Interview with Singer/Songwriter (and Yogi) Tristan Prettyman

2Nov Ashley Erickson Interviews One comment

Tristan Prettyman is a singer/songwriter based in San Diego, CA. Besides spending time with her music, she is an avid surfer (she has competed in surf competitions and even spent a short time as a Roxy girl) and has recently started training to become a certified yoga teacher. I have only tried yoga once or twice, so after reading Tristan’s blog, I was interested in learning more about her experiences with yoga and what it has offered her. I had the privilege to interview her about her transition into yoga, the Wanderlust Festival she recently attended and what goes in to her teacher training. In the photo above, Tristan plays during Savasana in her friend’s class at the Wanderlust Festival, an experience which you can read about in her interview below [Photo Credit: Epic PhotoJournalism].

Interview with Tristan Prettyman

When did you get into yoga – was it something you felt you needed? Did you fall in love with it immediately or did it take time finding the right class, instructor, etc.?

Tristan: “I actually had tried it when I was younger, but felt like I never had the patience for it. I always felt like it moved too slow for me. The meditation and spiritual aspect of it intimidated me. It wasn’t until I ran into a younger brother of a friend of mine a little over 3 years ago that I decided to give it another shot.

As I remember, a couple of friends and I went out on Halloween night to get some ice cream and we ran into our friend’s younger brother; he used be the scrawniest kid on the surf team. My friends and I were all checking out this guy from behind, and when he turned around, we were all in shock. He looked completely different; like a man, and a strong one. He looked beautiful. Immediately I asked what the heck happened to him, as last time we had seen him he was this scrawny little kid. He said yoga. Hot yoga, to be exact. He said he had been going to this studio in town and it totally changed his life. He started going because he had an injury that he was trying to heal, but then he got hooked, he went on to get his teacher training and was now teaching. I was sold. Hot guys, doing yoga? I’m in.

The next week I rolled down to the studio, Yoga Tropics, and I signed up. I went in earlier in the day, cause I had about a 1,001 questions. “Will I pass out? How hot is the room? Where is the coolest spot in the room? Should I do a private first? How will I know if i’m doing the postures right? What should I wear? What do I need? How much water should I drink before? during? after?” I was so nervous for my first class; the studio’s answer to all my questions: “Just jump in. Just go. You will figure it out. And if you are doing a posture and it hurts, come out of it.” So that was that. I just kinda jumped in head first. I’ve been addicted ever since.

This style of yoga is heated, and similar to Bikram but not as strict. It’s definitely a work out, and you sweat A LOT. It’s also very therapeutic and healing. Personally, for me, I love it. The heat is such a teacher of patience and has taught me that our bodies are so much more resilient than our minds give credit for. Yoga has totally transformed my life. I took it in on a time when I had just decided to take a break from music. I cannot wait to see how it affects and supports my music and touring once I get back on the road. Plus, its totally changed my body, my diet and the thoughts and dreams I cultivate. It’s re-gridded everything for me, in the best way possible.

What made you decide to pursue teaching training? What goes in to becoming certified?

Tristan: “I think after the first year, I was so addicted; I definitely had thoughts of just becoming a yoga teacher and surfing my life away. That’s kind of my personality, I find something I love to do and I go in full on, and it either sticks or I get burnt out on it. Most things I get really burnt out on quick, but the two things that have only stuck this far are music and surfing. I decided to dedicate a little more time to personal practice and just take my time and if I was still wanting to do a teacher training, it would always be there and would happen when the time was right. At this point in time, it just felt right for me. I was finished with most of the song writing for this next album, and had a little window, until I was to start recording. So it all worked out, and the owner of the studio, Margaret Stockalper, was kinda like, “Get in there T.P.!” It was kind one of those things where I just woke up and was on my way to the first class, and was like, “OK, guess this is happening now.”The training is 200 hours. We are learning the two basic flows that the studio offers. We meet 3 days a week, for a combination of both lectures and posture clinics, and we also practice teaching mock classes, while helping practice flow, connection and dialogue. Hours are broken down into class and learning, and also we have to do a certain amount of practice hours on our own, which means I SHOULD be doing yoga everyday, or twice a day.”

You recently went to (and performed at) the Wanderlust Festival – what do you feel you get out of doing yoga in a setting like that, that you can’t get at home?

