Something About Ali Campbell

Ali Campbell began her yoga practice nearly fifteen years ago in Los, Angeles, California, and like many practitioners found her way there through sports. An avid soccer player who competed in Serie C-level (semi-professional) soccer for Casalinia in Italy, Ali turned to yoga to achieve balance, greater flexibility and a gentler approach to physical activity. She completed a yoga instructor program at Starseed Yoga and Healing in Montclair, New Jersey, learning from the late Jyoti Chrystal, the founder of Starseed.

Central to Ali’s purposeful life is teaching. Ali was a graduate student earning a master’s degree in education the day she entered her first yoga class. She then taught in California’s public schools, New Jersey preschools, and in Rome for more than ten years until parenthood interrupted her teaching career. Since 2006, she has led Hatha yoga classes in studios, private homes, schools and houses of worship, as well as at Starseed, Garden State Yoga, and the Helen and Bill Geyer Family YMCA, all in the Montclair, New Jersey, area. In addition, Ali brings yoga to her son and daughter’s classrooms as a parent volunteer.

Balancing Act

Ali’s yoga students describe her teaching style as accessible, caring and open. She connects as well to high school rowers as she does mothers-to-be, and in all of her classes Ali emphasizes inner body awareness and outer body alignment, along with healthy realism. She accomplishes a balanced approach to instruction, inspiring students to move past prior barriers but to also forgive occasional limitations. Over more than a decade, she has applied her experience to developing a more complete personal practice whereby meditation has greater presence.

A Sporting Life

Ali believes in the usefulness of athleticism from an early age, particularly as a gateway to the mind-body connection. Athletics continue to play an important role in her life and that of her family. She is a former All-American and collegiate swimmer who now competes in triathlons when she can find time to train. Beyond yoga, Ali practices home gardening, coaches her son’s soccer team, makes pancakes with her kids and husband, and finds the occasional hour for herself, preferably in a coffee shop with a good book. She believes fully in the potential of every individual to find inner peace through yoga, no matter what path leads to the mat.

Giving Thanks

Ali is grateful to her guides, among them the practice of yoga; kindergarten teacher Ruth Kleindinst; fifth grade teacher Rexine Krause; education professor Sara Willoughby-Herb; the community of yogis who continue to instruct, challenge and inspire her; Jyoti Chrystal, for opening the door; Christopher Ray, Lisa Rotell, Beth Schultz and Jillian Pransky for their teachings; the city of Rome where she learned to surrender comfort, embrace language beyond words, and receive acceptance; her mother, Phyllis, who wove together honesty and love; her father, Al, who taught her the importance of hard work; her two little gurus, Luca and Evie; and her loving partner, Ryan, without whom none of this would be worthwhile.