Kim Whitman believes everyone should have access and exposure to the benefits of yoga. A lifelong athlete, she first became interested in yoga to maintain flexibility during intensive training for Cornell University Women's Rowing.

After completing her undergraduate degree in Biological and Environmental Engineering, she continued her studies at Cornell earning her MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering, preparing herself to work in project management in the emerging field of renewable energy. She also completed several internships at an Internet content startup located in Palo Alto, CA.

Kim rekindled her interest in Yoga during her recovery from a difficult skiing injury. She discovered the power that yoga offers the mind, body and spirit during her months of recuperation and extensive rehab. Her unique combination of skills in project management, early stage business start up and her passion for the power of yoga provided a great background for her to produce Yoga Today in June of 2006.

Name: Kim Whitman

Birthday: August 20^th

Location: Jackson, WY

Website: http://www.yogatoday.com/

Diet Detective: Hello Kim!!  Nice having you take time to do this interview. Our entire staff loves you site, and think you’ve done an amazing job. First question is what gave you the idea to start YogaToday.com?

Kim: I was recovering from a difficult skiing injury.  As an active person, four months in a cast had  taken a toll both mentally and physically so as soon as I was cleared, I turned to yoga to rebuild my body and lift my sprits.  My boss called me one day and asked me about an idea for a podcast. “Let’s hire a cameraman, arrange to film real yoga classes everyday, then you edit the footage and post it on the internet.  We’ll call it Yoga Today.”  It occurred to me that this technology had the potential to bring yoga to the masses in a new way.  We could do something different that would have an impact on people’s lives.  Over the weekend I wrote up a mini business plan and emailed it to him.  He called me the following Monday and said, “Do it.”  So I did.  And although it has evolved, the fundamental idea has stayed the same: deliver fresh episodes daily that feel as much like a live yoga class as possible, but without the commute to the studio and according to your own schedule.

Diet Detective: How long have you been doing Yoga and how did you start?

Kim: I did yoga in college.  I rowed for Cornell and wanted to counterbalance the serious strength training they made us do in the weight room with some flexibility exercises.  I loved it but never found a way to make it a part of my daily routine. A few years later, recuperating from the skiing injury, I began to understand the benefits of establishing a more regular practice.  It sounds a little sentimental but it got me through a pretty tough period mentally and transformed my body physically.  I was hooked.

Diet Detective: What if you’re just a beginner, can you use the site? Is there an archive of past shows?

Kim: Yes. We publish at least one beginner class weekly for the novice crowd.  There is an archive consisting of classes varying in theme, yoga style and level and it grows daily.  It is likely to be the largest yoga class library on the web but is not yet available.  We are working on setting up the infrastructure to make all 300+ classes searchable and easily accessible.

Diet Detective: Jackson Hole, Wyoming is very beautiful – did you always live there? Why did you choose that as the backdrop for the daily show?

Kim: I moved to Jackson Hole for the winters and the legendary terrain.  I fell in love with the great people and spectacular surroundings and found it difficult to leave.  How could I not choose it for the backdrop? It’s visually stunning, and there is a certain peaceful energy associated with the mountains that seemed a natural fit for yoga.

Diet Detective: How do you select your instructors?

Kim: I wanted three people that complemented each other, while bringing different skills to the program.  Each has devoted their life to teaching yoga.  They are diverse in age, personality and yoga styles, enriching our classes through balance. Much like yoga itself.

Diet Detective: What is the overall goal of YogaToday.com? Are there additional components to the site that are coming soon?

Kim: Our goal is to make the yoga lifestyle accessible to the world for free.  Part of being a productive contributor to society is staying physically and mentally fit.  Although yoga has existed for thousands of years, we are experiencing a global resurgence of the ancient practice, in part due to a universal need to slow down and reflect in our accelerating modern-day lives.  In addition to increased strength, flexibility and stamina; yoga brings happiness and puts you in touch with the present moment.  This mind-body-spirit connection is something that few other forms of exercise successfully invoke. 

Until now, there have been two options: pay for classes at a studio or stay at home and follow along with a DVD or a book routine.  Many students don’t have access to regular studio practice and DVDs are repetitive.  With Yoga Today, anyone can participate in a new class everyday from anywhere in the world according to their own schedule.  In the future, we plan to provide our students with access to our archive, create an online community and offer retreats that provide viewers with a chance to meet our instructors and each other.

Diet Detective: In all your years of training what do you consider the best exercise aside from yoga?

Kim: Swimming.  It is great for strengthening and aerobic conditioning, while low-impact on your joints. 

