Adriene Mishler is an American yoga teacher, actress, and entrepreneur, best known as the creator and host of the YouTube channel Yoga With Adriene. In 2012, she partnered with producer Chris Sharpe to launch Yoga With Adriene, aiming to make yoga accessible to people of all backgrounds. She now has over 13 million subscribers on her YouTube channel and co-founded Find What Feels Good, a subscription-based yoga platform offering an extensive library of yoga materials. She is a constant inspiration to many in their quest to take advantage of the many physical and mental benefits of yoga.

1. How did you start your own journey with yoga which has lead to such a large following online?

My journey with yoga began while growing up in Austin, Texas, amongst a community of artists who were all using elements of yoga in some way to support them physically, mentally, and spiritually. I was led to the physical practice of yoga asana first, while trying to build and maintain strength and stamina as a young aspiring professional stage actor. This was when I was 17, when I began going to classes regularly while simultaneously taking a Kundalini course in college. I soon enrolled in teacher training, which is where I received the great honor and privilege of learning yoga beyond just what westerners were doing in the studio. I still study today. It is my intention that my devotion to the whole practice of yoga, beyond just asana and pranayama, and my dedication to continued learning shows up in the various ways I choose to share the practice, including what I share online.

2. What is your vision for growing and nurturing the Yoga With Adriene community?

My vision for the evolution and expansion of Yoga With Adriene is to continue to nurture the mission of providing high-quality and free yoga to as as many people as possible. Through the Yoga With Adriene (YWA) YouTube channel we have aimed to reach not just one type of person, but all types of people. In fact, the channel is built for accessibility, and for those people who might need yoga the most… but typically get it the least. I want the YWA space to remain a loyal library to return to, like a good friend, for many, and I want to continue to create practices for the people we are and the world we live in today.

For those who wish to go a little deeper in their yoga studies, which many do after a little regular home practice, we continue to nurture and develop Find What Feels Good space, which is a subscription app that provides a virtual practice and community space for members to practice, train, and learn more about the philosophy, history, and principles of yoga. Through interdisciplinary practice and a compassionate community, this space really does serve a unique opportunity for one to have both meaningful connection and continued learning that feels like it can be practically applied to everyday life.

3. For someone intrigued about the practice of yoga and starting out as a beginner, what would you say?

For the intrigued beginner, I would say you are in the perfect spot to begin yoga. 

A beginner’s mind offers so much of what the practice as a whole has to offer, which is often centered around the concept of doing less and observing more. Only by practicing self-awareness are we able to proceed in finding use of the myriad tools yoga has to offer. Many often think they have to be good at yoga to do yoga. They feel they have to be flexible, thin, focused. It is not true. Yoga, quite beautifully, asks you to be you. And to not cheat on that. 

To show up and pay attention to your senses. These experiences can evolve into more exercises both on and off the mat – but the truth is to really practice yoga, all you have to do is show up.