Michael Veliquette

Inner Fire Yogi since March 2022

My yoga path started almost 30 years ago when I bought a copy of the “Sivananda Yoga Companion” in a thrift store. I learned my first series of Hatha asanas from studying the photos in the book and I eventually developed a home practice. 

Classes came later. I first stepped foot in a studio for a Kundalini Yoga class, later I tried Iyengar and Vinyasa flow. Then in the mid-90’s while living in Sarasota, Florida, I saw a flier for something called Bikram Yoga. The instructor was offering classes in her home, and I and a few others packed into her living room which she had lined with heavy curtains and numerous space heaters. It was my first time doing the original 26 postures and I left, hooked, in sweaty, ecstatic delirium. 

I’ve been based in Madison now for close to twenty years and have frequented many studios, but I inevitably found my way to Inner Fire. I was drawn to the promise of the heat and to the discipline of the Original Hot series. I like its constancy and the way my body and mind feel so integrated afterwards. Inner Fire Flow classes are also a valued, routine part of my practice. I find great benefit in the coherence of the classic postures as they are laid out in the sequence. 

Yoga has taught me how to breathe. I was well into adulthood before I learned about diaphragmatic breathing and realized I’d been subsisting on weak, shallow belly breaths most of my life. Yogic breath sparked a transformation in my physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Now, these many years later, ujjayi breathing is a refuge I often retreat to throughout the day, a place I go to feel grounded. 

I have immense gratitude for so many Inner Fire teachers who have steadily guided me along these past few years including Marit, Kerry, Anne, Karen R., Lili, Dr. Ruddy, Dar, and Michael Ward (now retired). I also feel supported in practice by the devoted community of my fellow students who sweat next to me, stoking their own inner fires. Peace and metta to everyone. 

-Michael Velliquette

Insta: @michaelvelliquette