MEET Sherry Zak Morris Founder of Yoga Vista, Executive Producer, and CEO of YogaJP, and Co-Founder of the Yoga Vista Academy

Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guest Sherry Zak Morris. Sherry is Founder of Yoga Vista, Executive Producer and CEO of YogaJP, and Co-Founder of the Yoga Vista Academy, a school for the Advanced Training of Gentle, Senior and Chair Yoga Teachers.

The life work of Sherry’s vision for promoting Yoga for Healthy Aging is offered on YogaVista.TV. This streaming video library is focused on Gentle, Senior and Chair Yoga with lots of Educational information for those who want to feel forever young!

Norm: Good day Sherry and thanks for participating in our interview.

Please tell our readers a little bit about your personal and professional background.

Sherry: First of all, thank you Norm for the opportunity to share my work with your community. I find that by the time we are in our “senior” years, we have plenty of experiences and wisdom under our belts, which if shared, can help people in special and unique ways. That is where I am now in my career at the age of 64. 

I am here to help people feel better in their bodies, minds, and spirits through the daily practice of Yoga.

I am probably a poster child of the Baby Boomer era. I grew up in a blue-collar family in Cleveland, Ohio and received a Community Health Education degree at Kent State University, the first in my family to obtain a college degree.

Upon graduation, I drove across the country with my college roommate and we landed in San Diego where I still live today. 

My parents (now both 89) have been living in our 3-level family home for 50+ years. I learned much from them, but the one lesson I learned the most is to remain active – physically, mentally, and socially. That life philosophy has served my parents well to this day!

I spent 25 years in the high tech industry where I was fortunate to have business success and see the world in my business travels.

The downside of all that success and travel was the toll it took on my physical body. I ended up with lots of neck and shoulder pain that were quite debilitating. 

There was a moment I considered going on disability which was my true wake-up call to do something about my physical health. I started practicing yoga when I was 45 and never looked back. Yoga has given me a quality of life (physically, mentally, and spiritually) that keeps me going strong and feeling good. 

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear. That is what happened at my very first Yoga class at the Yoga Vista studio back in 2001. My first teacher was 79-yr old Mary Cavanaugh who became my mentor and dear friend until she passed away at the age of 83. Mary taught Chair Yoga and Gentle Yoga to senior citizens, corporate desk jockeys, and people with movement limitations. She took her work into the community and I followed her whenever I could to learn her special magic. And that magic was transferring power from teacher to student of how to take good care of our beings (body, mind, and spirit) through education and movement. I say we Yoga Teachers teach Self-empowerment! 

Mary and I co-founded YogaJP.com (Yoga Journey Productions) and produced the first of 25 Yoga DVDs with Mary’s flagship series Yoga for Seniors and Gentle Yoga for Everyone.

When I turned 50, I had a midlife crisis. I was now a certified Yoga Teacher through Mary’s Yoga Training school, and still doing my day job in high tech. 

It was Mary’s unexpected death in 2005 that made me realize that she groomed me to take on her mission to spread the power of Yoga for those over 50 or who have physical limitations. With my corporate skills, my own personal recovery from debilitating aches and pains, and my midlife “what is life all about” crisis, I bought the Yoga Vista studio for my 50th birthday present.

I ran that studio for 10 years and slowly evolved it into a place where our main demographic was 50+ by offering lots of Chair, Gentle, and Therapeutic Yoga classes. One day I was inspired to film one of my Chair Yoga classes and put it up on YouTube just to share my unique approach of education, fun, and movement to see if it resonated with the world outside of my Yoga studio doors. That is when I started my YogaJP YouTube channel in 2009 which has grown to over 50,000 subscribers worldwide, to date.

I had Yoga teachers from across the globe wanting to teach to seniors in a similar way and I ended up creating the Yoga Vista Academy with one of my Yoga Vista teachers and the best Yoga Therapist on the planet, Justine Shelton. The Academy offers online Yoga Training programs and together we have trained thousands of teachers in Chair, Gentle and Therapeutic Yoga. Many of our graduates are most likely teaching in your communities or online these days!

