A journey of love, purpose and creativity with Lucrecia Laurel
Before creating her yoga shala, Lucrecia observed the world through a camera. Her passion for photography, inspired by adventure magazines, theater, fashion and anthropology, taught her to pause on what is essential and to learn how to look with love. That sensitivity in her gaze, both towards others and towards herself, reveals a new way of experiencing and sharing yoga.
Lucre found in Ashtanga a moving meditation and in the Mysore practice an intimate dialogue with herself. A place to embrace both light and shadow, the A side and the B side of existence. A space to connect with what is essential, what is not always seen but is deeply felt.
In this interview, Lucrecia shares how yoga became her life path, how different cities shaped her practice and why she created Lado B Yoga, her refuge in Madrid. A journey that takes us to France, Argentina, India and Los Angeles. From the Aikido tatami to the yoga mat.
Discover her fascinating story and how yoga, photography and unconditional love for animals create a universe through which we can learn and experience life beyond yoga
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You began your yoga journey at 18, after practicing Aikido. What was that transition from the tatami to the mat like and what led you to take that step?
As a teenager I practiced Aikido and that experience taught me to find my center through the body. Years later, when I started university in Santa Monica, I lost that center. I felt directionless and I looked for a physical and spiritual practice that would help me return to myself. That is what led me to a community yoga studio where I connected with the practice for the first time. The transition from tatami to mat was born from a need to balance my free spirit with a practice of presence and concentration.
I looked for a physical and spiritual practice that would help me return to myself
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Do you remember your first yoga class? What did you feel and when did you know yoga would become essential in your life?
Yes, I remember that day. What impressed me most was the sensation of the geometry of the body. Suddenly I was creating triangles and feeling the flow of energy like a pyramid in Trikonasana or a line in Samasthiti. I felt how those shapes helped me breathe, concentrate and flow.
That first sensation of inhabiting my body with calm and presence was revealing. I realized I could bring together my most active and rebellious spirit with a discipline that respected and centered my body. With those sensations in mind, I tried different teachers and one day, while observing them, I thought: “I would love to be in their place, to be able to share yoga with others.” So some years later, when I graduated in photography, I gifted myself my Hatha Yoga certification.
That sensation of inhabiting my body with calm and presence was revealing
What motivated you to teach and what was that initial experience like?
The motivation came from the joy the practice gave me. It felt like a beautiful way to make a living. I had already experienced the joy of sharing when I taught Aikido to children. It made me happy to pass on something that did me good. I enrolled at White Lotus Foundation in Santa Barbara and learned anatomy, philosophy, how to structure a class and how to use the voice to guide.
As soon as I finished, I started teaching yoga in a friend’s garden in Santa Monica and from the very first class I felt it was natural for me. Later, in Buenos Aires, I continued sharing the practice in my photography home studio in exchange for donations or barter. Students would bring potatoes or lettuce instead of money. It was a beautiful and free way to start teaching.
You have practiced and taught yoga in Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Paris, India and Madrid. What did each stage offer you and how did traveling through different cultures enrich your vision of yoga?
Living and practicing in such different places enriched my yoga path immensely. In Los Angeles I discovered yoga in an environment where the physical, the aesthetic and the spiritual coexist. It was the birthplace of modern yoga and allowed me to approach the practice with curiosity and freedom. In Buenos Aires I found a more traditional lineage with my first Ashtanga teacher, Pablo Pirillo.
Then I traveled to India and practiced with Rolf and Marci Naujokat in Goa, connecting directly with the root of the tradition. In Paris I practiced with Linda and Gerald, very traditional teachers with an open gaze, and there I understood the importance of the bond with the teacher.
Later I moved to Spain and in Madrid I returned to my daily, independent and consistent Ashtanga practice. Each city gave me a lesson. Los Angeles gave me openness, Buenos Aires discipline, India essence, Paris reflection on the teacher student bond, and Madrid the importance of self practice and consistency.
Each city gave me a lesson: Buenos Aires discipline, India essence, Paris reflection and Madrid self practice and consistency
You are the founder of Lado B Yoga in Madrid. What did creating your own shala mean to you and what do you hope to transmit to your community?
Lado B Yoga was born from a very intimate place. For years yoga was my “other side” while I worked mainly as a photographer. It was my personal and silent space, the refuge that grounded me. Suddenly the universe pushed me to share it differently. Students encouraged me and the shala took shape almost without planning it. Opening Lado B was necessary to unfold my own universe, not only the Ashtanga practice but also creativity, photography and introspection.
Through yoga I found balance, presence and connection, and that is what I want people to experience. Because returning to the body is returning to the center. The name Lado B symbolizes the “other side” of life. It represents that intimate and sometimes hidden space that sustains and balances us.
The B side is not dark, it is the meeting point where opposites embrace and remind us that without darkness there is no light. That is why I encourage everyone to cultivate their own B side as a daily refuge to listen and be present.
Through yoga I found balance, presence and connection.
Follow Lado B on Instagram @ladobyoga
You practice and teach Ashtanga Mysore style. What do you value in this method and how has it transformed your approach to yoga?
