Life is richer when you participate in the challenges that transform you.
Hey there, I am Leslie Pearlman...
I am the founder, and director of Good Ground Yoga, an internationally celebrated teacher trainer, and retired Forrest Yoga Guardian & Mentor Teacher (one of the most senior Forrest Yoga teachers in the world).
Over the past 25+ years, I have taught thousands of students to stand their ground, heal their chronic pain, and take charge of their life. A former domestic violence attorney, I discovered the connection between personal empowerment and self-healing and this catapulted my mission to teach people how to use the 4 corners of the yoga mat as a training ground for life.
I call this Spiritual Warriorship Training.
My Story...
The theme of this story is Be Brave Enough to Cause an Upset.
In the beginning, I started teaching yoga as a side job. I taught while I was in law school and then as a practicing attorney. At first, arguing cases in Brooklyn Family Court and rolling out my yoga mat to teach was a magical combination.
But over time I started to dread picking up my briefcase and walking into court despite the important work that I was doing. So I made the decision to leave my job, move out of Brooklyn and teach yoga full-time. This was my first upset which at the time felt more like coming up for air rather than an act of courage.
That was 20 years ago.
The middle of the story goes like this.
I taught and learned and grew. I met my teacher Ana Forrest unexpectedly at a 3-day workshop with my soon-to-be husband. Within 24 hours after meeting her I knew that she would be my mentor and that Forrest Yoga would be my home. I got married, gave birth to my daughter, and studied and taught more and more.
And all the while I dreamed of opening my own studio. Building community. Training teachers. Being a space holder. Sharing everything I knew about yoga.
My husband at the time told me I was crazy. That it was too hard. Financially risky. And that he would never support my decision.
Years later, after my divorce, I made the decision to open Good Ground Yoga.
This was an act of courage and of love.
Good Ground Yoga became a home for countless humans for close to a decade.
Then Covid. And in a blink of an eye, my beloved sanctuary was empty.
Overnight I learned the greatest lesson ever learned--
Life is richer when you participate in the challenges that transform you.
In less than 24 hours I closed my brick and mortar, opened my studio without walls, took my Good Ground Yoga School fully online (certifying close to 50 students), and launched my signature yoga training program for life, Revolutions Within.
Now here we are three years later and we are coming home.
I’ve got one word for that miracle– Beshert (destiny).
Our beloved sanctuary? It is ours again to build and grow.
Except this time we bring with us the lessons of the past three years.
That community is sacred.
And healing.