Yoga is not one size fits all. Practitioners come to our classes with bodies as diverse as there are walks of life; not every asana fits neatly to every student. In this workshop, we will discuss why it is important and how to shift away from shape-based to inquiry-oriented teaching, as well as the power language can have in creating a space where students of all sizes feel welcome. After laying an inclusive pedagogical foundation, we will practically examine how the "why" of a pose or transition opens up avenues for creative adaptation. Teachers will leave the workshop feeling more able to teach a variety of students how to do the work that is best for them.
Meet Your Mentors: Matt & Nikki
As many do, Matt discovered yoga after a breakup, and fell in love at first savasana. He soon found that yoga helped him address more than just temporary pains. Having spent much of his life in a sedentary body from which he felt deeply alienated, yoga connected him with his physical self in a way he’d never experienced before. His goal is to provide this kind of self-connection for his students in every class; Matt creates sequences that bring practitioners deep into the somatic sensations of asana. Expect specific cueing that unifies the mind, breath and body through intensity and to walk away with a liberating calm. And on a good day, his jokes will land, too.
Matt owes much of his teaching style to Yogamaya in New York City, where he completed his 200hr in the summer of 2022, led by Bryn Chrisman, Amanda MacDonald, Danielle Harboard, and Julie Pasqual. He also completed Down Under Yoga's 300hr in Boston in 2023.
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Nikki is a physical educator, yoga instructor and reiki practitioner striving to make wellness accessible to all. Her work has always been around movement based teaching and whole body wellness. One of her first employment experiences as a teenager was teaching children in the city how to swim, that opportunity ignited her to pursue Physical Education as a career and she has been a Boston Public Schools wellness educator since 2015. She shares this because when she became an educator, she needed yoga and her students inspired her to teach yoga and mindfulness to them in class. This drove her desire to learn more and start a personal practice, which eventually led her to teacher training.
Yoga changes the way she moves, breathes and thinks. It is the highest honor of her life to teach an inclusive, anti-racist take on yoga to anyone and everyone willing to give it a try.
What to expect in her classes:
Options. Options. Options. Her class is a safe space for you to explore nourishing movement that meets your individualized needs, while cultivating a sense of agency in your yoga practice. You’ll notice extra moments of mindfulness and opportunities to turn inward to learn a little more about yourself and your practice when she is guiding you during class. Her class is often a sensory experience as well, you can expect to be offered cleansing with palo santo, essential oils, opportunities for self massage and sometimes hands on assist- all always optional.
Upcoming Dates & Times:
Saturday May 9th 12:30-2:30pm
Location: Back Bay Studio - 364 Boylston St, Boston, MA
Price: $50
All cancellations will result in a credit to your account, not a refund. Studio Credit will be offered with 48 hour notice before the event. Any cancellation less than 48 hours will not receive studio credit.