User of the Month: Paris James, Entrepreneur + Yoga Instructor Apprentice
☀️ paris james
📚 entrepreneur, yoga instructor apprentice
🌊 trinidad and tobago
In sunny Trinidad and Tobago, Alo Moves user Paris James is hard at work teaching multiple yoga classes a day, co-running a stationery business, and providing inspiring movement tips and tutorials on her Instagram, @theparisjames. Read on to learn more about January’s User of the Month, from learning how her background in biochemistry and neuroscience has shaped her view of her yoga practice to her best tips for starting a gratitude journal.
How long have you been practicing yoga, and what first drew you to the practice?
The first memory I have of yoga was when I was about 10 years old and my mom carried me to an outdoor class. I remember thinking it was too hard and I spent the rest of the class sleeping. Fast forward to 2016 — I had just graduated from the University of Toronto and I returned to my island to work in a medicinal chemistry lab. After spending almost four years living away from home, I felt lost and I wanted so badly to feel grounded again.
I started scrolling through Instagram and I saw a picture of @sjanaelise doing a wheel pose. The idea immediately popped into my head to try it as well. Without any knowledge or prior practise, I attempted the wheel and realized it was much harder than I thought. I was immediately excited by the challenge and started reading and researching ways to learn and practise yoga at home. That’s when I found Alo Moves. Being from such a small island in the Caribbean, I was immensely grateful to have access to so many videos right in the comfort of my room, and to be able to soak up knowledge from such a wide range of teachers. I became addicted, so to speak, in my practise, and if a day went by that I didn’t do yoga, I felt cranky and unsettled. Yoga quickly became a part of my life, and I’ve never looked back since!
Do you feel like your science background has given you a unique perspective in your yoga and meditation practice?
I think I’ve always been a nerd. I was awarded an open scholarship from the government of Trinidad and Tobago that enabled me the financial freedom to study anywhere in the world. I’ve always been fascinated by the chemistry of the body, and the inner workings of the mind-body connection. I graduated with an honours double major in biochemistry and neuroscience and worked for a while in an orthopaedic clinic, an HIV/HepC immunology lab, and medicinal/pharmaceutical labs.
However, I always felt as if something was missing, and when yoga came into my life, I knew the last piece of the puzzle had finally clicked. My background in anatomy and physiology enhanced my practise, as I’m more aware of the way my body moves and the power that it holds. When we’re faced with challenges in our lives, we store that tension in our joints, and this leads to an overall uptight feeling. Yoga helps to detox our bodies and heal from inside out.
I’m also aware of how stress can affect your body, and I understand now that yoga directly lowers your stress hormones and releases other chemicals that reduce your anxiety levels as well. It increases our “happy hormones,” which leave us with a feeling of content and relaxation. I appreciate the role that both breath and movement can play in releasing tension in our bodies, our mind and thoughts, and even our hearts. On a long-term basis, it can also help to decrease inflammation, allowing us to lead healthy, happy, and longer lives.
Neuroscience also helped me to understand the mind-body connection and the power that our thoughts have in manifesting outcomes in our lives, on and off the mat. When we can visualize something, we can make it our reality. To be able to blend my love of science with the healing power of yoga is truly a blessing.
What are your favorite classes or series on Alo Moves?
Oh gosh, there’s just so many! The first Alo Moves series I ever practiced to was Talia Sutra’s Love & All is Coming. I was blown away by her fluidity and grace. I also really love every one of Naya Rappaport’s classes, and fun fact — Naya actually visited Trinidad in 2018 and I got to practice with her when I signed up for her inversions workshop. I can definitely say it was one of the highlights of my year!
Ashley Galvin (Body Blast and Core Sculpt) and Dylan Werner (True Strength and FlyStrong) are two of my other favorite instructors as their classes are dynamic and have the perfect blend of strength and flexibility. They are very dedicated in their practice and it’s almost as if you can feel their passion as you watch them move. I am very inspired by their journeys.
