Season 1 Episode 4: Colleen Saidman - The 'First Lady of Yoga'

The Yogapedia Podcast

Colleen Saidman Yee is one of the most revered and recognizable women in the world of yoga. She has been an international fashion model since 1980 and teacher since 1998. Along with her husband Rodney Yee, Saidman Yee leads teacher trainings at their studio, Yoga Shanti, in New York City. Together they developed the Urban Zen Integrative Yoga Therapist Program, a worldwide initiative with Donna Karan in 2010 that's designed to transform care in hospitals around the world.

In this episode, we talk with Saidman Yee about her intimate journey to yoga. She shares the tumultuous path of uncovering self-worth as a young fashion model amidst the staggering pressure to conform to expectations of the industry and those around her. She explains that through these early challenges of self-criticism and doubt, she tried to outrun her fears until finally she was faced with no choice but surrender.

This is a raw and authentic conversation about discovering your enough-ness, cultivating peace and contentment, and finding the daily practices that draw you back to yourself. Today Saidman Yee shares the power of breath, meditation and movement as a way into vulnerability, acceptance and resilience.

Saidman Yee also shares with us the inspiring vision and profound work of the Urban Zen Project. Her collaborative initiative trains members of healthcare and yoga communities on treating the patient, not just the disease.

For more information about Colleen Saidman's work you can purchase her book: Yoga For Life: A Journey to Inner Peace and Freedom