






Trucker Spotlight - Hope Zvara <em>The Trucker Spotlight series explores the lives of truckers and their journey to make a difference in their industry. We interview different people in the trucking industry to understand some life lessons that make them who they are today. We also learn more about their motivations, and the problems that they encounter on the job. We also tackle how Trucker Path's solutions helped them with what they do. The information that they provide helps inform other people who are looking to delve into the trucking world.</em>
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/07/Lark20200727-210833.jpeg" alt=""]
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Today we are putting the spotlight on <strong>Hope</strong>, who is a Yoga instructor and founder of Mother Trucker Yoga, whose advocacy is to teach yoga and wellness to truckers. She has been featured in a lot of trucking websites, magazines, and also maintains a podcast on Chrome and Steel Radio. Let's get to know more about Hope and how she mixed yoga with trucking.
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<h3><strong>Tell us a short story about you. Any trivia?</strong></h3>
I had no idea what I wanted to be when I was in high school. I knew I wanted to help people but was lost among many other things. At age 20 I decided I wanted to do mission work and began to look into being in the Peace Corps. But as a college drop out, that wasn’t an option. So I found a program and a few short months later I found myself on a plane to Nigeria to live for nearly a year. That trip changed my life in a way that helped me to see that I could do anything. As someone who had struggled with addiction and a slew of other issues, a trip like that gave me a deep dose of perspective. That perspective still drives me today to help others gain perspective on their health, happiness, and life’s direction.
Trivia? I am a middle child. I Have been to 7 different countries before the age of 30. I love alternative rock. I love dark chocolate and mojitos. And love love love to travel!
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<h3><strong>What made you decide to delve into the trucking industry?</strong></h3>
Well trucking just fell into my lap. For about 5 years prior I knew I was a transition in my career and was ready to do something different, something more. I had owned a yoga studio for more than a decade and knew owning a studio wasn’t my end game. Then at a local business mixer in my hometown of Hartford, Wisconsin, I started chatting it up with someone I had never met before, who is now my former business partner. I was trying to pitch him corporate yoga for his trucking company office employees and he looked at me and said, “do you have anything for drivers, like in the cab of their truck?” Without skipping a beat I looked at him, threw my arms up, and said “Mother Trucker Yoga”. He loved the idea and the next day I and a perfect stranger were building a company from scratch merging yoga and trucking.
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/07/Lark20200727-210808.jpeg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>What are the significant changes that you've noticed in the trucking industry?</strong></h3>
I’ve seen a lot of changes in the last three years. Many drivers I’m sure will comment on the increased regulations. But I want to talk about increasing awareness and action around trucker health. More and more drivers and companies are taking notice of the necessity of taking care of our drivers’ health and well-being. I ask companies all the time are your drivers an asset or a liability? This pertains directly to the health of the driver. Every month I am seeing more and more drivers take an interest in cooking on the truck, drinking more water, trying to exercise or at least for the first time admitting it is something to pay attention to and work to improve. Secondly are mandatory 30-minute breaks and 34-hour resets. Now I am not a truck driver and never claim to be. And as much as these breaks can be a pain in the butt when a load has a deadline. I want to encourage you to see these times outside the driver’s seat as opportunities to take better care of you. Get out and walk, exercise, get to the grocery store or order groceries to be delivered to your truck, or meal prep. See that time as a blessing to help improve your health. You have to take it so you might as well do something positive with it.
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<h3><strong>What came first, trucks or yoga?</strong></h3>
Great question. Yoga came first. As a teen, I struggled with depression, anxiety, and addiction and yoga saved my life. Now I know that might seem heavy, but the reality is that many struggle with mental health and yoga is as much physical fitness as it is about mental and emotional fitness. I went from a young teen practicing yoga as a lifeline to teaching yoga to others, teaching teachers, and then teaching yoga to truck drivers just like you. And I have to say, working with truck drivers has been one of my favorite parts of the road I've been traveling (hehe- get it).
