Inhale

  inhale...inspire

This page is dedicated to all things inspirational.
We will include articles, journal entries, poetry, photos,
and many other offerings from our Yoga Tree Teachers.


A little insight into the life of one of our great teachers... 

Tom Beall interviewed by Leigh Ann Lesho

LL: Hi Tom, thanks for doing this.
TB: Thanks for asking me.

LL: Where are you from originally?
TB: Well, I was born in New Jersey, but I never lived there very long, and I grew up mostly in Indiana.

LL: When did you come to Tucson?
TB: In 1981, so I’ve been here 30 years now.

LL: What brought you to Tucson?
TB: I visited Tucson in the early seventies on a road trip and liked it. Then I went back to school and got a master’s degree and wound up moving to Phoenix because some friends were moving there, but I always preferred Tucson, so after a few years in Phoenix I moved down here.

LL: Had you already started practicing yoga by that time?
TB: I started practicing yoga in college about 40 years ago actually

LL: Where did you go to college?
TB: It was Ball State University in Indiana. I had read a book on yoga by Ram Dass, called, “Be Here Now.”  I really hadn’t started a yoga practice yet, but I was in an improvisational dance group and our instructor gave us pranayama, asana and meditation practices to prepare us for our dances. That was my first practice of yoga. A couple of years after that, there was a teacher who I took about ten classes from and learned some basic Asanas and Pranayama. From there, I pretty much practiced on my own. I bought Swami Vishnu Devananda’s “The Complete Book of Yoga,” which was my first actual yoga book, and I practiced from that for several years, until I was in Phoenix.

LL: What changed in Phoenix?
TB: It’s kind of interesting. I was seeking classes out and I went to a studio where there was this woman teacher who was looking for someone to take over teaching her classes at this hospital, and she asked me if I would do it. I had no instruction on how to teach at that time, but she said she had been praying to her Guru about this and that the next person who came through the door was going to be the instructor to take over these classes. So, I did.

LL: How did that turn out?
TB: It was in the psychiatric and pain unit of a hospital in Phoenix and I did that for five years. Every morning, I would get on my bike and ride down to the hospital to teach a short half hour class, and go on with my day. During this time, I found another teacher who was a student of Indra Devi and I received some instruction from her on how to teach. In those days there were no certification programs for teaching yoga, like the 200 or 500 hour certifications that are required today. Back then, people just took classes and eventually started to teach.

LL: Did your move to Tucson have anything to do with the yoga community here?
TB: No. There really wasn’t a yoga community here, except a small Kundalini group called 3HO, and one other person, named Virginia Hill.

LL: Just one?
TB: Just one teacher.

LL: Wow…things have changed. So, when did you start teaching in Tucson?
TB: Some folks at the Desert Ashram contacted my instructor. They were seeking a male teacher to teach a class of men whom were all residents of the ashram at that time; living the ashram lifestyle. In their discipline men and women were not allowed to practice Asana together, so that was why they needed a male teacher. That was really my first teaching experience in Tucson, and I taught there for about a year.

LL: Where did you go from there?
TB: I started practicing Iyengar Yoga in 1988 and it was really new for me. I had never studied or practiced Iyengar before and it was a much more disciplined and structured practice. I had never really gotten any instructions about alignment before. It just wasn’t really being taught in other traditions at that time, so practicing Iyengar was when I first gained that perspective and it was really transformative for me. I stayed with Iyengar for the next twelve years so I was teaching Iyengar as well.

LL: Which was the first Tucson studio you taught at?
TB: I started teaching at The Tucson Racquet Club in the mid-nineties.

LL: You currently teach there, so have you been there all these years?
TB: Yes, I’ve been teaching there continuously since about 1996, so about fifteen years or so.

LL: Where did you start teaching next?
TB: Bill Counter opened Yoga Oasis around 1996. I was taking classes there and one day he asked me if I’d like to teach, so I started teaching two or three classes a week there. However, teaching there and at the Racquet Club during those years was not my primary way of making a living. I was a counselor for thirty years.

LL: Where were you a counselor?
TB: I worked at various places, situations, and briefly had a private practice. At times, I would incorporate yoga philosophy and meditation into the counseling.

LL: Did you enjoy that type of work?
TB: It was a mixed experience. Some of the situations were very difficult and some were enjoyable. In 1999, I took a year off to travel, and in my travels, I wound up at Kripalu in Massachusetts and I stayed there for a month doing seva. I lived, worked, and took classes there. The Kripalu approach was radically different from Iyengar. At first, I was very resistant to it and thought they were doing all the postures wrong because they weren’t doing them the Iyengar way. But then I began to see that they had a perspective that I was missing in Iyengar. Kripalu places an emphasis on breathing, energy and warming the body up before practicing Asana. In an Iyengar asana practice, you typically go right into postures without any warm-ups and there’s not much emphasis on breath. In Iyengar, Pranayama is done separately from Asana, so you would have a separate class of
pranayama for an hour, then you would have an hour break and then you would do two hours of Asana. In Kripalu, they integrate asana and pranayama into one class and I appreciate that. I came to really enjoy the Kripalu practice after being there for a month. Six months later, I went back and took the teacher training program and that’s where I received my 500-hour teaching certification.