Walk us through a typical day in your life. When do you typically fit in yoga and meditation?
I’m an early riser, and on a typical day, I teach three to four classes. I will start off with two back-to-back classes in the morning, and I’ll wake up extra early so I can fit in a quick 15-20 minute practice for myself. After this, I head to our It's Pretty Productive office, where my sister and I create beautiful, handmade custom stationery to help all students, entrepreneurs, and girl bosses out there stay organized and live beautifully productive lives. We are very passionate about what we do, so we spend a lot of time brainstorming and working to fulfill our vision. After working at the office, I teach two more late evening classes.
While a lot of my days get super busy, I never force a practice — my number one principle is to “listen to your body.” I used to try to schedule rigorous practices daily, and it never worked out. I would end up getting frustrated and angry. Now, I just listen to what my body says. And if after my long day I feel like rolling out my mat and doing just five minutes of hip openers, then that’s all I’ll do. Other times, I’ll be doing handstand drills until 1 a.m., so it all depends! (I keep a mat rolled out next to my bed at all times to stay inspired.)
To be honest, I don’t meditate as much as I’d like to and it is a part of my practice that I am still working on. But mindfulness videos like Talia and Aubry’s meditation series on Alo Moves really help. I’ve found that if your day is busy and you don’t have a lot of time, even five minutes of some slow breathing or breathwork is enough, so don’t be hard on yourself when you’re maintaining a self-practice.
As the cofounder of It’s Pretty Productive — a stationery brand that creates planners, journals, and more — you know the importance of setting intentions and writing down goals, as well as the power of writing as a tool for reflection. Do you have any tips for starting and keeping up with a gratitude journal?
Yes! This was one of the main reasons we started It’s Pretty Productive — to create beautiful journals that help everyone write down their thoughts. I think that writing is very therapeutic, and it helps you pour all of your thoughts and emotions out on paper when you feel like they’re all jumbled in your mind.
I use a five-minute thoughts gratitude and reflection journal every night before bed. I follow prompts such as:
1) What are three things you’re grateful for today?
2) What are your positive affirmations today?
3) What is one good deed you did today/How did you share love today?
I’ve been writing in my journal daily for two years now and it has changed my life! Whenever I feel like complaining about something, writing in this journal reminds me of how blessed I am.
My advice to you would be to make gratitude a habit and part of your everyday life. Even if you just list some things that you’re grateful for out loud when you wake up or before bed, your entire perspective will change, and in turn, you will attract more blessings by being thankful for what you have.
Invest in a small journal (you can even write your own prompts) and place it close to your bedside so you’ll always see it. Make a habit of writing down your thoughts every day and don’t be hard on yourself if you forget or skip some days. Just show yourself some love and keep showing up. We tend to take so many things for granted — the ability to breathe, to move our bodies, and just the fact that we’re alive. Gratitude is extremely powerful, so I encourage you to make it a part of your life.
What are your goals for 2020?
My goals for 2020 would be to further my yoga training and teach more classes and workshops in and around the Caribbean. I would love to visit all of the smaller islands, get more people involved, and ultimately bring awareness to the power of yoga. I would also love to travel and share yoga with those that may not have the means to afford yoga classes or have access to facilities or programs that can help them.
I hope to use the Instagram platform to connect to the wider community so that we can all help each other and spread more love. The world definitely needs more healers, and I feel blessed to be able to share what I know and inspire people to show up on their mats and explore that union to their deeper selves. I would love to inspire everyone to follow their passion and to keep pursuing their goals, even when it gets tough, and to remember that what’s meant for you will follow you wherever you go. So be patient and trust that the universe will find a way.
My other goals would be to have more patience with myself, show up more consistently on my mat, and refine my practice. I would also love to travel and take some classes at @aloyoga studios so I can meet the Alo Moves instructors who continue to inspire me in my journey.
All in all, I hope 2020 brings more love, more laughter, more blessings, and of course, more Alo Moves classes!