Fast forward, at the age of 60, I gave back the studio to its original owner to focus on my online streaming video library, YogaVista.TV. I continued to teach and film my weekly classes until the studio was temporarily closed due to the Covid19 virus.

Now I spend most of my days helping other Yoga teachers take their work online as well as creating new content for both my YouTube and YogaVista.TV websites.

Norm: What do you consider to be your greatest success (or successes) so far in your various careers? 

Sherry: I surely benefited financially from my high tech job. Remember the dotcom boom and all those stock options everyone was cashing in on? I was one of them. One of the software companies I worked for went public and I got a great financial payoff and my husband and I built a dream home from the ground up. It was our passion project for several years and beauty. Then the recession of 2009 hit and we had the foresight to cut bait early and downsized. I love the saying... “The grass is greener on the other side, but the water bill is higher!” That sums up that chapter in my life so well. 

So, while I had great financial success in my high tech career, my greatest success is helping my 90-yr old students remain healthy and independent to live in their homes for longer than they could ever imagine. In my Chair Yoga class, I have 5 to 6 90-yr old's who faithfully come to class because it truly keeps them strong in body, mind, and spirit. I say I am serving other people’s parents and grandparents and that brings me such immense joy and yes... personal pride. I feel I am making the world a better place, person by person. Yoga Teachers are people helping people!

Norm: Many people have the skills and drive to create DVDs and online streamings, but failure to market and sell the DVDs the right way is probably what keeps a lot of people from finding success. Can you give us 2-3 strategies that have been effective for you in promoting yourself, your DVDs, and your online streaming?

Sherry: I go for the Costco model of sales and marketing. Taste tests – as it is the best way for a customer to know what they are getting for their money. That is why for many, many years I shared ALL of my Yoga class videos free on YouTube. In that way, people could see what I had to offer, for free. If they liked my style and vibe, they became dedicated customers (DVD customers, streaming video subscribers, and certified Yoga teachers). I am not a hard sell, social media marketing maniac... I rather prefer the show and tell model, and let people decide without lots of commercial pressure.

Another way I achieved the success I have to date is to learn the skills required for my business rather than outsource them, which adds costs. I hired videographers and editors for the first few years of filming until I realized there was NO profit in that model. I thus bought my own video equipment and learned video editing (remember I am a high tech gal!) and that has allowed me to enjoy a business where I work and reap the rewards from my work. I am a one-woman show and just recently brought in helpers as my business continues to grow.

Norm: How did you become involved with Yoga for Healthy Aging and what keeps you going?

Sherry: When I was delivering Meals on Wheels to homebound seniors in our community, I saw firsthand how important it was to be healthy as we age. Most of the seniors I visited wanted to remain independent in their homes for as long as they could as many had lived in their homes for decades and decades. I saw the mobility challenges of navigating daily chores, as well as getting out and about in their yards, running errands, and visiting friends. When mobility goes, all those other activities go too!

Being human, we are all going through the aging process which eventually degrades our physical function. But, we can slow down that aging process with exercise. I did not see many fitness or exercise classes focused on boomers, seniors, and aging... so I knew I was onto something with Chair Yoga and Gentle Yoga to help this population remain strong, sturdy and independent for as long as possible.

What keeps me going is practicing what I preach. I am a very active, go-go person and keep my body healthy with healthy food and Yoga, my mind sharp with lots of fun projects to work on, and my spirit light and free by dancing a lot!

Norm: What makes a good chair Yoga teacher?

Sherry: Funny you should ask that because I actually polled my students with a written questionnaire that contained many questions, one of them being “What makes a good Chair Yoga Teacher?”

The common answers I got were: knowledgeable and educated, fun and creative, safety aware but not paranoid, has patience and compassion, and most importantly... a love for helping others.

Norm: What would you consider the most inspirational moment that you have experienced as a yoga teacher?

Sherry: My most inspirational moments often come when I see the “ah-ha” in someone’s eyes that I KNOW has changed their perspective forever. I will give you a great example.