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/07/Lark20200727-210823.jpeg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>Ever tried driving a truck?</strong></h3>
I've driven a lot of things, a skid steer, a forklift, a truck and trailer backward up a winding driveway- yes; but an eighteen-wheeler, not yet.
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<h3><strong>What are your trucking industry pet peeves?</strong></h3>
Complaining. Now people in every area, every walk of life, every industry complain. And sharing our concerns, or dislikes, and frustrations when done correctly can be an effective way to make a change. But when people leave comments complaining about what they don't like in a negative tone without any suggestions on how to make it better and when people attack and never for a second consider all that the other has done or has to go through to make X happen, is so frustrating. I believe the key is perspective. And when we gain perspective our tone often changes. We see life differently.
The second is people saying it is impossible to be healthy or exercise when you are a truck driver. I promise you with 100% confidence that there are things that you can do as a truck driver to improve your health, fitness, and wellness that you can implement today.
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/07/Lark20200727-210828.jpeg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>What are the common habits that a truck driver should change?</strong></h3>
#1 thing a truck driver should change today is drinking more water. Our bodies are made up primarily of water and many of our health concerns can often be tied back to dehydration: grogginess, muscle pain, cramps, fatigue, mental fog, and digestive issues. Drinking more water, ideally, 1/2 your body weight in ounces can dramatically change your health. Secondly is to move more. I'm not telling you to exercise, what I'm saying is with all that sitting you need to move more so you don't end up as stiff as a board. Simple things like small movements or stretches while driving. Walking laps around your rig while filling up with fuel. Or a yoga stretch here and there in those moments where you are waiting to load, unload, on your break, on your reset. It all adds up.
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/07/Lark20200727-210818.jpeg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>What are the benefits of yoga for truck drivers?</strong></h3>
There are endless benefits to practicing yoga. And being a truck driver you aren't exempt to those benefits. Here are13 of my top benefits to truck drivers practicing yoga:
<ul>
<li>Improves flexibility and mobility.</li>
<li>Strengthens muscles, which can help with arthritis and back pain.</li>
<li>Aids in realigning the spine to help distribute weight evenly.</li>
<li>Helps keep spinal disks supple.</li>
<li>Offers a natural weight-bearing exercise, increasing bone density.</li>
<li>Gets your blood flowing, providing more oxygen to your cells and helps boost hemoglobin and red blood cells.l</li>
<li>Assists in increasing the drainage of the lymph, helping to destroy and fight cancerous cells.</li>
<li>Gets your heart rate up, lowering the risk of heart disease.</li>
<li>Gets you breathing.</li>
<li>Lowers blood pressure.</li>
<li>Lowers cortisol levels, helping with long term memory, and fighting depression.</li>
<li>Improves coordination, reaction time, memory.</li>
<li>Helps you to relax</li>
</ul>
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/07/Lark20200727-210813.jpeg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>What is the best truck stop food for truckers?</strong></h3>
There are dozens of diets and eating guidelines that people follow-truckers included. And I think the better question to ask is what should drivers look for each day at the truck stop to eat? And the answer to that is simple. Look for foods that are fresh, look for foods that are preservative, additive-free. Look for foods that have some sort of nutritional value. So many drivers (and Americans) are eating empty calories: chips, fast food, candy, soda. And sometimes it is hard and there are minimal options so ask yourself what is “good, better, best” for me to eat today. Dried nuts are good, a container of raw carrots, pretzels and hummus is better, or a burger without the bun and a salad with a hard-boiled egg and tons of veggies on top is probably the best. Sometimes the best option is not available. So what is good or better? When we bucket the foods in front of us this way we take some of the stress out of it and stop thinking in the form of “good diet” or “bad diet” and start thinking along the lines of good, better, best. And remember you don't’ always need to be the best!
