| Library’s Lemerise finds serenity in yoga studio
Photo by Jeff Watts |
In fall 2002, Tara Lemerise was juggling 15 credit hours and a full-time job at Bender Library. The yoga studio became her sanctuary, a place where she could check her stress at the door and focus on her mental and spiritual well-being. “At that time, it was a great outlet,” says Lemerise, the library’s personnel and accounting specialist. “It kept me together, physically and mentally.” After she graduated from AU in 2003 with a degree in philosophy, yoga moved to the forefront. “I was used to doing so much that when I finished school, I had all this time on my hands,” laughs Lemerise. “Yoga filled the void.” In January 2005, she began an intense Anusara yoga certification program, which requires 400 hours of classroom and studio work. After apprenticing at 46 classes and writing two papers, Lemerise received her certificate in December from Willow Street Yoga in Takoma Park, the country’s largest Anusara center. In lieu of paying for the $3,000 program, Lemerise worked at the studio for 15 hours per week, over the course of the year. “After all,” she says with a warm laugh, “I was used to the juggling act.” And she’s still juggling. In addition to her responsibilities at the library—which include recruiting 150 part-time student workers and tracking funds from fines and copy services—Lemerise also teaches eight yoga classes per week at the AU fitness center and Spiral Flight in Georgetown. She “gets a rush from working with students,” who include people of all ages, body types, and fitness levels. “It’s great to see their eyes light up because they feel better after a session,” she says. “We always meditate at the end, and everyone just looks so blissed out.” In addition to helping her keep her sanity and nurturing her spirituality, yoga has also helped Lemerise develop more body awareness. “Now, if my arm hurts, I’ll say, ‘OK, I know what to do to make it feel better.’ Whereas, before, I probably just would’ve lived with the pain,’” she explains. Lemerise hopes to continue the Anusara certification process (there are two levels of certification). In order to be fully certified, she will have to create a video of herself teaching, which will be critiqued by Anusara’s founder, John Friend. She’ll also have to study for 100 hours with Friend and take a 30-hour exam, which she likens to a “really bad comp exam.” “At that point, it’s more for your own growth,” she says of the program. “It’s like anything else; you never want to stop learning about something you’re passionate about.” When she’s not in the library or in the yoga studio, Lemerise is at her new home in Silver Spring with her husband of seven months, Drew, a senior reference specialist at the library. The two met as undergraduates, while studying abroad in Australia. “He doesn’t get as much fulfillment out of practicing yoga,” laughs Lemerise. “But I know I couldn’t have gotten through the program without his support.” —AF |
