Have You Met Willow Drake?

1 — You’re leading Yoga Temple for the summer! Tell us why you feel inspired to carry the torch at this time…

Honestly, it feels like sacred timing! I feel deeply honored to carry the torch for Yoga Temple this summer because yoga has truly transformed my life, and I feel called to share that medicine in a deeper way than ever before.I first found yoga in 2011 while I was chronically depressed in college, and it became the first place where I could actually breathe again. It gave me a path back to myself when I felt totally lost. Yoga literally saved my life.

Now, years later, I feel inspired to hold space for others in the same spirit that yoga once held space for me — with devotion, authenticity, compassion, and truth. I believe Yoga Temple is more than a class; it’s a gathering place for people seeking connection, healing, embodiment, and remembrance of who they truly are. It feels totally aligned to step into this role, and I’m excited to co-create something heart-centered, playful, nourishing, and alive this summer.

2 — Tell us about your yoga journey in your life so far… how has it shaped you?

Yoga has shaped every part of who I am. What began as a physical practice became a spiritual path and eventually a way of living. Through yoga, I learned how to sit with myself instead of running from myself. It created space where before there was only pain, avoidance, and disconnection.

In 2017, I completed my yoga teacher training in India, and that experience absolutely cracked my heart open. India completely blew my mind. I wasn’t aware people could live so connected — to the earth, to one another, to spirit, to daily ritual. It felt ancient and alive in a way that awakened something deep in me.

Since then, I’ve continued redevoting myself to living as a yogini — not just practicing yoga for an hour a day, but trying to embody the philosophy in real life. Which, as a mom of three young children, means my greatest spiritual practice is sometimes taking a deep breath while someone screams for snacks. 😂

Truly though, motherhood has deepened my yoga more than anything else. Yoga helps me every day learn how to listen better, soften more, stay grounded, repair faster, and show up more fully for the people I love. It teaches me how to be a better friend, wife, mother, and shepherd for others.

My work now blends yoga philosophy with real-life integration. Less “traditional coaching,” and more helping people create lives that actually feel aligned — in their bodies, relationships, purpose, and everyday rhythms.

3 — What’s currently lighting up your world?

Right now, what’s lighting me up most is witnessing people reconnect with themselves and find joy and playfulness again.

As a Yoga Life Coach, I love watching the moment when someone realizes they don’t have to keep living disconnected from their body, their dharma, or their heart. Supporting others in creating lives that feel aligned, grounded, and spiritually connected feels incredibly alive and meaningful to me.

I’m also deeply lit up by devotion — slowing down, living more intentionally, being in nature, practicing yoga not just on the mat but in everyday moments. My family, my children, meaningful community, honest conversations, music, movement, laughter with friends, and sacred spaces all continue to nourish me deeply.

Anything else you want to share?

I believe yoga is for real life. Not perfection. Not performance. Not pretending to be endlessly peaceful while secretly stressed out inside. Real yoga, to me, is learning how to meet ourselves honestly and compassionately over and over again.

My intention as a teacher is never to position myself as someone who has it all figured out. I’m walking the path too. I just care deeply about creating spaces where people feel safe enough to soften, breathe, reconnect, and maybe even laugh a little.

I want people to leave my classes feeling more grounded in their truth, more connected to their bodies and hearts, and more trusting of their own inner wisdom.

I’m incredibly grateful for this opportunity and genuinely excited to share this summer together in community! Namaste and blessings!