For Rodney Yee, it all started with a bit of curiosity. At one time, he was a philosophy and physical therapy major at the University of California Berkley and dancing with Oakland Ballet.
The studio where Oakland Ballet rehearsed also housed a yoga studio which caught Yee’s attention.
“Physically, I was still pretty tight from some of the gymnastics I did, and I wanted to see what that was all about,” Yee says. “I pretty much fell in love with it; it really combined everything I was interested in from physical therapy, philosophy, the mediation of the mind, service and teaching.”
Yoga and dance overlapped throughout Yee’s life from 1980 to 1985. Soon after though, yoga became his main practice and he would become a very prominent figure throughout the yoga world.
Yee has made a number of instructional yoga videos, flown around the world to lead classes, has made appearances on CNN and the Oprah Winfrey Show, and even written a couple books.
However, his relationship with his wife, Colleen Saidman-Yee, is where he truly flourishes.
Rhythmical and Smooth
Around the same time her now husband was finding yoga, Colleen Saidman-Yee was living in New York, in the midst of a successful modeling career. There, Saidman began to engage with the yoga community.
As Saidman was taking classes to become a yoga instructor herself, she crossed paths with Yee at a class and the two soon formed a close bond. Now married, the two work together at the Saidman-owned yoga studio, Yoga Shanti, and travel the world teaching the mindful activity.
“We are really fortunate,” Yee says. “It took us a while to learn to teach together but as we did, it really makes for a perfect marriage where we spend 24/7 together.”
“Sure, it wasn’t necessarily smooth when we first started teaching in the classroom, but it has been more than 16 years since we started teaching together and we have honed our dance,” Saidman says. “So that it is rhythmical and smooth.”
Being out on the road 200 days out of the year is quite the challenge, but it is something Rodney and Colleen couldn’t imagine doing without each other.
That being said, the two do have endeavors separately throughout the year, like Saidman’s women retreats.
“Rodney is not invited, although he always tries to get invited,” Saidman says laughing as Yee does the same.
“I even grew my hair out,” Yee chimes in.
“He even wears ballet tights and he still can’t get in,” Saidman exclaims.
Coming to New Albany
In September 2018, Yee and Saidman journeyed to central Ohio and taught their first Urban Zen class in New Albany.
They soon realized the community was a perfect place to continue their educational courses.
“We have a student in New Albany that we have been teaching for a very long time, and she has talked about this community and how much she has loved it,” Saidman says. “She felt that New Albany’s sensibilities would be aligned with Urban Zen.”
Everyone is eligible for Urban Zen Yoga classes regardless of age, experience or ability. Whether you are a high school student taking the SAT, or even in elementary school, both Yee and Saidman-Yee believe the community will truly benefit from these practices.
“We hope people gain awareness first of all from this class, and hopefully they can take one little tool with them and utilize that to teach to three or four people,” Saidman says. “It can be something as simple as when you are feeling anxious; feel your feet and watching the end of your exhalation.”
Much of the practices through Urban Zen aim to help those in the medical field, like doctors, nurses, patients or family members of a patient.
“We are not trying to heal anyone, we are trying to create comfort and we are doing that with several modalities,” Saidman says. “Obviously, we have been yoga teachers for decades; and we are bringing everything that we know is effective for things such as pain and anxiety, sadness and exhaustion and so on.”
“Some of the biggest aspects of health care are not necessarily acute,” Yee says. “One of the biggest problems in health care is burnout for the staff and people trained to work hard and do what we do in the world. But, a lot of the time, we are never trained to take care of ourselves.”
Signature Shanti
The “first couple of yoga,” as Yee and Saidman-Yee are often touted, will allow yoga enthusiasts to become certified in teaching yoga in the Signature Shanti 200 Hour Teacher Training.
For eight weekends, Rodney, Colleen and some of their senior teachers have the opportunity to practice the methodology acquired from their combined 75 years of teaching.
“When you want to start yoga in a more serious way, you have to have a good foundation,” Yee says. “The foundation, though, doesn’t have to be so narrow that you are pigeon holed into one form. This allows the student to have a beautiful yoga life.”
Yee describes a good foundation of yoga much like learning music. In order to become a better musician, one needs to learn the notes and scales in order to make sense of their instrument.
“Our training is revolved around the alignment of the body and safety for the body,” Yee says. “When you learn those tricks, you can have fun.”
One Step at a Time
Both yogis are extremely wise and possess a troth of knowledge on the positive effects yoga can have on an individual. However, it is the couple’s approachability and accessibility in the classroom that truly benefits their students.
Their classes range anywhere from pre-adolescents to octogenarians and across a wide range of experience.
Though yoga may seem difficult to get involved with at first, Saidman and Yee’s stint in New Albany may be the perfect place to begin your own journey.
“One step at a time,” Saidman says. “Once you do it, you fall in love because you feel so good.”
Fit Five: Wellness with Colleen Saidman Lee
1.) Are there any foods you try to avoid or emphasize?
I have been a vegetarian since I was a teenager. I also follow a ketogenic diet, which helps with my seizure disorder. The diet is high fat and low carbs, which is pretty limiting for a vegetarian.
2.) What are your favorite ways to stay active?
Yoga and walking. We spend so much time on the road, that in addition to our daily yoga practice, we love to explore the cities where we are teaching and clock in a few miles of foot traffic. We also try to hear live music in every city where we teach.
3.) What do you do to relax?
Binge watch series such as “This Is Us,” or “How to Get Away with Murder.” We have also been known to shop for cool sneakers.
4.) How do you balance your teaching and traveling with your own yoga practices?
You just get up and practice regardless of where you are. If Rodney and I are teaching separately, then we will take each other’s classes.
5.) Why has yoga remained such a major part of your life?
We love it. Simply, yoga makes us feel good and there is always so much more to learn. It is an endless well of magic and a journey full of love. And, to top it off, we get paid to teach it.
Rocco Falleti is an assistant editor. Feedback welcomed at rfalleti@cityscenecolumbus.com
