Agni Hogaboom

We're kicking off a new series on the Ompractice Bulletin featuring one our newest teachers on the platform! Our hope is help you get to know some of the amazing teachers who make up our community!

First up? Introducing Agni Hogaboom (they/them), one of our newest instructors! Agni actually started out as an Ompractice student during the pandemic and has recently joined us to teach adding some West Coast friendly classes to the schedule:

• Stretch & Release (30 min) on Tuesdays at 10pm ET / 7pm PT
• Hatha Yoga (45 min) on Wednesdays at 6:45pm ET / 3:45pm PT

No worries if these class times don't work for you! Check them out in the Video Library!

• Stretch & Release with Agni
• Hatha Yoga with Agni

Their classes are ideal for beginners as they demonstrate all the moves and the sequences are gentle. You'll learn to love yoga with Agni!

6 Good Questions: Q+A with Agni Hogaboom

Sam's note – One thing I love about Agni is how creative they are in so many mediums: yoga teacher, writer, incredible textile designer (including the most amazing jean repair I've seen, custom couture, and workwear - I'm dying for a custom hoodie with one of their prints!), b-movie/horror connoisseur. I think I laughed out loud a few months ago when they posted "Thoracic Park Yoga" with a dinosaur image – they make yoga fun and accessible!

Sam: One thing I love about your teaching is how intentional you are - you are deeply focused on making classes accessible: who are your classes for? What kind of vibe can people expect in your classes?

Agni Hogaboom: My classes here on Omprctice are beginner-friendly, and I pay close attention to what I see onscreen for cues form my students. But for the advanced practitioner who wants to slow down and focus on alignment, breath, and foundations - I think they'll find a home with me as well!

"Beginner", "advanced" et cetera are less important to me than cultivating enjoyment in yoga. My deepest hope is for each practitioner to fall in love with yoga - so they can't stay away! Whether they practice with me, or with any of the amazing other instructors here on Ompractice, or in an in-person group in their hometown: yoga is such a gift and you deserve it!

My vibe is nurturing and level-headed - but I'm also occasionally a bit irreverent. I have to be honest: I love yoga so deeply, and experience so much joy, that this bubbles over in my practice and my teaching. You'll hear me chuckle a bit in class - because I'm having a wonderful time!

One final thing I say is that I'm not a "Good Vibes Only" teacher – I want you to practice regularly and learn to let your “bad vibes” show up too! If we only practice yoga when we feel good, then we're going to skip a lot of practice!

Sam: How did you get into yoga?

AH: My yoga story is rather mundane. I was exposed to the practice around year 2000 and I started dabbling; over the years that dabbling became more enthusiastic and what was once an ember became a roaring fire! Yoga has been my constant companion through career changes, many moves, through difficulty (and reconciliation) within my marriage, through having children – and through addiction and then, many years of continuous sobriety. Yoga has never, ever let me down!

Sam: What's the most valuable lesson you've learned from your own practice? (To date!)

AH: I had to learn to love my body so incredibly deeply that it no longer mattered how well I "performed" in a pose - or what I looked like to anyone who might be watching. I feel like for years I struggled and then one day it clicked.

I credit a previous teacher, Dawn, with my growth in this way. She looked like the stereotypical "influencer"-type yoga teacher - slender, perfect skin, an impeccable tasteful yoga wardrobe. I felt like this kind of goofy ogre when I first started going to her classes. But she was so absolutely genuine, she deeply resonated with yoga practice, and she treated me with as much love and consideration as any other student. I aspire to help my students feel as good as she made me feel!

Sam: I think there's a lot of misconceptions out there about what yoga is – I'd love to hear a little bit more about what yoga means to you, and some of the common misconceptions about yoga?

Fitspo culture - including orthorexia and fatphobia - has gobbled up yoga in a big way so that if you go to a class you may indeed get more of a "workout" mentality, that sort of striving fixation - people treating their bodies with disdain - or even aggression! The thing is, no one can hold that kind of attitude for very long - it's draining on the mind, body, and spirit. It's an unnecessary and harmful mentality.

I think what I'd say is this: yoga is about five thousand years old. No one practitioner, instructor or guru could EVER fully explore and understand all there is to know! A good yoga instructor will treat each student with care and consideration, and will continue to deepen their education in a steady way. Look for those teachers - and support them!

Sam: One of the things I love is your writing – I think you have a way of capturing ideas that make me think more deeply every time I read a newsletter or blog post of yours. I'd be curious who inspires your writing?

AH: Thank you so much for saying this! I've been writing since I was a child. My writing is primarily inspired by my deep, unshakable joy being alive on this planet! I mean - it's amazing! I've had so many adventures it's almost impossible to figure out who and what has inspired me most - but probably unschooing our children (who are now 21 and 19) is a forerunner. My children taught me more about Creativity, joy and fortitude than anyone else!

For inspiration I also appreciate vintage sci-fi and horror movies, impossibly precise sewing (tailoring work), loud rock music, and the amazing Thich Nhat Hanh. These things bring me to life - I find I always have something to say when I sit down with proverbial pen and paper!

Sam: I'd love to hear some of your favorite activities to unwind and relax yourself!

AH: I work hard all day doing so many fun things - designing and sewing, coaching other Creative entrepreneurs, practicing and teaching yoga. By the end of the day I usually feel spent - in a good way! My favorite way to unwind is to take a hot shower, dress in my coziest clothing for bed, and to finish the day with a meditation (I am currently using Insight Timer which I highly recommend).

I also enjoy sewing - just for fun and just for myself! - snuggling with our cats, walks with my husband and our grown children, as well as - of course - watching horror movies. (Believe it or not, I find those incredibly relaxing!)

Extra Credit Superlatives:

What's one life changing product under $25 you'd recommend? A large metal insulated carafe - I make up an herbal tea, sweeten with a little agave, and drink all day!

Most delicious bite of food lately? This last week we made some vegan lamingtons - my first time trying a recipe. They turned out gorgeous and delicious - perfect with my morning coffee!

Scariest movie? Well I love scary movies! A couple that really got my goat: I Am The Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016), and Midsommar (2019), and The Stranger (2022) got me pretty good. I post a movie diary on Letterboxd including spoiler-free reviews - if you'd ever like to connect!

Good Writing by Agni: Let's Get Real About Meditation, 7 Things I Love My Students to Do, 12 Things People Get Wrong About Sobriety

Find Agni outside of Ompractice at:

• Instagram: @Littleswitchyoga
• Bespoke Hogaboom
• Yoga Site and Blog: Little Switch Yoga
• B-movie lovers: https://www.bmoviebffs.com/
• Yoga Newsletter