LL: At what point did you retire as a counselor?
TB: During that year of traveling. I was really burned out with counseling and especially the bureaucracy that surrounds it. That made it really hard to be effective, as far as I was concerned.

LL: At what point did it feel like yoga was becoming a big thing in Tucson?
TB: You know it seemed to be during that year that I was gone from 1999
to 2000, because when I left there was only Yoga Oasis Central, Yoga Connection, and another studio that eventually became The Providence Institute. So, when I got back to Tucson, it seemed like yoga had really taken off. It was great because there were a lot more opportunities to teach.

LL: We’re starting a teacher training program here at the Yoga Tree, based on Integrative Yoga Therapy, and I’m so happy that you’re going to be our Asana Instructor! Do you think it’s important that yoga be approached therapeutically?
TB: Joseph LePage really is a master and an excellent teacher. I’ve been to some workshops with him; although, I haven’t completed his particular training. He was a Kripalu teacher and went on from that tradition, and he still includes a lot of elements from Kripalu in his teaching and instruction. I think it’s a great practice and if you complete that training, you can teach effective classes and work with people individually if you choose.

LL: What has been the greatest benefit you’ve gained through your practice of yoga?
TB: On one level, physical health. At 61, I have the same flexibility, strength, and stamina that I did at 25, which I don’t know if a lot of 61 year olds can say. I’ve been pretty free from any major disease my whole life and I really attribute that to my yoga practice. On another level, it’s been an emotionally stabilizing factor in my life. When I’ve been through periods in my life that were very stressful, like very stressful work situations, especially when I was counseling, my yoga practice enabled me to ground and center and get through it with a sense of sanity. Another great benefit I’ve experienced is the community of yoga practitioners. It’s a great support system where you can connect by going to different classes, different studios and finding a practice that you resonate with and other people who are of the same mindset. I think it’s really great to have an alternative place to create and connect with people other than the bar
scene. Yoga is a great alternative to that.

LL: Is there one teacher or Guru you consider your root teacher or Guru?
TB: I would say my root teacher is his Holiness the Dali Lama of Tibet. He doesn’t have an Asana practice, but he embodies wisdom and compassion in this world. He is probably the person I admire most who is living today. In high school, I read about Mahatma Gandhi and was very moved by his experience and what he achieved through the practice of Ahimsa. Those are two individuals who, for me, represent my highest aspirations. I’ll probably never achieve their degree of awakening, but it’s like a North Star to guide you on your travels. As far as the yoga tradition goes, I have tremendous admiration for B.K.S. Iyengar and Sri Krishnamacharya, who was briefly Iyengar’s teacher. I never actually studied with Iyengar, but I have with many of his students. I think both of these individuals have really transformed the practice of yoga and made it
accessible to Westerners, and their various students who have developed their own approaches and schools that are all good; all valid.

LL: What is one thing you find yourself trying to convey to students who are new to yoga?
TB: What I like beginning students to try to grasp is the idea that a physical practice of yoga doesn’t have to involve pain. Pushing and straining are not really beneficial. An effective practice can be a balance of effort and ease rather than all effort. A person needs to find their appropriate level of practice. People who are more athletic and fit can find a practice that helps to balance them, but a person who has had surgeries, injuries, or who is maybe older aged and inflexible can still find a level of practice that will benefit them.

LL: What do you feel is one of your greatest strengths as a yoga teacher?
TB: I think one of my greatest strengths as a yoga teacher is my ability to read the room and adapt the practice to who is there, rather than trying to get them to do my practice. I have enough background in different approaches and different kinds of practice to be able to meet students where they are, rather than try to have them come over to my practice.

LL: That being one of your greatest strengths, what is something that you try to work on with yourself? 
TB: Well, I have to continue to work on patience and tolerance. When people do things in a class that seem to be inappropriate or just odd, I try to remember to address these kinds of things a little more softly.

LL: You’re now teaching a “Yoga for Men” class at The Yoga Tree. What is your intent for this class?
TB: Some men have been put off when they first show up in a class and there are like forty women and two guys. They tend to feel uncomfortable and think it’s a women’s thing. I think if men come and find there are other men in the class, they’ll be more comfortable. My intent for this class is not to teach a really strenuous Bikram/Ashtanga type class, but teach more of a mindful, soft class. This is especially good for men who are stiff, injured, have chronic pain, etc., so they can feel better at the physical level and from that feel some emotional relief from stress.

LL:  In my experience, I see a larger population of women seeking yoga because they hear of the benefits related to stress relief.
TB: Many women don’t have quite the pressure to be a rugged individual and tough it out. Women are typically more cooperative than competitive, and that’s a gross generalization, I know, but men tend to have a more competitive stance in the world and women tend to be more cooperative. So I think it’s a little easier for them to come to a class, to participate in a class with other women.

