexibility, and enhanced physical and mental strength. These physical and mental health benefits are extraordinary and lead to a happier, healthier life. I am sure if you asked anyone in the community, especially Rachel, they could go on for hours explaining how beneficial yoga, meditation, and embodiment are for the human body.
Out of all the poses available, Rachel loves restorative poses. Restorative poses and practices are slow and gentle, achieving total relaxation. Rachel’s favorite restorative pose is Child’s pose because it enables you to become completely heavy against the floor and surrender your breath. Child’s pose stretches the whole back body and opens the hips. Other restorative yoga poses include corpse pose, happy baby pose, and legs-up-the-wall pose.
Rachel starts her day at six in the morning getting started with meditation, dance, and writing or reading. Devoting time to creativity and productivity in her day is extremely important as well. Rachel teaches her classes and works out or attends dance class. In her free time, she spends time with friends, actively relaxes, and seeks time in nature. In the future, Rachel plans to do more retreats, workshops, and events around the world. She is also putting together a course with all her tools to reach more people.
I asked Rachel Tudor, as an experienced yoga instructor and international student of wellness, what tips and advice she would share with someone looking to start practicing yoga, meditation, and or embodiment. Here are Rachel’s words of wisdom.
“I would remind someone that wherever they are in their journey is perfect. We all start somewhere. There is no right or wrong and there is no ‘end goal.’ These practices are about deepening our connection to ourselves so we can experience and share joy. There is no point in the wellness journey where it’s like ‘Okay - I’ve made it! I’m done.’ Let that be an exciting place to develop curiosity. Simply by showing up, even if it is for 5 minutes, you are doing it correctly. I would also say that just like anything, these things take practice. It’s a muscle. Just like we don’t run 10 miles the first time we start running, we might not feel super connected the first few times when practicing yoga, meditation, or embodiment. Have fun with it!
We hope you enjoyed learning about Rachel Tudor and her journey with yoga, mediation, and embodiment. Check her out on Instagram @racheltudoryoga and practice with her weekly @papayaplayaproject & @habitastulum
Written by Lauren Conklin
