Voted one of Austin’s best yoga teachers in 2013, Zoe Mantarakis is known for her unique way of blending yoga philosophy, sanskrit and precision alignment into powerful and meaningful expressions on the yoga mat that challenge adventurous beginners as well as advanced practitioners. If you’re looking to catch up with her in person, come see her at Wanderlust Austin, November 6-9!
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Wanderlust: What do you want to be when you grow up?
Zoe Mantarakis: Happy, liberated, free.
WL: What did your child self want to be when you grew up?
ZM: I always knew I’d be a philosopher and look at me now: studying Sanskrit, the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras and contemplating the meaning of life in my daily morning meditation. Lucky me; I got it right on my first try. It’s just proof that the universe has a plan for us and it’s our job simply to let it unfold. Blessings truly abound.
WL: What is your favorite funny video?
ZM: These are my kids…
WL: What is your your personal theme song?
ZM: This is my anthem:
WL: What is your biggest fear?
ZM: Lack of abundance; that there isn’t enough love in the world. Thank God it’s a delusional fear! Reality is: there is plenty of love. There is only love. In fact, only love is real. Phew! I’m putting that fear to bed and basking in some real razzle dazzle love, and I’m not wasting another moment in the delusional fear that there isn’t enough.
WL: What is your favorite yoga pose?
ZM: Can I pick two favorites? Lotus Handstand ’cause it’s fancy and took me years to accomplish and it’s a jewel in my crown. Sukhasana “easy seat” meditation pose because I do it every single day and it saves my ass every day because it’s where I find my connection to God and to reality.
WL: What is your least favorite yoga pose?
ZM: No such thing. It’s all yoga.
WL: What has been your most embarrassing moment as a yoga student?
ZM: I tooted in class! and they heard. True story, yo!
WL: What do you love about what you do?
ZM: What I do is mother my sons, speak my truth in often awkward attempts at grace, strive to have fun, dedicate myself to serving others, and make choices that best shepherd my body and soul safely through this world into the next. What I love about what I do is that it all brings me in loving contact with God and the dazzling reality of my own true nature which is that I am one with the Universe.
WL: What challenges you about what you do?
ZM: It sure is easy to get wrapped up in fear & ego. That’s a challenge I strive to overcome on a daily basis. Thank goodness for friends who are mirrors & the peace I find in submitting to a daily practice.