‘ Just you, yourself, and yoga.’

Gloria Suarez is a yoga teacher in New York City.

1. What style of yoga do you teach? And, where are you located?

I teach Power Vinyasa Yoga, Hot Vinyasa, and Traditional Hot Yoga (Bikram Style, 26 & 2). I live in New York City where I am a teacher and regional manager at Yoga to the People and oversee happenings within our five New York studios and our community of 140+ teachers, work with our community engagement online, and help lead our Teacher Training Programs.

2. What is your intention behind teaching?

I never expected to teach yoga. When I took my first official class in 2016, I never expected the experience on my mat to resonate so deeply. I simply agreed to take class because my friend really wanted to try it out. However, from that first class, something clicked. I started going once a week, then twice a week, then three times, then every day. There was something about being on my mat—the freedom to feel whatever I was feeling, to experience whatever I was experiencing and to not have to consider if it was wrong or right but rather to just be fully, that was so powerful and so freeing.

In teaching, that is what I want to share. For however long you are on your mat, that is it—just you being with yourself. Nothing else to do, nowhere to get to, no one else you have to be. Just you, yourself, and yoga.

3. Who are your mentors in yoga? 

My mentors are so many of the teachers at Yoga to the People who from day one, saw me and welcomed me wholeheartedly, people who then became my teachers in teacher training and who continue to help me grow today. Some people in particular are: Audrey, who took me under her wing when I started teaching and taught me so much about managing studios and teachers, Greg, the founder of Yoga to the People who is always challenging me in ways that allow me to step out of my comfort zone and grow, and Alena who is the East Coast Director at Yoga to the People and who is so much of the reason I am the teacher and the person I am today.

4. What have they taught you? 

Overall the people who have mentored me have taught me that I have a voice and I have important things to share. I get to interact with so many people every day and the words I say are heard and the presence I give felt. It is still so mind blowing to me that I get to do this work and what I do directly affects people.

In particular, Alena has inspired me to be really confident in not only my teaching but also in myself as a person. She has taught me how to answer the questioner, rather than the question, meaning the response or solution is going to look different for different people. As teachers at donation based studios and managers, we come in contact with so many people from different walks of life with different stories, meeting a person where they are at is important in being able to help them. She has also taught me how to stand up for myself and to be confident in who I am and move with kindness and care.

5. Please mention a book that you have read about yoga that has had a positive impact on you?

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran is a book that I constantly refer to. Though it is not technically about yoga poses or anatomy, it discusses so many important topics for being human, like love, pain, teaching, and beauty; elements that I find show up in yoga too. There are quite a few passages from the book that I continuously pull quotes from and often share at the end of my yoga classes.

One of my favorites is on love:

"To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.

To know the pain of too much tenderness.

To be wounded by your own understanding of love; And to bleed willingly and joyfully..." I highly recommend reading the rest!

6. What lesson are you currently learning in your Asana practice?

Within my Asana practice I am currently working on self compassion. Some days Asana feels really light and easy. Some days Asana feels sticky and really hard. Yoga is not a linear journey but a life-long practice. I am working on not letting those sticky days feel like setbacks in my practice but rather information about how my body feels that particular day and making choices to honor that feeling and support myself the best I can. 

7. How often do you practice? 

I try to practice every day. Some days I am so excited to get on my mat. Some days I am resistant. But even on the days where I have the most resistance, finding my mat even when I think I really don't want to are often the days where I get up at the end of class feeling so happy I practiced.

8. How do you implement the other 7 limbs of yoga into your life other than Asana? 

I find that a lot of the other 7 limbs of yoga tie into my asana practice or go hand in hand with my that practice. How I focus within the time on my mat each day implements aspects of so many of the other limbs. How I practice Pranayama within the poses or within breathing exercises, how I choose to take care and nourish my body, how I choose to practice love and care in how I interact with others, all ways that the 7 other limbs of Yoga show up constantly in my life.

9. Why is being present so important to you?

I really try to live by the idea that this present moment is all we have. I have found myself spending a lot of time thinking about the past—what I should have said and what I should have done differently, and also thinking so much about the future and how a certain decision or action could pan out. While I do think making informed decisions is so important, I was filled with so much anxiety and stress over how certain things would pan out. I was missing so much life right in front of my nose, and often frustrated from dwelling on things I cannot undo or hypothetical situations that haven't occurred. I've realized that all I can do is focus on who I am choosing to be right now and how I am choosing to be in the world today. LIfe is short and I don't want to miss a single moment.

10. How can we keep up with you on social media? What is your IG handle and/ FB name?

The best way to keep up with me is to follow me on Instagram @themoreyouglo.

I also have some recorded classes on our Yoga to the People YouTube channel at yogatothepeople.com/channel. I also teach regularly at Yoga to the People which is currently hosting online classes at yogatothepeople.com/online-classes. I would love to see you in class!

‘I believe the practice is a work in, not a workout.’

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)

Daniel Mullaney inspires us with his continual yoga practice

Image by Chris Davis

Daniel Mullaney is so inspiring. The classes that he teaches are balanced out with his own experience, the body and the breath. Although I took his class a while ago, I remember leaving inspired.  

Now let him inspire you... 

1. How long have you been teaching?
I have been teaching yoga for two years.

2. What motivated you to start teaching and what have you learnt from teaching?

I didn't intend to teach when I did my first teacher-training. I wanted to deepen my practice and probably thought I could somehow "win" yoga! When I did teach my first class, something clicked. I really enjoyed it. I think ultimately what drove me to start teaching more and what continues to motivate me is the chance to share some of the process I've experienced that has been so beneficial in many areas of my life.

3. What is something that you have learnt from a fellow teacher?
To be myself, to teach and speak from my experience.

4. How many times a week do you practice?

I practice daily. Sometime in the morning, sometime later on in the day and usually with a day to rest somewhere in the week.

5. Who inspires your practice?
There are so many sources of inspiration. I get inspired by seeing people do what they love to do, whatever it may be. Passion is infectious. As for yogis,I feel blessed to have had quite a few impactful teachers who continue to guide me. Nikki Carter, Jason Crandall, Yancy Schwartz, Jared McCann, and soo many others have been big sources of inspiration.

6. Why is it necessary for you to practice?
There's lots of reasons. My mind is loud and quick to shout. My practice, especially meditation, gives me a buffer before I react. When I put in my time , I feel better: physically, mentally and emotionally.

7. What message do you like to spread through teaching?
I think this is something that shifts and changes based on where I'm at with my practice or whats going on in the week. For the most part, I want students to be more aware; of their stories, their strengths, their potential, but ultimately, I want them to meet themselves where they are.

8. Where are you currently teaching?
YTTP SF/Berkeley

9. How has yoga helped your character develop?
Everyday I have a chance to get a little more in touch with myself. It's not always stuff I want to get in touch with, but I have the opportunity to be aware and from there I have a chance to accept or become a little more willing to make a change.

10.What has kept you practicing all these years?
There's no end. It's just a continual process with peaks and valleys and something to be learned every step of the journey.

 11. What is your Instagram, Twitter and Facebook name? @chillwaveyoga