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/07/Lark20200727-210838.jpeg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>What are some wellness tips that you would like to share for truckers?</strong></h3>
What we do each day is often dictated by what is sitting between our two ears. Mental health is critical as a truck driver. When you add up being away from family and loved ones for weeks on end coupled with isolation, erratic schedules, and deadlines, you need to take time for you. This does not include mindlessly scrolling Facebook or Instagram. This is you listening to a positive audiobook, or upbeat music, calling a friend, and not complaining but sharing your wins for the day. But don’t be fooled, simple things like drinking more water, and getting your butt moving (sorry to be so blunt) WILL and does positively impact your overall wellness every single day.
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/07/h2.jpeg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>How can truckers subscribe to your yoga classes?</strong></h3>
Drivers can easily subscribe and join our Mother Trucker Yoga family as easy as a click of a button. By going to <a href="http://www.MotherTruckerYoga.com">MotherTruckerYoga.com</a> and go to our “Subscribe” page. Don’t worry it’s not $100 a month to join our family and receive our amazing content. Subscribe for just $7.99 a month and get new content dripped to you each month.
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<h4>By Aldous Aldwin</h4>
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Trucker Spotlight - Tashauna Thomas <em>The Trucker Spotlight series explores the lives of truckers and their journey to make a difference in their industry. We interview different truck drivers to understand some life lessons that make them who they are today. We also learn more about their motivations, and the problems that they encounter on the job. We also tackle how Trucker Path's solutions helped them with what they do. The information that they provide helps inform other people who are looking to delve into the trucking world.</em>
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2021/04/202102-BLOG-TP-TS_Tashauna-Thomas-4.jpg" alt=""]
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Today we are putting the spotlight on <strong>Tashauna Thomas</strong>, who's a 25-year old trucker from Brampton, Ontario, Canada. She has been driving for about 3 years, started driving locally and now doing OTR. Let's get to know "Tashauna" and her life over the road.
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<h3><strong>What made you decide to be a trucker?</strong></h3>
I was offered the opportunity to get my CDL while I was working in the warehouse at Coca-Cola, so that was how and why I decided to be a trucker.
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<h3><strong>In the years that you have been driving, what are the significant changes that you've noticed in the trucking industry?</strong></h3>
In the short amount of time that I have been a trucker, the only major changes I’ve seen would have to be the hours of service in regards to the split sleeper berth.
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2021/04/202102-BLOG-TP-TS_Tashauna-Thomas-2.jpg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>What are some things you dislike about being a truck driver?</strong></h3>
Sitting for long periods of time, hitting animals, and being stuck in bad weather conditions.
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<h3><strong>What attributes must one have in order to be a successful truck driver?</strong></h3>
Patience and great driving skills.
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<h3><strong>What's the most memorable experience you've had while over the road?</strong></h3>
Seeing all the different types of landscapes across America and Canada.
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<h3><strong>What's your favorite Truck Brand / Model? </strong></h3>
Peterbilt 579.
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<h3><strong> Aside from being a trucker, any other things you dream of doing?</strong></h3>
I wanted to be in a Missy Elliot music video like Alyson Stoner.
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2021/04/202102-BLOG-TP-TS_Tashauna-Thomas-3.jpg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>What's the best truck stop for you?</strong></h3>
Any truck stop that is clean and doesn’t have a bunch of dropped trailers in parking spots.
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<h3><strong>What was the worst breakdown or setback you've experienced while OTR?</strong></h3>
The starter on my Volvo was corroded so that took a while to get fixed just because it’s a Volvo.
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<h3><strong>We're glad that you use the Trucker Path on your day to day trucking. What features do you enjoy the most?</strong></h3>
What I like about <a href="https://sixdays.page.link/tLUu">Trucker Path</a> is I can see which truck stop has parking available so I can plan according for my 10 hour break.