I offered up a Posture Project Yoga class series at my studio where I took photos of my students from 4 standing directions (front, back, and two sides). I then brought those photos into Photoshop and put horizontal and vertical grid lines on them to indicate the symmetry and asymmetry of their body alignment. For instance, one shoulder drops down, one hip hikes up, one foot turns out, etc. Then I gave each student their initial Posture Report and recommended Yoga exercises to counteract their specific issues.  

We then discussed where in their bodies they were having pain. The majority of the time, those pain areas were directly mapped to the parts of their bodies that were asymmetrical. Asymmetry requires the body to hold a position that is unnatural and thus starts the cascading effects of tight muscles, joint compression, improper gait mechanics, etc. All because their posture is not aligned.

When I see the ah-ha in their eyes, I KNOW they know what needs to be changed. Changing our posture in our older years is a very conscious process and many of my students have done that through awareness and of course targeted Yoga movements.  

But the best part of this story is the ending... 6 months later, I took the same set of photos and presented them side to side for my students to see that their hard work really did pay off. And of course, they said their aches and pains had been reduced along with their improved posture.

The moral of this story is that posture is so important to our physical and structural health. And we all have control of that!

Norm: In what ways do people benefit from chair Yoga? 

Sherry: Whether one does Chair Yoga in a group setting, in front of a computer screen, or just stretching different ways in a chair... these movements offer benefits like:

• More energy – the deeper we breathe, the more prana (life force) we bring into our physical beings and that equates to more energy to do the things we love
• Better proprioception – This is the ability to know where your body parts are in space at a given time. This helps with coordination and fall prevention.
• Better Balance – Balance requires 3 things: good eyesight, good vestibular system and strong muscles. We work all three in our Yoga classes.
• Improved Joint Mobility – “Motion is Lotion” and that is why our joints benefit the most through our Yoga practice. Every time we move a joint, we are lubricating it on the inside with synovial fluid.
• Healthier Sleep patterns – We need to get physically tired in order to get a good night’s sleep. That means we need to exert energy so that when we lay our heads on our pillows, we welcome the rejuvenation of sleep.
• Improved Digestion and Elimination - As with our joints, these internal systems are meant to move. So when you move, twist and bend, it stimulates these processes naturally.

Norm: Do you have a favorite pose? What is it and why is it your favorite?

Sherry: I love Cactus pose because it is a pose with many benefits.  

• Improves postural alignment by bringing the shoulders back into alignment on the torso. 
• Opens up the chest for better breathing. More oxygen means more fuel for our body processes.
• It is a heart opener and offers the feeling of openness, love, and bravery as we stand tall, open and erect and ready to take on the world.

Norm: What surprises people the most about chair Yoga? 

Sherry: That it is not boring. When I first started teaching this style of Yoga, I could see people’s eyes roll when they said “BORING!” But everything can be boring without a little sugar and spice. And that is what I like to add to my classes. The sugar is all the sweetness of the Chair Yoga Dances and fun sequences with names like “Picking fruit, Windshield wipers, Teacup, and Stinky Cheese.” that I weave into my classes. The spiciness is the challenging moves I offer that both strengthen our bodies and our minds as well. 

Norm; What has been your biggest struggle and your biggest milestone in the practice of chair Yoga?

Sherry: My biggest struggle, surprisingly, is when I decided to film my own Chair Yoga classes. Up to that time, I had been filming and producing the works of other teachers and I was always behind the camera. When I stepped out in front to record my very first Chair and Gentle Yoga DVDs, it was scary but invigorating because I had conquered a big fear.

And my biggest milestone was creating an Online Chair Yoga Teacher Training and Certification Program which is my body of work on this subject. I have thousands of teachers trained in my style of Chair Yoga which is empowering, fun, creative, and accessible for every age and stage of life. 

Norm: My wife and I have participated in chair Yoga for a number of years. I notice that most classes are made up of about 95% women and 5% men. Why do you think women are more into chair Yoga and how would you attract more men into chair Yoga sessions?

