Yoga guru Drorit Pobuta is in the business of bliss, and it feels so good. After attending her first yoga class more than two decades ago, she turned her passion into service as an instructor and studio owner. Her inspiring journey gives us permission to find our calling at any age, and just “give it a try.”
Where do you find your joy these days?
Spending time with my family and friends. On a daily level, being me, I just taught a yoga class to a room full of people who have the most amazing energy. We sweat, we laugh, and connect. It’s like every day’s a gift when I get to teach.
As someone who has turned their passion into a purpose of service to others, can you share a bit of what you learned about yourself through the process of creating your own yoga studio?
When I discovered yoga 25 years ago, that was it for me. I took a ton of classes and read any book I could find to learn more. It made me feel so good, like coming back from a vacation refreshed.
Yoga allows me to be totally myself, no pretenses. So when teaching led me to creating my own business, I didn’t try to copy anyone else’s format. I like the intimacy of keeping it simple — old school yoga, a donation box, and a room that feels like home.
I also love music, so my classes flow with rhythm. The more serious somebody is about themselves and about life, the more daunting yoga is going to be for them, so music helps bridge the gap. I offer up an ever-changing playlist that helps take students through some of the more challenging movements.
I operate my business in a completely different way than most. My students are the number one priority, so I don’t feel overwhelmed by owning a business and all that encompasses. To connect with other people, I do what works for me. I’ve found a balance, and I think there’s an authenticity that comes out of that.
If you were not a yoga instructor, what would you have been?
The practical answer would be a therapist, because my dad was a psychiatrist and I grew up in that world. But, music always takes me places, so of course in my younger years I fantasized I would be a backup dancer for The Rolling Stones, or a deejay.
What do you like best about yourself?
I have patience, sort of a wait and see technique to get a really good picture of things. I zoom out for a bigger perspective and take time to pay attention before I react.
What does yoga represent on the inside?
When you get into biodynamics, it improves our alignment, which is especially important as we age. On a neurological level, yoga opens up a path for energy to flow without any obstructions, like unclogging our drains. Energy flows in each pose, and when you invite the breath in, pausing between the inhale, exhale, that’s when your mind goes quiet for a moment of clarity.
Spiritually speaking, everything we do on the mat mirrors life with its struggles and challenges, and how you work through them. Yoga creates longer periods of homeostasis, less of a roller coaster ride. We learn to shift our relationships and instead of fighting against a pose, we relax into it. The process opens us up to being fluid and natural. We end with a meditation of total relaxation called Shavasana, which means corpse pose, as if you die. Emerging from Shavasana, you are awakened, alive again, with a deeper understanding, able to see things clearly.
The practice brings us home to ourselves and lets us know we are worth caring for. It helps make everything you do in your life just a little bit easier.
If you could give a yoga lesson to anyone in the world who would it be?
Hummm… I think Elon Musk. What we learn from yoga goes beyond tunnel vision; it’s expansive and panoramic. We realize we’re all connected, and when one tumbles, we all tumble. I don’t know that he understands that now, but something makes me think he might get there.
What do you consider the most rewarding thing about teaching yoga?
I’m lucky because I get to witness the difference in people from the moment they arrive, to who they are when they leave. My classes are like bookends, and I feel the energy in the room.
The credit goes to my yoga students, who have always been my inspiration, observing their lives being enhanced in so many ways brings me great joy and motivates me to do my work the best way I can.
Open to trying something new, like yoga?
Why yoga is especially beneficial to us now?
You are invited to dive deeper into yoga with Drorit at Agoura Power of Yoga, or team up with her anytime from anywhere with Yoga with Drorit.
Drorit’s message to our Intentful community