The Hot Room Leadership Institute provides opportunities for dedicated practitioners to be trained to teach the modalities offered at The Hot Room, gain a deeper understanding of their personal yoga practice and cultivate the skills to be a powerful leader in their community. The Hot Room Leadership Institute Scholarship for People of Color is a full-tuition scholarship opportunity that is open to any self-identified POC who would like to deepen their yoga practice and gain the skills necessary to lead inspiring and powerful classes in their community.
Below you can read the essay Taffanee Keys, our 2020 Spring Original Hot Yoga recipient, wrote on why she applied for the scholarship.
I discovered The Hot Room not long after it opened and absolutely loved it. I was pretty consistent with my practice but I allowed running to take a front seat in my quest to run a race in all 50 states. In June of 2019 I suffered a stress fracture from running, became sedentary and gained 30 pounds. My stress levels became high and I came back to what gives me solace, The Hot Room. I am now injury free, lost 17 pounds, and no longer suffer from the stress that day to day life can bring. I am a testament to the benefits the practice of hot yoga brings. It is has truly been life changing for me both physically and mentally.
My practice restores peace to overcome challenging moments in my life. It helps me to meditate and focus, to calm my mind, and to live in the moment and not the future or the past. This practice has brought such joy to my spirit and has given me clarity of purpose; which is to live a life in which I can pour into others.
I strongly believe in servant leadership and strive to live such a life through volunteerism and philanthropic efforts. I am ready to move forward to continue my purpose of servant leadership by becoming a Hot Yoga instructor. I would love to help others find their focus and find peace in difficulties through the practice. It would be a humbling experience to share my practice with others and to serve as their guide.
I find it important to have instructors that light up the room with their presence and urge others to be their best during practice. I too want to be the light, to serve others from a spirit of giving that encompasses love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness so that others can become healthier, wiser, freer, and to create in them a spirit in which they feel empowered to accomplish things they may think are unattainable. As an instructor I want to support others’ growth on their journey in life. I would love to further my journey and shine my heart towards sharing this beautiful ancient practice with my friends, family and all future and current Hot Room students.
I thank you for your consideration and most of all thank you for being an inspiration.