Sherry: How much space do I have for this topic? I can say a great deal or I can summarize it with the trite saying “Women are from Venus and Men are from Mars”. We just think differently in many areas, and physical fitness is surely one of them.  

When men exercise, they like to move, sweat, pound, lift and grunt because they feel they are really “working out”. Women tend to navigate to an exercise routine that they enjoy. And Chair Yoga when done in a group class is both physical and social enjoyment. There is no destination or end goal in Yoga and thus why those who are more competitive in nature (can I say most men are!) are not as attracted to the practice.

How can we bring in more men?... well I am still working on my husband of 31 years, so I haven’t found the answer yet. But, I have succeeded in getting my husband to dance with me almost every evening, which is a great way to move the body, loosen the joints, and lift the spirits.  

I do have some very dedicated male students who attend regularly because they admit it makes them feel better. And for those grumpy old men out there... I say “grumpy people don’t feel well”. So, get moving and you won’t be as grumpy!

Norm: You have created many DVDs pertaining to chair Yoga. What were your goals and intentions in creating these DVDs, and how well do you feel you achieved them?

Sherry: Mary and I created our YogaJP video production company because we felt the needs of the 50+ demographic were not served with age-appropriate Yoga offerings. Not all Yoga is the same. What is great for a cardio workout for a 30-yr old, may not be good for a 55-year old with osteoarthritis in the knees, or a 70-yr old with high blood pressure.

Now that doctors and other healthcare professionals are recommending Yoga more and more for their patients, more seniors are being introduced to our style of Yoga which is Chair Yoga and Gentle Yoga. Our DVDs filled a need at the time and I am very happy and proud of our success. I have personally shipped our DVDs to the four corners of the world so I know that we have touched a lot of lives with our work. But as with all technologies... we have evolved beyond DVDs and now have moved into streaming videos. 

Norm: What upcoming projects are you excited about? 

Sherry: My vision is to have Chair and Gentle Yoga streaming into every home in the world to give people the option to take control of their ongoing healthcare, as well as to have Wheelchair Yoga in every Assisted Living place to help our most vulnerable. I grew up in the era of Jack LaLanne and my mom and I watched him often and he was very inspiring. Same with Richard Simmons in the 70's! They had their own unique ways of motivating so many people to move and stay healthy. I would love to do the same!

By offering Yoga videos on a big-screen TV, it brings access to a healing modality that is doable and effective for EVERYONE who practices it. Whether one is immobile after an operation, or rehabbing from a knee replacement, or use a wheelchair or walker, or can’t stand for very long... these streaming Yoga classes are a great way to get healthier without having to venture out to find an available community class. And perfect for this time of Covid19 seclusion.

So, my latest project is expanding my online streaming video library, YogaVista.TV, and bringing in more highly trained teachers (many are my graduates) who offer Chair, Gentle and Therapeutic Yoga classes. I equate my YogaVista.TV library to Baskin Robbins ice cream. We just don’t have one flavour, we have lots of flavours of teachers in our library. Try them all because they all have something special and beautiful to offer.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you, your DVDs, and your online streamings?

Sherry: I no longer produce my DVDs as that medium is going the way of VHS tapes, and am thus liquidating my inventory YogaJP.com.

• Visit my streaming videos FREE on YouTube.com/YogaJP
• Or subscribe to 100s more on my YogaVista.TV Channel  (available on Roku, AppleTV, GooglePlay, and AmazonFire as well as the website www.YogaVista.TV)

And just a little perspective I would like to share with your readers, especially during this time of social distancing. Yoga teachers are an occupation that has been severely impacted by the pandemic as we cannot teach live classes and earn income in our once predictable manner. So, please support your favourite Yoga teacher(s) by subscribing and/or investing in their online offerings, websites, or YouTube channels.  

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with all of your future endeavours

Sherry: Thank you Norm for the opportunity to share my work with you and your community. I welcome any questions as I am here to serve! Many blessings to you and your wife. I am so glad to have connected with you during this pandemic! The silver lining in these times!