What I value most about the Mysore practice is the depth that comes with repetition. The Ashtanga series has a clear structure, but the transformation happens inside that daily repetition. Day after day you go through the same postures and discover new subtleties in the breath, the gaze or the energy moving through the body. The practice becomes a mirror. It is not about learning something new each day but about refining perception and letting the breath guide you.
For me, Mysore offers freedom within structure. The sequence is there to support you, but inside that framework there are infinite possibilities. Each practice is unique and that is where the magic lies. For me, that repetition teaches you to be present and to appreciate small changes. It is like observing a landscape. It seems the same every day but every day it changes.
Each practice is unique and that is the magic. It is like observing a landscape. Every day it changes
As a teacher, what do you enjoy most when guiding your students and what values do you try to transmit in your classes?
What I enjoy the most is seeing how the practice transforms people. Seeing their enthusiasm, their wellbeing and the luminous energy that emerges in the room. I am moved by witnessing their joy and their desire to return to the mat. In each class I emphasize consistency, patience and a positive attitude. Yoga is not only about postures, it is about holding yourself with love throughout the process.
When after much effort a student achieves something that seemed impossible, we celebrate it together, because it becomes a lesson in patience, perseverance and trust. Sometimes you leave frustrated because the practice touches sensitive points or shows you your limits. That is also part of the journey, learning to listen and support yourself. Above all, I want the practice to be sustainable throughout a lifetime.
What I enjoy most is seeing how the practice transforms people
Ashtanga is dynamic and demanding. What advice would you give beginners who face challenges?
The first thing I advise is not to compare yourself and not to look too much at social media. These days we see many advanced postures online and that can create frustration. In yoga the important thing is learning to breathe in synchrony with movement. From there the body strengthens and becomes more flexible without forcing. Advanced postures will come or maybe they will not, but that does not define the depth of your practice.
The Ashtanga system requires you to go through each step and that is very powerful. That is why I recommend respecting the rhythm of the practice and enjoying the journey. Yoga becomes transformative when there is devotion and love for the process, not when there is pressure. I recommend practicing from desire and joy, enjoying each step and respecting your timing.
Yoga becomes transformative when there is devotion and love for the process
You are also a photographer. How did your passion for the camera begin and what do you feel when you photograph?
My love for photography began almost by chance. When I started college in Los Angeles I took a photography class out of curiosity and fell in love with it. Later I studied set design and social anthropology and eventually discovered that photography brought all those passions together. Composing worlds and observing humans.
I think my love for photography was born from my love for the world, nature, people, cultures and colors. When I photograph I feel emotion and a deep connection with the present moment. Photographing is a form of meditation. It requires looking with attention and sensitivity to discover that beauty is everywhere.
Photographing is a form of meditating
You work as a fashion photographer at Laurel Studio and you also share your love for dogs at WeWalk Studio. What inspires you about animals and why did you dedicate a photographic project to them?
Dogs have been essential teachers in my life. They have taught me the purity of love, a love that is very present, without conditions or judgment. They do not have human rationality or complications. They only need love, shelter and food. Their simplicity reminds us of what truly matters. Our connection with nature is essential.
What inspires me to photograph them is that pure and honest energy they have. When you work with animals everything is real. There are no masks or forced poses. There is emotion, play and trust. That is why WeWalk Studio was born, my pet photography project, to celebrate that special bond between humans and animals. That simple and genuine love.
Dogs teach you the purity of love, a love without conditions or judgment
Looking back at these two decades between yoga, photography and your animals, what is the main lesson you take with you from all these experiences?
If I had to summarize what I have learned, I would say the biggest lesson is love. Love as a posture in life. Loving what you do, loving the present and loving even the difficult moments. Yoga taught me the importance of breathing, being present and loving and accepting myself. Photography taught me to look attentively and to find beauty in everyday life. Animals taught me to love without conditions.
In the end everything flows in the same direction, living with love, gratitude and openness. Everything changes, places, people, stages. The only thing that remains is the way we choose to love.
The only thing that remains is the way we choose to love
Is there a sentence, thought or song that always accompanies you and that you would like to share?
Yes, there are two sentences I always carry with me. One is by Bob Marley: “The sun is shining, the weather is sweet”, it reminds me that the sun always shines again, even after a storm. The other is “Just keep walking” because life, like yoga, is about that. Keep walking, one step and one breath at a time.
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Through her words, Lucrecia invites us to honor our B side. She invites us to return to the body to find our center and reminds us that practice, like life, transforms when we learn to look carefully at ourselves, at others and at the world around us.
Her story is a reminder that repetition is not routine but a door to sensitivity and presence, that every change, every teacher and every step, even the uncertain ones, are part of the path. And with all of this, one lesson becomes clear. Love is a posture towards life. Loving the changing body, the growing practice, the uncomfortable silences, the relationships that support us.
Thank you, Lucre, @ladobyoga for reminding us that light lives in that B side, in the path of discovering who we are through the body and presence.
