Introducing Miriam Hanson Rogotzke
Here at Boreal Bliss we have a tradition of featuring women on our blog for Women's History Month in March.
Bryana and I look forward to these features all year. We try to think of women within our community that stand out to us for outstanding work in their field.
For our first feature this year, we are excited to introduce you to Miriam Hanson Rogotzke.
I (Amanda) moved to Duluth in 2014. I met Miriam while having headshots taken at a yoga studio. Miriam had also just relocated back to Duluth after 20 years away: 12 years living on the Caribbean Island of Roatan, and 8 years going to undergrad and working in Minneapolis before that.
MIriam has been a mentor and friend ever since. She is an outstanding yoga instructor. Every class with her feels like a gift. She’s infinitely thoughtful, creative, inspiring, and mindful in how she creates her classes. I’ve also admired her ability to build and maintain relationships and community. She is the type of woman that will show up for others. If you host a fundraiser, she’ll buy a ticket. If you experience personal success, she’ll reach out to congratulate you. She lifts up others, and today we’re excited to lift her up.
She’s also wildly interesting. So let’s get into it, allow me to introduce you to Miriam!
Miriam, from my perspective, it seems you’ve meticulously curated the life you are living. You are involved in many different endeavors.
Owner of Roam Yoga Retreats and co-founder with Kate Horvath
Yoga School Program Director at Svalja Whole-Being and co-founder of Svalja Yoga
DJ for the last 8 years of the 34-year running Highway 61 Revisited Bob Dylan radio show on The North, 103.3 WDSE public radio station
Co-Teacher of the Yoga, Mindfulness, and the Ethics of Appropriation class at St. Scholastica
Just to keep things interesting - she also has been doing bookkeeping at a funeral home for the last eight years
Co-producer of 1,200 gallons of maple syrup per year with her husband on 200 acres - they tap over 5000 trees
Avid International Scuba Diver, including Advanced level Cave Diver
Multiple-time featured Story Teller at Gag Me With a Spoon, Duluth local story-share
World Traveler
See what I mean? I told you, she’s very interesting.
Miriam, what are you most excited about experiencing on your upcoming retreat to Roatan?
That we still have one spot left!! Anyone want to jump on?? www.roamyoga.com
There are the Caribbean things - sunshine every day, warmth, beautiful bright flowers, so much green, bird songs, ocean, coral reefs, tropical fruits fresh from the trees…
When you can be in such a welcoming environment, something lets loose in you - we are traveling on the Vernal Equinox and that was deliberate. The beautiful group gathered will be a part of several intentional circles of ceremony and healing, starting off with a heart-opening Cacao Ceremony to celebrate the equinox where we will visit a Honduran Cacao factory and get to pick out our own ceremonial cacao.
It is so special for me to bring a group of friends here. I lived on this island for 12 years, so I get to share the subtle sweet secret parts of this special place. Rather than stepping in from the outside as a tourist, my group gets to follow me into the heart of the island’s culture, and be immersed in a truly meaningful journey!
I want to go there!!!!
Switching gears, you are the Yoga School Program Director at Svalja Whole-Being program. Personally, my 200 YTT training is one of the best, and most valuable gifts I have ever given myself. The training is transformational, and the ability to teach yoga is a lifelong skill that continues to provide me with new experiences, relationships, and opportunities. I would recommend a 200 YTT to anyone interested in deepening their yoga practice.
What are your favorite courses to teach during your RYT 200 program and why?
Yes! You were in our foundational course that has now grown into this great program! We are enrolling now for our RYT 200 so it’s a perfect question (registration closes March 15th)! Svalja Whole-Being’s RYT-200 program is super comprehensive, with a very good overview of yoga, including not only postural breakdowns but also philosophy, anatomy (subtle and physical body), and yoga scriptures. I love to bring forward the scriptural references in sanskrit that enliven and illuminate the why and how of yoga, like the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. I love teaching about the kleshas, the five definitely harmful mental modifications that keep us from living in peace. Mostly, I love to connect with the folks in the program, to support them on their amazing journey of learning the depth of themselves!
Where can our readers find more information about your upcoming program?
Go to https://www.svalja.yoga/250hour-yoga-teacher-training. It is a dual-certificate program, where you get not only your 200hr standard RYT, but earn a 50 hour bonus credential which includes some of our special programming, like a Trauma Conscious Certificate and Depth Psychology to complement your yoga adventure.
Do you have a favorite hot tip about the Duluth area?
The Duluth Folk School at Dovetail Cafe is SO amazing! There are so many cool ways to be an adult learner there, meeting new people and expanding your creative horizons.
Do you have a book or three you’d recommend to our readers- curious yoga enthusiasts?
My favorite comprehensive Yoga book is Yoga: Ancient Heritage, Tomorrow’s Vision by my teacher and fellow Minnesota resident Indu Arora. Living the Sutras: A Guide to Yoga Wisdom beyond the Mat is such a good way to approach the Sutras - very accessible. The Yogi’s Roadmap: Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra as a Journey to Self Realization by my other teacher, Bhavani Maki, is a super illuminating text with fabulous and rich writing. I have to add one more: The 11 Karmic Spaces: Choosing Freedom from the Patterns that Bind You by Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati will open up an understanding of karma and how to take positive action for change in your life in very helpful and detailed ways.
We are living through a period of uncertainty that can feel overwhelming at times. Do you have any quick-tips you’d like to share?
Every day, pause. Create a nervous-system-protecting sphere of five minutes in which you practice contemplative silence. No reading, no talking, no listening, no task-oriented movements. Practice on yourself the level of attention you wish to develop in the world. Notice the state of your mind (erratic? sluggish? tense?). That’s all. Simply practice noticing.
Also - take a walk outside as often as possible, and dance every day!
One thing I love about your classes is the language you share in your classes. Do you have a favorite quote or poem that inspires you that you’d like to share?
“Everything you seek, you can find inside yourself.”
“My friends from the prison, they ask onto me
‘How good, how good, does it feel to be free’
And I answer them, most mysteriously,
‘Are birds free from the chains of the skyway.’” - Bob Dylan, from Ballad in Plain D
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
As a life-long student of yoga, my journey has had many twists and turns. One thing I know is that I never ever have regretted learning more about yoga. You are reading this because you’re into yoga in some way. I encourage you to keep moving into the heart of yoga. If you have been called at some level, there is another layer there waiting for you. It literally applies to every single thing you do in your life - it is not some extra thing separate from your life, like a series you watch for hours and hours and then it’s done and nothing is different (PS I do this too!). Each little piece of yoga you learn can apply to your life and knowing yourself better!
Lastly, how can we follow your adventures?
You can follow me at @miribeach (IG) or Miri-YumYum Hanson (FB). To catch wind of our upcoming travel adventures with Roam Yoga, go to roamyoga.com and follow @roamyogaco and @horvathkate. Are you looking to get CEU’s as an RYT or to broaden your yoga horizons? Follow svalja.yoga for a huge array of amazing trainings and workshops, open to all curious seekers.
