Global Yoga Master, Gifted Medium Alaine Portner Is Writing A Book, Inspiring Thousands & Sharing Spirituality

Alaine Portner is beautiful. You do not have to see her to know this fact about her. Alaine's beauty shines - pure passion, spirituality, wellness, balance. Alaine is so very, very tranquil, open and centered. How can a successful entrepreneur and business owner, dedicated author and gifted medium - did you know Alaine can connect to the "other side" - be so charmingly warm, relaxed and glowingly energized?

Who is Alaine Portner?

Alaine is the owner of Yoga Center of Medford, NJ, she is a devoted spiritual guide, in the role of medium, to hundreds and hundreds of people throughout the country - and she is a mentor to all she meets. With the launch of her first book on the horizon and a national outreach campaign, Alaine is a woman on a mission - one of peace, love and acceptance all can feel if they allow themselves to UNPLUG!

South Jersey knows you as the owner of the Yoga Center of Medford, one of the leading yoga centers in South Jersey! The Yoga Center of Medford is a supportive community of instructors and students in a nurturing, beautiful environment. Tell us about the center's growth and development over the years - and the mind-body-spirit connection of yoga. 

As an adolescent I was always interested in the meta-physical world, it was an easy escape. Running outside also provided a secondary release form earthly matters. Both were passionate pursuits that combined the trine of a mind, body and spirit. Originally I thought yoga was “too slow” for me to even try.

UNTIL...I realized it was a way to share philosophies along with exercise. After intense studying with my Indian teacher, I understood that our culture could benefit from this ancient tradition of reducing stress and treating your  body like a temple. Yoga provided the answers. They say all of your answers are all self-contained anyway. Getting your leg behind your head isn't nirvana negotiation but inspires flexibility in practicing the pathways to your heart for radical acceptance of the self.

The Yoga Center classes originated in a gym, then karate center, then a second floor loft of a strip mall into its current sanctuary of bliss. The emotional maturity of the teachings and physical pursuits has expanded because of each teacher’s unique perspective. The teachers and volunteer staff have all taken their practices off of the mat and into the public world of compassion. We all practice moving into stillness daily as everyday dramas challenge us. Our Center supports non-profit programs, organizations and local causes. We have graduated over 150 students from our School of Yoga. They’re teaching yoga in grade schools, specialized populations, correctional institutions, corporations and gyms. The Center fosters relationships with self and all others.

Alaine, you are a yoga gypsy with a special talent of mediumship. Using this unique gift you guide your participants through an intimate yet compelling meditation session where you deliver messages from departed loved ones. How did the owner of Yoga Center of Medford become Alaineportner.com? 

Sensitive entrepreneurs can synchronize their creativity alongside community needs.  As a spiritualist in the Mind, Body business, I felt many seekers were looking for ways to change their body, mind and life. YCOM  was named for its location and the acronym, ycom, “why (Y)  (C) see  (OM) peace? Other Schools of Yoga classify their discipline by name, Anusara, Bikram, Jivan-Mukti . Medford’s Yoga is a myriad of influences and always changing just like we are everyday.  Its style goes un-branded so you can choose it personally, on any given day.

Alaineportner.com…

Through years of meditation and listening to others even when they might not have been speaking, I've found a way through the channeling’s to assist others in achieving their personal guidance. We have to move beyond what we can only see with our eyes open. We all have an intuitive sense, and I encourage others how to exercise that sensibility also. The channelings grew from the Center as an efficient way to offer spiritual education through a unique method. This time, its identity is my name. alaineportner.com.

Alaine, the meditation sessions you lead are filled with love, inspiration and often humor, providing participants with validations and confirmations to heal both hearts and minds. What do you feel are the most important elements of being a medium? How do you view your gift?

Important elements of mediumship to me are, practice, permission, prayer, honor and heart-opening.  This doesn’t mean I can't tell you small to large skills of being a medium!  It's not a secret to stay open, cultivate love and have the best intention of serving all living energies. (Including that which you believe to be dead and gone). What’s most important is that we remove our ego to hear the clarity of guidance for our personal journey.  It’s really none of my business to know your intimate details even though the spirits can tell you what you had for breakfast and more.  To serve you, I talk to deceased people for a living. Through the last four years and 4,000 readings of after-death communication, participants have expanded their view of the after-life.  Fortunately, we've discovered a center vortex of benevolence. This communication has radically re-set values for our purposes in this life.  My students begin to learn gradually who spirit is, where they come from, how they want to help and how to better understand how they are speaking to us. People trust the guidance through a medium more than themselves.

Is yoga for...everyone?
Really...can anyone do yoga?

Yoga is the unity consciousness. My experience is that the unconditional love exists within all humans. We may title it a differently by separating language, color or creed. To me it's all the same. We're all desirous of connecting to a source and sensitizing our minds and bodies in that relationship. The breath is the link. So being human, you want to breathe to keep the body experiencing full capacity living whether you are still or in motion.

