We had the good fortune of connecting with anna delury and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi anna, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Well this is such an interesting question! As a long time Iyengar Yoga practitioner, and teacher in the method, it has evolved. When i was young I would just push til I dropped. Now I am, I hope, more mature as a human and a practitioner so it all has to do with observing whether or not I am present in whatever it is i am up to. If my attention has wandered, either physically or mentally or emotionally, I have learned to ease it back on track. To listen. To be willing to say I don’t know. To just be in a space of witnessing what is happening. Almost always whether to keep going or to stop reveals itself. And I will say this: I am choosing the phrase “to stop” deliberately. Very different way than saying/thinking I am giving up, Giving up has such a shaming tone to it, and it has been my experience that something else lies beneath this “giving up”, something that deserves being attended to in some way.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Nothing I have done was really that thought out. It has been driven by process and a simple desire to learn more myself. I began teaching very young with absolutely no intention of having a “career” and yet here I am 44 years later with decades of training and learning under my belt sharing this incredible subject with others. I have simply done something my father told me when I was 18, and that is to follow my heart.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Well, I am am a Valley girl so i would encourage them to rent a car to check out the “other side of the hill”! Ventura Blvd is a great corridor with all kinds of shops especially in Studio City. From Woodland Hills and Calabasas it easy an easy jump to the Pacific and Zuma Beach. Point Dume is my favorite. and The Trancas Market is worth stocking up on supplies at. Hiking is fab on the Valley side- whether it is Fryman, or Franklin canyon on the east side, or the Ridge line above Mulholland on the westside the vast network of trails is stunning. 2 must places to eat: Henry’s Tacos in Studio city (or Aroma across the street from it) and Juicy Ladies out in Woodland Hills. And so much more- Enjoy!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
B.K.S.Iyengar and his family

Website: annadelury.com

Instagram: anna_delury

Image Credits
Kay Perry (anna with bks iyengar); Karen Fisher (anna sitting on floor); Laura Lascoe (anna teaching)

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