Meet Lotem Porat: Yoga/ Meditation Instructor & Reiki III Practitioner

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

Hi Lotem, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
Where are you from and how did your background and upbringing impact who you are today? I am a native City of Angels “valley girl”, born and raised in Los Angeles. My parents grew up in Israel; my dad was born there and mom was born in Morocco and raised in Israel. I grew up speaking Hebrew and attending Hebrew School all the way from Mommy and Me until grade 6. My parents came to California on their honeymoon and stayed. Growing up, my sister Noie and I learned many of the Jewish traditions and spent summers visiting our extended family in Israel. Since I was 6 years old, I also celebrated Christmas, as my stepmom came from a Catholic family. My dad and her considered themselves more “spiritual” than religious. For Noie and I, holidays were spent celebrating Hannukah, Christmas and attending shamanic drum circles or visiting Buddhist temples. This led me to question religion and my identity. I became very curious about what was mine to take and to leave behind from the traditions and beliefs I learned growing up. I switched from attending private Jewish school to a more diverse middle school. By nature I felt a rebellious urge to expand my horizon and longed for a sense of freedom from attending a private conservative school. When I entered public school I was hit hard with a new reality—I was made fun of for my name, the Moroccan food my mom would pack me, and my various Jewish attributes. This caused me a lot of pain and confusion regarding who I was. It also spurred my desire to feel a sense of belonging without denying my roots, and to find a way to embody who I was without religious restrictions. I felt confined to the limitations of religion and knew that there was something bigger out there than me. Though whether it was God, the Great Spirit or mystery, the Universe, etc, I did not know. This formed my quest to be a lifetime seeker and inquirer and opened me to the path of yoga. I wanted something rather than “Jewish” or “Christian” that I could call my own, that would connect me to something bigger without dividing me from anyone of another background. I didn’t necessarily seek yoga out but I felt as though it found me. In the cobblestone plazas of Barcelona Spain, where I was studying abroad in 2011, I came upon a little studio called Yoga Bindu. It was then that I learned the saying “wherever you go, there you are.” It turned out in my suitcase I brought all of my lack of identity, anxieties and depression with me. Looking back, I truly believe that yoga found me to remind me of the essence that we each carry from birth. In Sanskrit this one constant is called “Purusha”. The candle-lit classes became my refuge, where I could begin to discover the woman who was underneath all of the labels. Not only did I learn the name of body parts in Catalan, I found way to know myself deeply, beyond the labels. Now, I’m less concerned with separating black from white and more with integrating all the different pieces of my roots and how they make up who I am today.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Overtime, I’ve learned that art is a way of living, breathing, moving and being, and yoga is a practice of life. The ways in which we engage with our lives can be like the process of painting, from one brush-stroke, both spontaneous and intentional, chaotic and harmonious. I’ve gotten to where I am today through many trials and tribulations. I’ve fell down more times than I’ve picked myself up, though the times I’ve picked myself up have outweighed the ones when I’ve fallen; these times I’ve found are the ones to be celebrated. I wouldn’t have been able to get to this point though without the scary, lost, and shaky moments. In my pursuit of becoming a yoga teacher, I’ve hit rock-bottom and burnout more times than I can count. Though some thread kept me going from one patch to another. Overcoming self-doubt has been one of the most significant triumphs as a yoga teacher. There’s many times I’ve felt like a fraud asking “Am I really a yoga teacher or am I just faking it?” The parts of me that felt like I didn’t know anything would creep up time after time, and were toxic as opposed to the genuine humility of knowing I’ll always be a student. What got me to where I am today is that I kept showing up and I somehow kept going, sometimes gracefully and more often than not limping my way through. Sometimes being a yoga teacher gets glorified through social media, and from my own experience I’ve found that it’s a lot of work and a whole lot of chopping wood and carrying water. This work is so rewarding and it takes discipline and consistency; it keeps me oh so humble. My favorite part of what I offer in my teachings of yoga, meditation and Reiki is providing people a safe space for deep self-care, for others to get in touch with themselves and to feel comfortable in their own skin. I have spent much of my life wanting to escape my body, struggling with body image issues, deep insecurity, and lack