Kristen Bierwith is a yoga teacher based in San Francisco.
1. What style of yoga do you teach?
And, where are you located?
I teach power vinyasa for Yoga to the People in the Bay Area of California where I'm Director of West Coast Operations for the company. I oversee our 3 Bay Area studios, co-own one of them, manage 80+ teachers, and run our Teacher Training program. And teach, of course :)
2. What is your intention behind teaching? When I first started practicing, I knew I wanted to practice yoga because I loved the way that I felt afterwards and I was very into spirituality and mindfulness. But every time I walked into a studio I felt incredibly out of place and self-conscious. It seemed, to me, that everyone looked the same, was wearing similar outfits, were way stronger and more flexible than I was - like they all belonged on the cover of Yoga Journal. It was intimidating and I felt unsuccessful time and again. It wasn't until I walked into a class one day taught by a woman who would later become my teacher that I felt safe in a yoga studio.
She encouraged me to to listen to my own body, to take care of myself, and generally came at the class like it was a moving meditation. I try to bring the same to my own classes. I encourage students to close their eyes, to get more interested in what shapes feel like rather than striving for perfection and focusing on what they look like, to listen to their bodies. It's not a one size fits all practice. I believe the practice is a work in, not a workout. It's a moving meditation.
A chance to get closer to the stillness that's within you - that's within all of us. One of my favorite quotes is: "We don't use the body to get into the poses, we use the poses to get into the body." and that's the mentality I bring to my classes. Each pose is merely a vehicle in which you can have an experience. It's a chance to be in the present moment with yourself, to meet yourself where you're at, and cultivate self-kindness and self-compassion.
3. Who are your mentors in yoga?
The woman I referenced above is named Julie and she and her partner, Daniel, had a huge impact on how I teach today. They ran my 200 hour teacher training and were a big part of why I signed up for TT. Even now, years later, I find myself sequencing classes in a similar way, focusing on similar postures, and speaking about the poses from a similar mindset.
4. What have they taught you?
I think I already answered this :) But apart from everything that I've already said, I think the biggest thing that they've taught me recently is that there's always more to this journey - always new places to go.
5. Please mention a book that you have read about yoga that has had a positive impact on you? Your Body, Your Yoga by Bernie Clark had a profound impact on me and is where the above quote is from.
6. What lesson are you currently learning in your Asana practice? Oh wow, great question! There's a lot (physically) that I'm working on - hip flexors, hamstrings, shoulders, and upper back mobility. But I think right now with everything going on in the world and the current Shelter-In-Place, I'd say the biggest thing I'm learning is where I hold tension in my body.
I always thought I held tension mostly in my jaw, neck, and shoulders but I've found that as the world is reeling and waves of anxiety occasionally hit me (like they do most people right now), it's my hamstrings, glutes, and hips that are clenching. My hips are suddenly feeling a whole lot tighter and more constrained in poses like pigeon than they normally do. So I guess my answer is that I'm learning to take a step back and quietly watch my body more as a witness rather than an active participant.
7. How often do you practice? Nearly every day. I like to mix up my practice a lot. I do a mix of power vinyasa, yin, traditional hot, drills, and static stretches. I try to do at least something every day, even if it's just a few minutes of stretching.
8. How do you implement the other 7 limbs of yoga into your life other than Asana? I also practice meditation and pranayama. I read a lot, I try to keep my home (which is my sanctuary) clutter-free, I try to spend a lot of time doing things that make my soul sing, and I try to generally be a good person.
9. Why is being present so important to you? I think we're here, in this life, on this planet for a short time. We're here to learn so that our souls can continue to evolve. I want to take full advantage of that. I went through a lot of trauma when I was younger and my life for the past 17 years has been centered around growing, learning, and healing all aspects of myself (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc). I think in order to fully do that you need to be present.
10. How can we keep up with you on social media? What is your IG handle and/ FB name? You can follow me on Instagram @this.yogi.life and @truthseeker1111_, you can take my virtual classes at yogatothepeople.com/online-classes, and you can find a few past classes at yogatothepeople.com/channel (video) and yogatothepeople.com/podcasts (audio only)