Diet Detective: If you could only do only one strength training exercise what would it be (again, not including yoga)?

Kim: That’s a tough question because I like my body to be balanced and that means maintaining a diversified strength training regiment.

Diet Detective: If you could eat one forbidden or unhealthy food (candy, cakes, etc..) whenever you wanted without gaining weight, what would it be?

Kim: The Chocolate Soufflé at the Snake River Grill.  It’s amazing and luckily a winter-only menu item - not even an option during bikini season!

Diet Detective: Should people eat something before doing a yoga workout? If so, what is the one food or meal you always eat before doing yoga?

Kim: Most instructors recommend practicing yoga on an empty stomach.  BKS Iyengar suggests in his book "Light on Yoga" that one can practice an hour after a light meal and up to four hours after a heavy meal.  If you want to learn the hard way, try doing twists and inversions right after you eat, you will understand quickly the reason for this advice.  This is part of why regular yoga practice can promote conscientious food intake and in turn; a healthier diet.  Neesha can handle a little juice or a tea before practice.  I energize with a light snack consisting of protein and carbs and give it at least 45 minutes to settle.  Fruit and yogurt or juice and a handful of cashews… that sort of thing.

Diet Detective: What do you consider the world’s most perfect food?

Kim: Nature has diversified itself for a reason.  We need variety of foods to access the full-spectrum of nutrients and energy that our body needs to thrive.  Even if there was a perfect food, it would change with seasons or climate and your personal composition.  The best advice is to eat a variety of whole foods based on what is grown, raised or caught locally if possible -- this helps your body stay nourished during seasonal shifts.

Diet Detective: Is there anything about yourself that you've changed your mind about in the last 10 years?

Kim: That I would be interested in creating a business from scratch. Ten years ago that didn’t seem like a possibility and yet here I am today.

Diet Detective: What keeps you motivated? What's the one thought that gets you going in life?

Kim: Make something better or to developing something new.  Creating.

Diet Detective: What person do you respect most, or who motivates you?

Kim: People who followed their passion in business like Este Lauder.  She wasn’t afraid to bang down doors and talk the most exclusive department stores into taking her homemade beauty creams. When I’m trying to get an impossible appointment with an executive, I remember her and keep calling.

Diet Detective: What do you do to reduce stress/relax/center your mind—besides yoga? Do you participate in any other organized relaxation activity such as meditation or tai chi?

Kim: I have done meditation at yoga retreats but honestly I prefer moving meditation.  I love activities that connect you with nature and force you focus on the task at hand, like surfing, mountain biking, and skiing.  Also, activities with repetitive motion that give your mind freedom to wander while oxygenating and circulating the blood, such as swimming and rowing.  Gardening and painting are also relaxing activities that I love.

Diet Detective: If you had to choose a specific song or band to get you psyched for your workout, what would it be? What other songs are on your iPod?

Kim: I listen to a wide range of music and it would be hard to pick one song or band as I prefer to mix it up or turn it off.  Right now, I’m really into this band called Trouble.  Here is their myspace address if you want to check them out: http://www.myspace.com/trevorandrewakatrouble

Diet Detective: Do you have a Calorie Bargain?

Kim: Often times when I'm really hungry I find that part of the problem is that I'm dehydrated. Drinking water through the day keeps me from running low on energy and prevents the urge to eat large quantities in one sitting. I don't focus on calories as much as listening to my body and eating small portions of nutritious food throughout the day to avoid hunger meltdowns.  I don't like foods that are labeled "light" or "fat free" – I avoid them pretty much all together. I do love some foods that are low-calorie naturally like cauliflower, brussel sprouts, celery sticks and watermelon.

Diet Detective: What's the most bodacious chance you've ever taken?

Kim: Scuba diving at night with sharks?  Ripping huge turns down a sketchy avalanche-prone slope in Alaska?  Skydiving?  I don’t know- that’s a tough question because it’s all relative and personal.  Everything I do is pretty calculated and not all that bodacious or I wouldn’t try it. 

Diet Detective: What was your worst summer job?

Kim: I’ve heard many stories but have been lucky and never had a bad summer job.  It was all a good experience.

Diet Detective: Define failure.

Kim: Practice.  Failure is practice.  It helps you refine your strategy.

Diet Detective: What’s next on your life’s “to do” list?

Kim: Jackson Hole is an amazingly beautiful place.  The tremendous positive feedback about our natural settings has inspired me to showcase other pristine locations, connecting audiences to wilderness areas in other parts of the world.  I hope to do more filming projects with the goal of encouraging responsible environmental stewardship. 

Thank you!!!!

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