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<h3><strong>What are some tips that you would like to share for aspiring truckers?</strong></h3>
I say go for it if you feel you want to try it out. Nothing wrong with seeing if trucking is for you. When you do become a trucker, don’t forget to do your pre-trip!
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2021/04/202102-BLOG-TP-TS_Tashauna-Thomas-5.jpg" alt=""]
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<h3><strong>Where can people watch your videos on Youtube?</strong></h3>
They can view my videos on my Youtube Channel, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9M6B5FXm_D9_peBNX2Lzqg/videos">Slimteetee</a>.
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vWfKm-TZ4hE" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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Hope you guys enjoy!
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<h4>By Aldous Aldwin</h4>
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Truckers Sentiments on Updated HOS Rules
[p]As the new HOS Rules have been updated, <a href="http://www.truckerpath.com">Trucker Path</a> users have brought in mixed comments via it’s in-app forum. Here are some of the comments we gathered from our users.
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/11/trucker-2946821_640.jpg" alt=""]
[p]Some users welcomed the idea, like DANZ63. He said <em>“Experiencing the new 30 minute break allowed including the on time duty into it. Honestly, the 30 minute break should be removed completely because it’s really no break at all because it completes the break while I didnt even intend to take a break. Also my pre trip doesn’t even start my day, which can actually be beneficial.”</em>[/p]
[p]User, Tachyon said that <em>“This benefits owner operators and fleet owners by giving them greater flexibility. The seventy hour clock should have increased to allow employees the opportunity to make more money to justify the additional fatigue this is likely to cause.”</em>[/p]
[p]<em>“I think it’s a good change and the first in a decade that will actually mitigate driving fatigue. Forcing a driver to take 10 hrs in one sitting does not necessarily reduce his fatigue. Everyone is different. A full 10 hours make me more tired sometimes!”</em> said user Tarzammond.[/p]
[p]All good, said user Shuttleman. <em>“I’m good with it. I’ve been doing ELD’s. For 15 years I did all the whining back then and didn't do any good so I just got used to it, worked with it. Just hang in there a few years, all of this will be water under the bridge and life will go on.”</em>[/p]
[p]While there is a mix of feedback. The common denominator is the request to remove the 14-hour rule altogether. [/p]
[p]<em>“Glad to see the first step in a good direction, but the 14hr day is a huge hindrance. Like when last week, I spent 5.5hrs waiting to get loaded just chipped away at my drive time. Extended delivery to another day, turning 2-day delivery into 3 days.”</em> Another one stated.[/p]
[p]8sEx4eCoSP said, <em>“I just wish they would drop the 14-hour rule. I think that’s why there are more mistakes being made because we don’t have a long enough time to actually get a shower or take a nap or like some of us take the time out to eat right and not so much on the go. Plus some of us only need 6 to 7 hours of sleep and we’re rested. And there’s a lot of us that always take a break more than 30 minutes a day anyway if we get the chance to. But with this 14-hour rule, it hinders all of us.”</em>[/p]
[p]OpClgdA9Jc was also not in favor of the 14-hour rule. <em>“Like with anything, it has its pros and cons. The 14-hour rule is the problem if they’re not going to get rid of it, they should at least make it 16 like in Canada.”</em>[/p]
[p]Even though one user was okay with the change, he still had something to say about the 14-hour rule. <em>“I’m in favor of the change. But they should scrap the 14 hour rule. I mean no driver likes it and it hurts drivers on making appointments.”</em>[/p]
[p]<strong>Conclusion </strong>[/p]
[p]While most of the truckers were in favor of the said changes and the added flexibility in schedule, there were also some that pointed out the need to remove the core 14-hour rule. The updated rules have been in place for more than a month now and gathering of public feedback is now over. The FMCSA has yet to give an update based on the feedback gathered but as one commentator said, life goes on.[/p]
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[img src="https://truckerpath.com/uploads/2020/09/hos2.jpeg" alt=""]
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[p][b]By Trucker Path[/b][/p]