LL: What book or books are you reading right now?
TB: I have been reading Sara Powers “Insight Yoga,” which is about Yin Yoga and also a book called “Yinsights” which is also about Yin Yoga. I’ve been integrating a lot of Yin yoga into my own practice and have been looking for a lot of opportunities to teach it, which I’m doing here at Yoga Tree. I think it’s a really great approach and balance, especially to some of the current more vigorous or strenuous practices.

LL: It really gives students a chance to be in the posture and explore what’s going on.
TB: It’s a very introspective practice, it directs you inward. It’s about pratyahara; internal observation, rather than focus on the external form. There’s a place for an alignment, Iyengar type practice and there’s a place for a Yin practice, that’s more about finding internal openings and a softening into a posture.

LL: If somebody said to you, “I only want to practice Yin Yoga all of the time,” how would you respond?
TB: Well, it depends on the person. If they’re already super flexible then I would encourage them to accompany that with a strengthening practice because you don’t only want to stretch, you want to have stability and strength to counter flexibility. It’s sort of like the body builders who only build up muscle and don’t have any flexibility. Neither extreme is healthy. I see Yin as a balance for a more muscular or Yang type practice.

LL: I know you are a music lover. Who is your favorite band or artist of all time?
TB: Of all time? Hmmm…that’s a tough one. Well, I’d probably have to go with the Beatles.

LL: Good choice. Who’s your favorite local musician or band?
TB: I think my favorite right now is Calexico.

LL: Sally is your partner and you each had been practicing and teaching yoga for many years
before meeting. How has your relationship grown together within Yoga?
TB: Yoga was that initial connection. I had taught some partner yoga classes and workshops with some other yoga teachers but I wasn’t really doing partner yoga with anybody at that time. Sally had enthusiasm for it, so we started developing our partner yoga workshops, like the workshop we had here at The Yoga Tree, in December. We’re also doing another one right before Valentine’s Day. So, that’s how we started, we just had a lot in common- interest in yoga and the same aspects of yoga.

LL: Billy and I had so much fun at the workshop. You two are great together…a great balance.
TB: Thanks. I think so.

LL: I’ve learned that if you want to know how you are doing in life, all you have to do is look at the quality of your relationships. What would your advice be to somebody who doesn’t have very much support from home, when it comes to their yoga practice?
TB: One of the teachers I’ve studied with, Mark Whitwell, really emphasizes that yoga is about relationship. It’s about relationship to yourself, then to your partner, and then to your environment. First, you have to develop that relationship with yourself and part of that is developing that practice for yourself. From that, once you find personal balance and harmony, then you can meet someone else from a more balanced harmonious place with less expectation on how they ought to be. When you have less expectations of someone else you can meet them as they are. That creates less strife in relationships. People are going to find yoga at their own pace and in their own time, if ever. You can’t drag somebody into it. Actually, when you attempt to do that, you create more resistance. When you try to convince somebody of something or push them into something, their natural response is to resist. I think the more you practice
self-acceptance the more you can practice accepting others and let people find their own path.

LL: Your daughter, Jade is very involved in the Tucson community with arts, yoga, and especially African dance, right?
TB: Her passion is African dance specifically. She’s been to Africa twice, and she’s been to New Mexico and Hawaii for African dance camps. She’s just been really excited about that since she was a teenager. She’s developed into a very dynamic and inspiring teacher. When she was young and I was practicing yoga, she wasn’t too interested in it. I would try and encourage her or suggest it to her but she didn’t seem to connect. Independently of me, she started an Ashtanga practice and became very inspired with that and has integrated some of it into her dance classes.

LL: And she’s expecting her first child now. How exciting!
TB: Yes, she’s eight months along. It’ll be great…my first chance to be a grandpa.

LL: What does the Yoga Tree mean to you?
TB: Well, first of all, the Yoga Tree is just the most beautiful studio I’ve ever seen. It’s just a wonderful environment for the practice of yoga. It has this welcoming atmosphere. The instructors at The Yoga Tree are the best treated instructors in town. You’ve just done a great job of creating a relaxing, inviting, safe and beautiful environment for people. I feel especially blessed that you were one of my students and that you took to the teacher training and that you have taken it this far. It’s awesome.

LL: Thank you. I’m so grateful that you’re a part of this family.

LL: To finish up, is there one dream or goal you have for your future?
TB: I want to work less and play more.

LL: Awesome! Thank you so much, Tom. I loved sharing this time with you.
TB: Thanks.


Tom teaches the following classes at The Yoga Tree:
Mondays
5:30-6:30  Gentle Yoga
7:00-8:15  Yin Yoga & Meditation
Tuesdays
7:00-8:00  Yoga for Men
Thursdays
7:00-8:15  Yin Yoga & Meditation