Tell Me All About It: Q&A with Peg Mulqueen

Today, I'd like to introduce you to Peg Mulqueen, the go-to teacher in the DC area for Ashtanga Yoga. In the past, she was all about Rocket Yoga, and as of late, she's all about Mysore, but one thing's for certain--Peg is a total yogic rockstar (she's also a writer! Yay!). 

Peg has an inspiring blog all about her yogic journey over on her website, and I find that I can often totally relate to what she's talking about when she shares the recent lessons that she's learned on the mat. After hearing about her from numerous students over the years and reading her blog for quite a while, I realized that I wanted to know more about Peg, so I asked her to Tell Me All About It. She obviously agreed to do so, and thus, today's post!

You can read below for the inside scoop on all things Madame Mulqueen (prepare to be inspired!):

What's your yoga story? What made you want to start teaching?
I've never hidden the fact that it was Madonna's chiseled arms that got me into my first yoga class.  I had recently come out of a very unhealthy relationship and needed to tap into the strength and vitality I'd lost along the way.  As my body grew strong, my mind and spirit came along for the ride.

Before teaching yoga, I was a counselor.  But yoga is the most powerful form of therapy I've experienced.  Every day, we practice.  Yoga is an exercise of awareness and change.   And the courage, compassion, endurance, and strength we develop through practice does not stay on our mat - it creeps into our lives and makes us better human beings.  

So I guess you could say, I traded my couch for a mat.  :)

What inspires you?
Everything!  Haha! But mostly people inspire me.  I'm inspired by people who are not afraid to look foolish by trying something new ... by those whose hearts remain open despite having suffered ... and by those who are bold and care enough to put themselves out there to make this world better.  They remind me falling is not failing, vulnerability is a strength, and no kindness is ever wasted.

What's your writing/creative process like?
The creative process mostly begins when I'm NOT in front of my computer.  And I'm sure it won't surprise you to know, it's often during or after practice when my mind is most open and receptive.  Then I rush home and try to do a quick brain dump onto my computer before I forget!  

But my writing process can appear rather chaotic as I often have multiple documents and windows open (embarassingly enough, this includes Facebook), and a desk cluttered with papers and books. Partly becuase I'm usually working on 3 or 4 pieces of copy at the same time.  I do have a method that I won't bore you with here nor will I pretend it's the most efficient.  But I meet my deadlines and keep my editors both busy and happy.  

If you had to give one piece of advice to women (or men!) who want to take the plunge and pursue their dreams of working for themselves or starting their own business or blog, what would it be?
First - you must be able to answer this one question:  why?  And if to make a viable living is not one part of that answer, then make it part of your answer.  Because it's that piece that will make the other pieces work.  I know that sounds terribly unyogic of me, but I've found too many incredibly well-intentioned, creative and beautiful souls burn out because they forgot that to change the world, make a difference, follow your dreams, whatever - you first have to eat.  

So be bold.  Take risks.  Have courage.  And find a way to make sure you can still buy your groceries.

What's your favorite yoga pose?
Right now, my favorite yoga pose is a standing forward fold.  My life is so fckn crazy wonderful busy right now and my practice is SO crazy wonderful hard right now (and yes, I see the whole life-reflects-practice or vice versa, thing going on here), I really value allowing my upper body to just drape it's weight over my legs.  To let my shoulders relax, my head hang heavy, and my arms go limp.  It's quiet and comforting - and while it lasts but a a few moments, it's all the break I often need to get back at it again.  

If you could do nothing but study under one teacher for a year, who would it be and why?
David Garrigues is my teacher.  His passion and love for the Asthanga practice sparks and fuels my own.  The depth of his knowledge and his care is something that I'm am deeply thankful for as his student.  It's not possible for me to do "nothing" but study under one teacher - but I wouldn't want to either.  I study under one teacher, but I bring back something to the everything I do in life and get to watch this yoga in action where it matters most.  


What's your biggest guilty pleasure?
Breyer's mint chocolate chip ice cream.  That's an easy one!

What's your favorite book and why?
I don't finish books.  It's a problem.  Do facebook statuses count?

How do you stay balanced? How do you unwind? 
My husband and kids keep me balanced.  They remind me of what is most important in life - not my latest blog post, or Yoga Journal article, or next third series posture.  What's most important are the people I love.  And any time I can spend with them, being myself, is how I unwind from the many roles and demands of life to be just me.

What's your biggest dream for 2013?
I live a dream life - there's more?

What's your favorite part of your job?
Which job?  Doesn't matter, I'll always say the same thing:  people.  Relationships are what matter to me most, no matter what I am doing.  It's always going to be about people to me.

If you were exiled to a desert island and could only bring 3 things, what would they be (have to ask it because I love this question!)?
My husband.
My daughter.
My son.

(Good thing I don't have more kids, eh?)

What's your favorite type of music to practice to? Favorite yoga song?
You are going to get me into SO much trouble because everyone knows Ashtangi's don't practice to music ... but IF I were to play music (and I'm not saying I do or anything, but IF ... it would probably be something I stole from my daughter's spotify playlist because as a college student, she has the coolest music all the time).

Words (or quote) you live by? 
"Dreams" By xkcd:

The infinite possibilities each day holds should stagger the mind. The sheer number of experiences I could have is uncountable, breathtaking, and I'm sitting here refreshing my inbox. We lived trapped in loops, reliving a few days over and over, and we envision only a handful of paths laid out ahead of us. We see the same things each day, we respond the same way, we think the same thoughts, each day a slight variation on the last, every moment smoothly following the gentle curves of societal norms. We act like if we just get through today, tomorrow our dreams will come back to us.

And no, I don't have all the answers. I don't know how to jolt myself into seeing what each moment could become. But I do know one thing: the solution doesn't involve watering down my every little idea and creative impulse for the sake of some day easing my fit into a mold. It doesn't involve tempering my life to better fit someone's expectations. It doesn't involve constantly holding back for fear of shaking things up.

This is very important, so I want to say it as clearly as I can: FUCK. THAT. SHIT.

And if you don't believe this is what I live by, see here!  :)

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Want to learn more about Peg? Here are a few quick links:

Website/Blog: pegmulqueen.com
Twitter: twitter.com/pegmulqueen
Facebook: facebook.com/pegmulqueenyoga
Instagram: instagram.com/pegmulqueen

Thanks for taking the time to tell me all about it, Peg! 

Have any requests for other inspiring people that you'd like me to feature in this series? If so, let me know!