Yoga is a discipline, a way of life, not always physical, for every body. Stillness is dynamic. It’s movement that’s not conflicted, life in harmony with itself. Whenever there is uninhibited participation you can then live your moments more wholeheartedly.

Invoking the breath (your lifeline) you activate from the inside, awakening to the internal journey. At some level you’re exploring the mind and the body. Nobody else can do this for you. Participating in this connective (tissue) practice, you’ll empower your personal connections to life more profoundly. The opposite is true, when we ignore our body by not moving it, it moves away from center. If we move our minds into fear, distrust we cause stress, which affects the body anyway. So why not infuse the mind, with breath, bliss and move the body accordingly to the level that is available? You can do yoga in a chair, airplane or anywhere, no matter the age, ability or where you live.

If you could do yoga for one hour, or have Nordstrom's all to yourself for one hour and be able to take home as much as you could carry, which would you rather do? Be honest Alaine!

Yoga for one hour, please. The stillness of meditation creates timelessness and you can serve many others in that singular decision. That’s a greater value of time that you couldn’t find within several Nordstrom’s racks.....even if I found the perfect black dress in my bundle of goods.

However, I love this question because...

I love Nordstrom’s, you're channeling me now!

I admit to “visiting” my favorite shoes in their department. There's a particular air quality in that store that I like to flirt with and then be patient to purchase whatever I am seeking., when it’s the right time.

What is the difference between relaxing...and meditation?

Relaxing is releasing body and mind at some layer and meditation is meaningful emotional releasing, honoring your intention of prayer, and devotion of surrendering your mind body & spirit into the universe. When u release more layers of energy or body density you can connect to higher levels of consciousness. Similar to sleeping, you release the body and all of us have had some type of dream awareness that moves your mind enough to give u a dimensional shift of your presence. A fulfilling night of sleep creates balance, right?

Sharing is part of my intention of teaching and learning how to serve one another. In order to teach I am a perpetual student of consciousness. This deeply rooted intention,( for I was born this way), continually unveils our human desire to align with unconditional love.

I've discovered this from animal lovers and those in the heavenly realm.  I reach my antenna to the guidance that is most purposeful for each person.   Your message may be the appearance of your loved in a way that you can recognize them. This is your spirit guide now. There may be many. Sometimes the message is more important than identifying the messenger. Don’t change the channel until the epiphany appears!

What is a spirit guide? Do we all have them? 

A spirit guide is a contemporary term for a spiritual source/companion/god. Guidance emanates from natural sources, trees, crystals, people,animals,and spirits. Activating trust, can nurture the relationship. The source to whom you pray or talk to can remain consistent your whole life or it can change according to life’s circumstances. Today's culture has been more willing to accept our spirit guides as our departed loved ones. Grandparents, Mothers, Father’s, Sisters and Brothers in spirit form indicate that love never dies and our deceased relatives can still be active parts in our lives. When we learn how to connect intuitively, our lives can fall into a pattern of ease and flow, release grief and add more purpose to our lives. Our soulful bonds transcend this earthly living beyond the veils of heaven.

If you could be best known for the Yoga Center of Medford or for your gifts in communicating with the spirit world, which would make your heart sing most? Clearly, each are important and they are deeply intertwined and both are a reflection of you. Does one role matter more than another for you, at this time?

Great symbolism. My hearts often singing when sharing. It's all the same. The role of channeling is substantiated by opening up someone's heart, whether it’s one person in the room or hundreds.  The Center is a vortex, where community seeks connection through movement.  I am blessed to witness, teach, study and participate any time, any day.  It's a constant embodiment of grace that has been changing lives for over 15 years. Heaven on earth appearances are not just housed at the Center. It’s been a rewarding experience to share the teachings in many alternative locations, whenever requested.  The shadows of doubt can become illuminated wherever you’re located.

If you could be a puppy, rolling around in beautiful lush grass and being loved and cared for by devoted children and a loving family for one afternoon, what kind of puppy would you be?

An unidentifiable mixed breed (a mutt) puppy please.. I wouldn't want to be labeled a particular breed. There’s too much responsibility with titles and this doesn't account for changing times. So if I could encompass all breeds in one that is an ambition worth achieving. I’m crazy about dogs but careful to know that my human needs can't be more important than their dog days.

What books are your reading right now?

My own, due out by Winter 2013.

Please share one of your favorite quotes.

It’s a poem embedded in my trunk! (Do you want the whole poem?) 

The poet, David Wagoner illustrates the Northwest Native American tradition of letting children run freely in the forests …to learn , to grow. Elders anticipate the fear that may arise in the child’s pursuit of discovering personal bravery with NATURE.

The child asks: “What do I do when I am lost in the forest?”

The elder responds:

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
are not lost. Wherever you are is called “Here”.
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger.
Must ask permission to know it and be known
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers.
I have made this place around you,
If you leave it you may come back again, saying “Here”.

No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
where you are. You must let if find You.

Lost, David Wagoner