About Lust
I found my lust for life through yoga, and I want to help you find yours.
Hi! I’m Rachel.
I’m a Registered Yoga Teacher based in San Clemente, California. I attended San Francisco State University where I received a degree in Environmental Science. My career pivoted from here to there, landing each time with me sitting at a desk, in front of a computer, for far too many hours.
It became clear that my life was out of balance. The one thing that gave me serenity was yoga. So, I took a risk and made yoga my one and only. I resigned from my full-time job and signed up for my first yoga teacher training in 2021. Upon graduation, I received a teaching position at Lifetime Athletic and began instructing private clients.
I’m a 500-Hour Registered Yoga Teacher through Life Power Yoga and Yoga Alliance. I’m also a certified Pranayama, Breathwork, and Meditation Facilitator through Loka Yoga School.
My Journey
My first yoga class was in 2016 at my place of work at the time. A private instructor came to the office and offered lessons to anyone who wanted to participate. I was a casual practitioner for many years thereafter. Then something shifted. I started to prioritize my practice. I planned my departure from work around my favorite instructor’s classes. I became part of the community at my studio. And, above all, I felt like I belonged. Arriving on my mat was like coming home.
When I took my first yoga class, I was in the early stages of addiction recovery. My path to sobriety began in the rooms of a 12-step program that gave me a foundation to maintain sobriety. But I wasn’t looking to simply maintain—I wanted to thrive.
Yoga challenged me to examine my cravings, not just the ones to external stimuli. Connections to personality traits, thought processes, and lifestyle choices that were restraining me from feeling whole and fulfilled gradually fell away. Yoga showed me how to focus energy on my inputs rather than paying attention to outcomes and unrealistic futures. My obsessive mind found stillness. I learned to see things as they are without labeling them as good or bad. For the first time, I was able to accept myself for all that I am, and for all that I’m not.
I started Lust for Life Yoga to empower others. I want to pass on the knowledge I gained during my release from the bondage of self-doubt and suffering. I believe we’re all intimately connected through shared experiences. Having exposure to new ways of thinking and living is how we evolve. My conviction is that the success of those I teach can only transpire through my own transformation and self-study. The teacher is, and always will be, a student of life.