Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophia Da Silva Hopson.
Sophia, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I come from a super diverse and multi-cultural family and I attribute my deep love of humanity and the unseen to these roots. Growing up, I admired Oprah and my two aunts who immigrated from Brazil. I admired there perseverance and resiliency to learn a new language, adapt to a new culture and put themselves through law and medical school. With these 3 influences, I dreamed big! I thought I would grow up and get a JDMBA. Instead, I pursued a degree in Journalism (that Oprah influence really captivated me) a Masters degree in Leadership and became a yoga teacher. The practice of yoga took me by surprise. I never, in a million years thought this would be my path. In fact, when I did my first yoga teacher training, I had no desire to become a teacher, I was interested in learning more about yoga. I was not “good” at yoga, the more I learned, the more humbled I became. I was a neophyte. In my first semester of grad school at the University of San Diego, the person I was up until that point was completely dismantled. In the midst of this massive identity shift, I heard a pretty clear voice, call to teach yoga. This made no logical sense. Who was I to teach, let alone, teach the practice of yoga? I tried to ignore the call but the call got louder and my resistance to listening increased. I truly learned “what we resist persists.” I had a moment of clarity one day and realized that teaching was not about having to prove that I was the best nor that I was the expert. Teaching, as I defined it, was an opportunity to share, to learn to love unconditionally, to serve, to give. I grew up in the world of competitive swimming. I had this deeply ingrained pathway that in order to be anything in the world, I had to be number 1. When I surrendered this and zoomed out, what I realized was that this was not true. Yoga taught me so much and I simply wanted to become a guide, a bridge to help others benefit from this sacred and transformative practice. That was the beginning of my leap of faith into teaching yoga despite the judgments of peers, professors, and family.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Is anything worth doing a smooth road? Absolutely not. There have been plenty of struggles along the way. The biggest one for me being Self-Doubt. I found my yoga home at MOSAIC Yoga. MOSAIC yoga is owned by 3 remarkable souls. They are extraordinary teachers. When I was presented with the opportunity to teach at MOSAIC, I was so intimidated. I asked them to go through their yoga teacher training first and they said NO! They believed in me and knew that what I really needed was the opportunity to get my teaching reps in. My first taught class at MOSAIC was a disaster. I was convinced no one would show up the following week. To my surprise, people showed up. Teaching is such a humbling profession. There is a constant becoming. The moment, I think, “I’ve got this,” is the moment that I am given another test. For example, when I showed up to teach a noon class at MOSAIC and no one showed up. That was a huge test for me. I called up one of the owners, Melissa Love-Glidden and cried my eyes out. I told her I was not cut for this work and that this path was not for me. She assured me that it was not personal. She encouraged me to trust, to have faith and to keep showing up. Thank goodness for her and for the other founders. They held that belief in me until I was able to hold it for myself. The struggles are where we grow the most and having mentors in your corner who truly believe in you is essential.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
MOSAIC Yoga is a special place. It embodies the mosaic, embracing that our community, the practice of yoga and our teachers form a beautiful, multi-dimensional, colorful whole. It is a place where we come together to train in mind, body, and soul in an effort to be more awake, uplifted, virtuous humans in the world. I think what sets us apart is that our teachers have a desire to learn, to grow and become. We know that we can only inspire to the degree that we are doing our own work. We are inspired by one another, by our community and by the path itself. Most of all WE LOVE what we do and we receive so much more than we give.
My specialty is in building community and in teaching yoga as a lived, embodied practice. My teaching is a blend of mind/body integration and a strong emphasis on Soul.
I combined my love of yoga, humans, and connection into a podcast this year called, Om My Goodness. The heart of this project is to inspire more goodness in peoples lives. The podcast focuses on demystifying yoga and spirituality through spirited conversation.
What were you like growing up?
I touched upon this earlier, but I was a very curious kid. I had a huge sense of wonder. My dad really played into this wonder I had. He would always ask me “Sophia, where were you before you decided to come into this family?” He was asking me “where do we come from?” You can imagine what this cultivates in a child! I was fascinated by human beings, always super curious by everyone’s’ story. I was very protective of my older brother. I witnessed a lot of injustices that happened to him. He was bullied and if I was present to the bullying I stepped in to give his peers a piece of my mind. Swimming and beach volleyball occupied a lot of my time as a kid. I ultimately choose swimming over volleyball and this decision really shaped me. On a lighter note, I loved the beach and going to the beach or lake (Lake Michigan) with my family are some of my fondest memories.
Pricing:
- 2 weeks for $20 (MOSAIC Intro special)
Contact Info:
- Address: 811 25th St #102
San Diego, CA 92102 - Website: exploremosaic.com
- Phone: 619.453.2291
- Email: sophie@exploremosaic.com
- Instagram: soph_A
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophie.abdennabi
Image Credit:
Cavagnaro Photography, Katie Burke
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