What is your name & location?
Justin Timothy Temple, Baltimore MD.
How do you heal (or help heal) people?
I am a yoga student and I do the best I can to share what I learn with others.
What type of benefits does your method of healing provide?
Yoga is incredibly powerful. Asanas (yoga postures) are a tool to achieve well-being. At a gross level, it makes the body supple and strong. Then the subtle changes start to occur: the breathing becomes more even, and the nervous system a bit clearer. It really gives a person the tools to be a bit more present in their body which allows them to be present in their lives.
When did you realize that you wanted to heal people/why did you start?
About four years ago, I felt that I wanted to share this practice when I noticed I felt better about who I was–I just thought that it wouldn’t be right to keep the opportunity to feel that way to my self. I’ve been teaching for just over three years now.
Why is what you do so important?
Sharing yoga is important because of the myriad of ways it can benefit others. There are physical and mental health benefits that have been expounded upon by many. There’s also an opportunity to strengthen one’s spiritual connection to themselves and their environment. Also, there’s kind of the incidental benefits that are kind of like osmosis. When people project positive energy into the world, others can absorb it so even just by practicing I think someone can have a profound effect on their immediate surroundings.
What is your inspiration to continue doing what you are doing? What is the fuel that keeps you going?
The people that are in the room with me, not in the role of a teacher are really special individuals. Academics, public health professionals, therapists, medical professionals–people who have devoted their lives to an incredible breadth of pursuits that really have direct impact.
How does it make you feel when you are healing people?
I feel incredibly rewarded by the opportunity to help people through this method. I think more than that, I feel a great sense of humility because really I am facilitating the chance for others to experience the value that is involved with breathing, making shapes, and going inward. It’s humbling because I don’t see myself as particularly special, I think anyone who wants to really do what I do can. The yoga is what is special.
What are your visions &/or goals?
To remain a student. I’ll never perfect anything nor do I want to, I just want to learn and deepen my understanding while hopefully not letting my ego trick me into thinking I have all the answers. Besides that, just to share the practice with whomever will listen. I’d love for that number to exponentially grow of course but I would be just as happy if I can get one person take the step of getting on a mat.
Tell us a fun fact about what it is that you do, or something people may not know.
I have a very on/off painting practice that I’ve managed to never show/talk about on the internet. When I think about it, it’s probably good for me in this world of Instagram and sharing (which I do find fun) to have something that is truly only for myself. The ability to be creative for creative’s sake is something I was taking for granted for quite a bit.
In one sentence, what is your message to the world?
Just notice.