Today we’d like to introduce you to Stefanie Tovar.
Stefanie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I began practicing Yoga as a touring Performing Artist to help me find a sense of home no matter where work took me. As I continued to travel, the appeal of that lifestyle began to wear off and I felt incredibly disconnected from the world around me and even more removed from the feeling that I was contributing well to the world. Back in elementary school, I remember falling in Love with Martin Luther King Jr. and really heeded his words “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, “What are you doing for others?” That quote was a constant mantra in my mind as I was beginning life as an adult.
Words like this and tragedy inspired me to journey back home to Texas to reconnect with my family and myself, and so I decided to dive deeper into my Yoga Practice. I figured I could get my Yoga Certification to be able to have more flexibility and ease when I return to NYC for auditioning and touring life again… but Yoga and meeting my husband called me home for good.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have a traveling spirit! I still aspire to travel to bring my love for Yoga and the arts to communities far and wide. The difference now is that I am blessed to have a grounding heartbeat in the home that has been made with my husband and our daughter… and a steadier beat of purpose in my heart.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Many struggles and that is what makes now feel especially sweet!
As I said, tragedy inspired me to move to Dallas to be with family. I was initially moving quickly towards “success” in my performance field and my family feared that I was experiencing a life crisis in my choice to move home. They staged an intervention. That clearly didn’t work! haha! They thought I was severely depressed and they thought that due to the tragedy I was giving up my dreams. Was I severely depressed? Sure! I suddenly lost my first love to suicide and I was mourning this loss a great deal. His sudden death also reminded me to cease the day and to pave my own path towards purpose rather than doing what everyone was expecting of me and resenting the process. When I made this choice, my theatre community at the time thought it was a phase and called me back to the road many times. It was VERY hard to shed the expectations and excited dreams people had placed on me… it still creeps up on me sometimes.
My husband and I moved from Dallas to the New Braunfels area and there I decided to focus purely on Yoga. It was a beautiful respite away from my performance self… and that peace helped me heal from all of the pressure I had put on myself to fake my happiness for the sake of “success”.
I also had many times where I tried to reject my husband’s love when we were early in our relationship. I tried to run away many times to what was familiar. My inpatient husband remarkably has A LOT of patience with me, and I am so grateful for that.
Please tell us about Stefanie Tovar Yoga.
I currently facilitate Yoga through the DFW area and love to weave philosophy into the practice. I prefer to consider a peak state of being rather than a peak pose, and my goal is to inspire support, connection and love for all I get to lead through a Yoga practice.
I also offer live music in every Final Relaxation with a beautiful instrument from India, the harmonium. I vocally accompany this instrument with great hopes of inspiring love, support, and healing through a path of Yoga called Bhakti Yoga, a Yoga of Devotion and Connection. I have also recorded a Yoga Music Album, “Shine a Light” so that these sounds can stay in people’s ears and hearts between sessions. The album is available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music and is also available in CD form through my website which also includes sounds that aren’t streaming, including the words of Dr. Maya Angelou that officially called me home to Texas.
www.stefanietovar.com/
I also have recently founded a Yoga Outreach Nonprofit, Hanuman Homies. Hanuman Homies focuses on helping us take Yoga off the mat and into the community by supporting those already serving our vulnerable communities through donation drives and Yoga events to help raise funds and awareness as well as offering Yoga in communities interested in learning about Yoga. My heartstrings especially reside with children and we are a steady presence with the children at Jonathan’s Place. This community offers shelter and services for children in and out of Foster Care and CPS. Yesterday in final relaxation, I told the kiddos that I will sing them a lullaby for final relaxation… and just like that, I got to watch the children soften to love. This is a great gift for me too! I get to witness over and over again the loving power that small gestures like this can bring. And this is what I hope people can experience also with Hanuman Homies.
www.hanumanhomies.com
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I need to admit that my childhood is not loaded with happy memories, which I believe is why I can closely identify with our youth in need of love and support through my non-profit, Hanuman Homies.
I do remember quite intently when I first discovered the healing benefits of sharing my heart through song. I was 7 and I was recruited to be a part of a professional company in San Antonio for musical theatre. I was the only Latina in the company and our family wasn’t very well off and it was evident in the rehearsal room. The girls bullied me often and harshly.
I often cried to my mother about this and wanted to quit my first year. My mother encouraged me to finish off the year and especially my commitment to my performance in the Spring Show.
I had a solo and the music director took me under her wing. She had me lit by a spotlight and directed me to sing up into the light for the performance, focusing on the light despite the cruelty of the girls. That first performance got me hooked, as I instantly realized how deep connection to music can help us transcend whatever harm or darkness we may be experiencing. Singing in this way was therapeutic for me from an early age… and I hope my offerings of sounds can help others find that release also.
Pricing:
- My CD of Current Yoga Sounds Starts at $10
- Private Session of Yoga Movement starts at $80
- Private Session of Bhakti Yoga (Sounds/Harmonium) starts at $90
Contact Info:
- Website: www.stefanietovar.com
- Email: stefanietovaryoga@gmail.com
- Instagram: bhakti_yogastef
- Facebook: facebook.com/steftovaryoga
- Other: non-profit: www.hanumanhomies.com
Image Credit:
Esther H Photography, Danielle Doby, Austin Denny, Ashley Newman Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
