Meet Trailblazer Rhonda Geraci

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rhonda Geraci.

Rhonda, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
We are all a product of innumerable moments and tiny decisions. Genetically, I come from a long line of self-starters. At one time or another, my mother, father, and all my siblings had companies of their own. Today, my oldest sister, Carol is a communications contractor for a state university, my brother Richard’s company recycles plastics. My sister, Maribeth travels the U.S. with Dress Code to teach Fortune 1000 executives what to wear to convey their personal and professional brand. My youngest sister, Michelle creates interiors at Geraci Design House to support the lifestyle her customers want to live. I work with individuals and small businesses to shape the core of who they are and what they have to offer with the aid of traditional brand storytelling, metaphysical techniques, and Iyengar Yoga.

My life didn’t follow a predictable path. I studied at universities in Washington, D.C., Texas, New York, and Georgia; trained as a ballet dancer for 23 years, and studied yoga for over 19 years and counting. I worked in the marketing research department at Ms. when Gloria Steinem was at the helm. I worked as a copywriter for David Ogilvy’s ad agency in New York along with others there and in Atlanta before establishing Rhonda Geraci Creative Consulting, LLC. My proudest moments include bringing my remarkable son Cole into the world, helping to build international awareness of the childhood obesity epidemic, becoming a Certified Iyengar Yoga Instructor, and writing young adult novels like Ration of Dreams. I am a perpetual student of art, metaphysics, religion, science, philosophy, and yoga. Iyengar Yoga put all my learning into alignment and opened up a vehicle to share my journey along with the excellent teachers who are a part of it.

My most recent venture,  yogaconnections.org is a small link with the Kriyā or call to action, connect to yourself, and you connect to everything. I offer affordable, time-sensitive lessons that introduce people to the practices, insights, and experiences that will connect them to themselves. The Iyengar Method of yoga that I introduce to prospective students was established by the renown teacher, BKS Iyengar. His teaching method is a systematic way to guide students of all stages of health, fitness, and wellbeing regardless of age, gender, height, weight, color or belief into a profound understanding of themselves and the world around them.

I found BKS Iyengar’s method after I injured myself in a different type of yoga. I let my ego push me into a posture farther than my body had the strength to go. It put me out of commission for almost six months. Robert Joiner (Neuromuscular Masseuse/Yoga Instructor/6th Degree Black Belt, and soon-to-be PA) put me on the Iyengar Yoga path. Daily classes with Robert deepened my practice. He suggested I go to Stillwater Yoga to train more. Owner Kathleen Pringle is one of the most Senior Certified Iyengar Instructors in the Southeast and the best-kept secret in Atlanta. I created her Still it tagline to encourage practitioners and yoga teachers of all yoga disciplines to take advantage of the Iyengar instruction available in Atlanta. I have trained with Kathleen and her other outstanding instructors like Kquvien DeWeese and Nancy Mau. I joined the Iyengar National Association and recently stepped down from my four-year post as web chair for the Iyengar Southeast Association where I built a new web resource for Iyengar students. I attended conventions and workshops with the most advanced Iyengar instructors in the U.S. I also traveled to experience classes in other places around the world like Paris and Amsterdam. I attended a two-week intensive with Dr. Geeta Iyengar and finally trained long enough to be accepted into the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India, which I attended for a month last summer. The more I studied, practiced, and taught the more I discovered about myself. No one can tell you what route that will take.

I got rid of almost everything I owned. I stored the rest in a 10×15 storage bin. I drove across the United States alone, and then traveled far outside it, thanks to a dear friend who offered me her buddy pass. During my journey, I practiced yoga in silence wherever I landed. What I learned during this process led to my desire to build a way to introduce the Iyengar Method to those who don’t feel they have the time or means to start a practice. By nature, the Iyengar Method is hands-on instruction taught in a studio. However, yogaconnections.org is designed to be a precursor to the studio. It introduces and engages students where they are with one-on-one, small group, and online courses. It is meant to give students lessons and practices, so they can go into any Iyengar studio around the world and feel confident they have some experience under their belt. My coursework can also serve as a resource to review, repeat, and refine learning for practicing students or introductory level teachers.

BKS Iyengar dedicated his life to finding a way for the average person to experience the transformative powers of yoga. In India, they call a teacher a Guru, which is a Sanskrit word that means someone who removes darkness. In life, nothing happens in a vacuum. It happens with interdependent mathematical virtuosity which catalyzes a myriad of actions and reactions, causing gravity and anti-gravity, matter and anti-matter, bright stars, black holes, and solar flares. It churns our energy until we remember how to resonate on the non-dualistic harmonic state of love. I believe the Iyengar Method can wake up our collective memory faster and foster habits that will align us to evolve in a more positive direction.

Has it been a smooth road?
Is any road smooth? There is a saying, “luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” It’s credited to the Roman philosopher, Seneca. No one knows how much time that preparation will take. It could take ten to twenty years or more. We can’t measure our success by a calculator, calendar, or clock. Our biggest challenges are inside us. Focus on conquering those and you will be successful.

We’d love to hear more about your blog.
My blog for yogaconnections.org consists of articles that connect students to Iyengar Yoga, its teachers, classes, and my own experiences. I also bring in information that can foster connections to the practice and other aspects of life. What sets yogaconnections.org apart is it is meant to help a prospective student who doesn’t feel they have time to begin a yoga practice learn what to expect in an Iyengar Yoga studio. I offer one-on-one, group workshops, online courses that take them through history, basic terminology, and introductory poses. It is meant to give students lessons and practices, so they can go into any Iyengar studio around the world and feel confident they have some experience under their belt. My coursework also serves as a resource to review, repeat, and refine learning for practicing students or introductory level teachers. I also help students understand themselves better through metaphysical techniques like astrology. A personal brand begins to build from their newfound self-awareness. When a student can learn to be their authentic self, that is empowerment, and that is when I know I have done my job.

Do you feel like there was something about the experiences you had growing up that played an outsized role in setting you up for success later in life?
My family and their entrepreneurial spirit played a huge role. I also feel discipline is something I learned early on as a ballerina that continues to serve me in every aspect of my life. I studied every day from a very young age and was in a regional company by age eleven.