Meet Desiree Rumbaugh of Yoga by Desiree in Downtown

Today we’d like to introduce you to Desiree Rumbaugh.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Desiree. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I became interested in yoga in the late eighties while I was an aerobics instructor in Orange County. This was way before yoga was cool and we were all excited about new innovations such as low impact aerobics. My interest in yoga led me to the Iyengar method and I was certified in San Diego 1994. From there I found the Anusara method and was certified in 1999. That led me to begin being invited to teach this fast-growing method of Hatha Yoga all over the country and then around the world. Twenty years later I am still teaching yoga workshops on a regular basis, almost every weekend with my husband, Andrew Rivin, who is also a certified yoga teacher and a mindfulness coach. My business has grown mostly organically through word of mouth and the people who host me are my friends as well as my students.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
During the time I was building this business, I ran a studio in Scottsdale, AZ which I started in 1992. As the invitations to teach grew in number from 2000 on, I began to feel stressed and conflicted about attempting to run the studio as well. I gave it to my business partner in 2007. My husband and I divorced in 2000 as our children were finishing high school, so this was also a stressor. And our oldest of our two children, our son, was murdered in 2003. The unbearable grief of losing a child so tragically drove me deeper into my spiritual work. I was grateful to have the opportunity to teach workshops as a way to stay connected with people and useful in the world. I dedicated myself to service and it was helpful for my own physical, mental and emotional survival.

Please tell us about Yoga by Desiree.
I teach yoga workshops and retreats, mostly on weekends. I am known for my ability to deliver detailed alignment instruction along with mindful awareness in a deep, authentic and also light-hearted playful way.

The fact that I began this work thirty years ago before yoga was so widely available and am now still traveling the world and teaching is a great gift to me. I am delighted and grateful on a daily basis.

My work now at the age of 59 is for all levels and all ages, but I am particularly interested in teaching yoga to people who are over 50 and have co-authored a book with Michelle Marchildon called “Fearless After Fifty: How to Thrive with Yoga, Grace and Grit.

To still be on the road traveling and teaching every weekend and to have a strong practice is a blessing. I hope to inspire and encourage people who may be struggling with the aging process. Some of my work is now influenced by Physical Therapists and Functional Movement teachers. I offer a training called Wisdom Warriors with a PT from Colorado in the US and this year in Singapore and Zurich.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing. Everything I have done in the past has informed and created who I am now. I always did my best and tried to learn from my mistakes.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.desireerumbaugh.com

Image Credit:
Mario Covic

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