of self-worth. For me, these practices have allowed me to access a space of healing and refuge within myself. I am not the one that does this for others, just the one that redirects them in finding it in themselves, this capacity for each person to be their own healer and teacher. One of the offerings I’m most excited about that I will be launching soon is my New Moon and Full Moon offerings that I will be launching soon. One of the ways in which we can get in touch with our essence and innate self is by living in accordance to the natural cycles and rhythms of the moon. When we are in harmony with nature, we can live more easefully with ourselves and with each other. This series will include rituals that allow us to dive inwardly through various ritual practices of yoga, meditation, reiki, yoga nidra, and other self-care practices.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Water has always been where I’ve felt most at home. As I think about the itinerary for where I’d take a dear friend, what comes to mind is a couple different bodies of water. A lot of times I base my trips on the coolest hot springs to go to. Not too far away from Los Angeles is Ecotopia in Ojai, a sweet hot spring on a private property that can be booked for a couple hours. We’d go there for a day trip, stop at the sweetest bookshop “Bart’s Books” and get lunch at the Farmer and The Cook. Back in LA, we’d go to the Korean Wi Spa in Koreatown and get an authentic Korean meal for dinner at the Kobawoo House. No doubt, we would go to Topanga Canyon, first for a hike at Eagle Rock in Topanga Canyon State Park and then stop of Topanga Living Cafe for lunch; then we’d pop down to PCH to watch the sunset at one of my favorite LA beaches, Topanga State Beach. We’d spend a day exploring the westside, walk around the Venice Canals, Rose ave. , Abbot Kinney checking out the cute shops and cafes and have lunch at the Butcher’s Daughter. We’d bike or rollerblade from Venice to the Palisades on the boardwalk bath back and forth and then grab dinner and a drink at the Rose Cafe. For a cultural and arts day we’d check out the Griffith Park Observatory, have a picnic at the park, and dinner on the east side at my favorite Mediterranean restaurant called Elf. At some point we’d go watch some live music at one or all of the following music venues: Hotel Cafe, The Culver Hotel and/or the Townhouse Venice. Thrift store/ vintage store shopping would have to be thrown in the mix too! Now that I’m living vicariously through myself by writing out these plans in the think of the Pandemic, I’m crossing my fingers that soon enough we can make these things happen. Which lucky friend will it be? This is definitely something to look forward to! Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I have been very blessed to have several teachers whom have served as lighthouses for me along the way, especially through times of darkness. These teachers have ranged from spiritual teachers to strangers who I’ve met along the way to both blood related and chosen family, etc. What has made them stand out to me as guides and mentors is that I have felt deeply “seen” by them. I have learned that to be seen as we are is one of the most treasured gifts we can receive in our lives. Whether it’s by a stranger walking down the street or a “guru”, which technically translates to a dispeller of dark, to be reflected back our own essence, beneath the masks we wear, through someone’s seeing is healing in and of itself. To pay homage to these “see-ers” on my part, I will name just a few of the many. One of my first teachers who has dispelled darkness for me during a time I was struggling with depression, anxiety and loneliness is Diana Lang. She has served as my spiritual counselor, yoga/ meditation teacher and much more to help remind me of who I am at my core. Alberto Amura, my Reiki Master teacher has also been a huge support in helping me find balance and alignment during periods I’ve felt completely lost. Shiva Rea, a divine yogini/ mover/ shaker has played a huge role in reminding me of my eternal feminine essence and the fluid ways in which we can live in accordance with the rhythms of nature and the moon. My Medicine Dance teacher, Fred Sugarman, who works with somatic movement for trauma that gets stored in the body, has created safe space for me to express and embody the parts of me that were swept under the rug. I also must name a favorite book that has been my anchor through it all; Outrageous Openness by Tosha Silver, a book that my stepmom got for me in the beginning of my spiritual journey, speaks to the ways in which we can live playfully and humurously, to be open and willing to receive the signs infinitely shining the way. There are so many more to name and endless bows to offer in my quest that keeps me humble and always a beginner student of life.

Website: LotemPoratYoga@gmail.com
Instagram: @LotemFlowerHealing
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LotemPoratYoga/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/lotem-porat-yoga-meditation-and-reiki-playa-del-rey-4

Image Credits
Molly Haas Elina Dmitrieva Katie Rose