Tristan: “Oh wow. Wanderlust was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I got invited to go by my friend Katie Brauer, who is a bad ass yoga teacher in town; she submitted a video and ended up winning it and got the chance to come teach at Wanderlust. She is one of the most beautiful, amazing, and rich in spirit humans I have ever met. I think it was probably a combination of her, our group that I got to ride up there with and the setting that made for an absolutely stellar couple of days. I guess the difference of being at a festival like that and being at home, is that at the festival you are completely submerged in the yoga. It’s all you have to worry about doing and which classes you are going to take and when. There are literally hundreds of classes offered each day, plus hiking and massage, lectures from some of the most renowned yoga teachers on the planet, and at night they have big concerts that you can check out. I think my favorite memory of the festival, well actually I have two, but the first was getting to take Seane Corns class with about 800 other people while Michael Franti played an acoustic set during the class. I was literally so moved, I started crying and laughing at the same time, jumping up and down and all around, while moving in and out yoga poses. In that moment, I was so freaking happy, just on Cloud 9. Then Michael Franti led us though Savasana, which was pretty incredible. He has so much resonance in his voice, that you couldn’t help but just be hypnotized into the deepest rest of your life. My other favorite memory, was when my friend Katie asked me to come play during her Savasana. We all got up at the crack of dawn to take her class on the last day, and at the end while everyone moved into Savasana I grabbed my guitar and did a bit of instrumental guitar and improvised some lyrics. It was one of those moments where I knew I was exactly where I needed to be, giving exactly what I had been born to share with people.

For anyone that loves yoga, music, and nurturing yourself in the presence of nature, I highly recommend Wanderlust.”

Yoga is usually viewed as a personal experience because it involves so much focus and introspection, but there can be such a community aspect, too – as with the festivals. Did you expect to connect with such a large yoga community when you started? Or were you trying to find more personal balance?

Tristan: “I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I had one friend that did some yoga, but she was going to a different studio that was a lot more mellow. I feel like I kind of went off on my own path, not really knowing what I would find. The day I went into the studio to sign up, the girl behind the desk was like “Hey, I know you! I love your music!” After that everyone put together I was the ‘singer girl’, and it was like I had an instant new family of amazing people around me. As I began to practice and connect with other students and teachers, I just kept meeting more and more people – and now that I think of it, those people are more my community and family more than anyone out there. When I go into the class to practice, it is most definitely ‘me time’. I have walked into a class, rolled my mat out and gone straight into child’s pose, done the whole class, and it is not until I am rolling my mat up that I have realized that four of my friends were around me.Every class is so different, even if you are doing the same flow every time. I have been in classes before where energetically it’s just draining and feels wobbly like everyone is all over the place, and other times you can be in a class that feels like the group is moving through water, slow and graceful with breath, together, in sync. I love every part of it. It’s all part of the experience, and all part of the journey.”

How would you say yoga affects you and influences your music and your surfing?

Tristan: “Surfing was the first place I saw immediate change. Yoga does so much to strengthen and tone you and work your core, that when I would go surfing, I would start to notice my strength was just rock solid, and my balance and stability is better than it has ever been. As far as music, I wouldn’t say it necessarily changes the content, but more than anything yoga has affected how I take on life. It’s really helped me to slow down and sit back, instead of rushing into things. Breathing has really helped my singing. I noticed on this last tour we did: I would look at the set song by song. Start the song, be in the song, be present with it, and when it was done, leave it and move on, and not bring anything that came up in the last song, into the new song or next part of the set. Emotionally that was so amazing, cause it took all my anxiety and nervousness away, and just let me stay really present with the music, my band and the audience. It didn’t feel so rushed, or like “OMG, what’s next?” In the past, I tended to be really in my head and even thinking about other things while I was singing, so yoga has essentially taught me the true meaning of: ‘Be Here Now.’”

What type of class would you recommend for someone who wants to try yoga? Do you think it varies by person or what they are looking for?

Tristan: “I definitely think it depends on the person. If you try something and you don’t like it, don’t just toss all yoga into the garbage. Each style, practice, studio and teacher offers something new. I feel like I got really lucky stumbling into Yoga Tropics like I did. I’ve gone to a couple other studios in town, but Yoga Tropics is where my heart is most happy. I think it’s important to just get out there and try whatever you feel called to. A lot of studios offer really great first week deals, so you can try it out and see if you like it. Personally for me, I love to sweat and I love a good workout, and I love stretching my body out in the heat. But there is also something to be said about building the heat from within and doing a non-heated class. You just gotta get out there and try it all. You may have to go to six classes, studios and teachers, before you find one that clicks. But it’s so worth it when you do find that space and place that works for you.”

To keep up with Tristan Prettyman (as she works on a new album!), you can read her blog and follow her on Twitter.