Featured Teacher: Tanner Petrilla

We sat down with our amazing teacher Tanner to learn more about him and his experience with ULP!

Q: What do you think about ULP’s reach/effect ? How do you see ULP benefiting the community?

A: I love The Urban Lotus Effect, it is a movement to make mindfulness, non-violence and respect an every day, every moment practice for teens in our community. ULP benefits the community by empowering the underprivileged youth in our community to feel comfortable, confident and strong in their bodies. I couldn't imagine a higher service. 


Q: What makes teaching yoga in this capacity interesting or fulfilling to you?

A: I am so stoked to teach yoga with teens. I relate! I'm 23, I still like to jump in the Truckee river, climb trees and rocks and ride my bike everywhere. These are the fruits of life for me now and when I was a kid. My teenage years tho, I didn't have positive role models. I got super lost looking for things outside of myself. It's fulfilling to witness a teens attitude transform after a yoga class.

Q: What is different about your ULP classes versus other yoga classes you teach?

A: The first thing that comes to mind is that I practice with the teens. Normally when I teach I will provide an examples and guidance if need be but don't practice with the class. ULP classes are different. We are in the same boat, there's no separation between student and teacher. We do every pose together, it's very open and communicative, much more than other yoga classes I teach.

Q: Do you have a fond memory you can share with us from one of your ULP classes?

A: My fondest memory was during the last Teen Yoga class I taught. It was our largest class yet, 7 teens. The class was filled with laughter and lots of chit chat. It really challenged me to keep them flowing through the different poses. The ending of class, savasana, or corpse pose, blew me away, they shifted gears from loud and rambunctious to peaceful, soft and serene. It's hard to put into words the way a shift like that feels. Some sort of healing happened. 

Q: What are your hopes for the future of ULP and other similar programs around the country? 

A:  I hope that the Urban Lotus Project's offering is available to every teen, throughout Nevada, the United States and the entire world. I pray that this next generation of teens are peaceful warriors who have all the tools the fight the battle within and build traditions of real peace,  compassion, and selfless service.

Q: Lastly, what have you learned through your experience thus far with ULP?

A: It's all about showing up!