Today we’d like to introduce you to Chrissy Gonzalez.
Hi Chrissy, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My yoga journey began in 1997 when I first moved to Los Angeles. I was a 20 years old complete mess with serious rage issues. One of my neighbors was a yoga teacher and took me to one of her classes. It was inside a church and we all sat in a circle and did breathwork. It was like nothing I have ever done before and I was intrigued. Shortly after that, I discovered Bryan Kent’s Power Yoga studio in Santa Monica. The studio was always packed. It was a sweatbox, and at the time it was exactly what I needed. I’ve been physically active my whole life having been a dancer for many years prior, so the strong style that Bryan taught was right up my alley. What I didn’t expect was the effect yoga would have on my mental attitude toward life. I was less triggered by mundane things… I started thinking more about my actions and how they affect others. I started wanting to take better care of myself.
I continued to practice with other incredible teachers including Sean Corn, Vinnie Marino, Annie Carpenter, Kia Miller and more. In 2002, my friend told me that she was signing up for a yoga teacher training and she asked me if I wanted to join her. The training was at Center For Yoga on Larchmont Blvd in Hollywood. I agreed, mainly to support my friend who was dealing with addiction issues. It was a 200-hour Yoga Alliance-certified “Anusara” yoga training and honestly, at that time, I had no idea what any of that meant. I just loved yoga and was excited to learn more. That training changed my whole life. I am forever grateful to Diane Beardsley, the lead teacher, for introducing me to the deeper aspects of yoga.
I began teaching right away, mostly to private clients. I was also a personal trainer/fitness instructor and worked in the film industry as a post-producer. After a few years of teaching, I realized I wanted to make that my career, but I didn’t feel 100% qualified yet. In 2008, right after I got married, I decided to sign up for another training. I chose the Center For Yoga because that was my home base. I randomly picked a 200-hour Yoga Works training led by Jeanne Heileman and Joan Hyman. I am happy to say that both of these teachers are still huge influences on my practice and my teaching style. I loved the 200 training so much that I went ahead and signed up for another 300-hour professional Yoga Works training with Joan Hyman as my mentor. After that training ended I followed her to Goa, India on an incredible yoga retreat. I was really excited to start teaching group classes here in Los Angeles, however, things didn’t quite work out that way.
In 2012, My husband got a work opportunity in his hometown, Chicago and we decided to give it a go and move there. I was sad to leave LA, my home of 15 years but excited to experience living in a different city. As soon as we arrived, I began exploring yoga studios and figuring out where I belonged in a town where I knew no one. The Chicago yoga scene is a bit different than the LA scene….it’s a bit more laid back. I became pretty busy right away. I began teaching at Equinox as well as several renowned yoga studios. I co-lead several yoga teacher training at Chicago Athletic Clubs. I also began leading international yoga retreats. So far, I’ve held retreats in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Bali, Morocco and Mexico. Chicago is really where I found my confidence and voice as a group yoga teacher.
We lived there for eight years and while we both loved Chicago, it never really felt like home. I missed LA; warm weather, the pacific, the mountains and of course the yoga community… While we were visiting family and friends in December of 2019, we made the decision that we were moving back. Little did we know what was to come. When Covid hit, everything changed. The studios were all closed for well over a year. My husband was working out of LA and I was in Chicago alone with my two dogs. I had to move to online teaching. I started a Patreon subscriber page and a YouTube page which are still going strong. I also began teaching live classes virtually on Zoom. While it was not ideal, it really did help to be able to see my yoga students and continue to guide them on their yoga journey. I was also able to take classes from my LA-based yoga teachers that I hadn’t seen in a long time which was really great!
We moved back to Los Angeles in October 2020. It was not the LA I remembered… Many of the studios I loved were closed indefinitely. Many teachers either moved away or stopped teaching. Many of my friends were also gone. I was still teaching virtually but mostly to Chicago yogis. It was hard for a while. As soon as Equinox opened again, I was on the schedule. I was grateful to be back in the studio and teaching but there was a strong feeling of disconnect. With everything going on in the world, people needed yoga but it was a hard sell. Obviously, I had to teach with a mask on and the students had to practice with masks. We had to create a minimum of 6 feet of space between the mats so the classes were pretty small. I was unable to walk around and give hands-on adjustments which was challenging. Not being able to see their faces or how they were responding to my teaching forced me to overperform as a teacher. I wanted to keep them engaged so I became kind of like a circus performer, just trying to entertain and make people happy. It was exhausting. I started to feel burned out. Luckily though, I was still practicing with my teachers online and was able to gain perspective on my emotions.
Today, things are basically back to normal. I teach approximately 11 group classes per week, mostly at Equinox and a couple at Center For Yoga. I still teach privates and am getting ready to lead two yoga retreats next year in Morocco and Costa Rica. I am also leading several yoga teacher training modules in Chicago and am hopeful to start leading them here in LA.
I started teaching yoga in 2002, and today, 20 years later, I am still teaching. My teaching style has changed over the years. My 20-plus years of experience both as a student and a teacher has taught me a lot about myself and life. I try to instill some of this wisdom into my students while still giving them a fun and challenging experience. In addition to teaching vinyasa flow, I teach several yin yoga classes. 20 years ago you would have never caught me dead in a yin or restorative yoga class, however, as I get older and hopefully wiser, I am learning to appreciate the art of slowing down a bit. There is definitely change in the air for me. And while I do enjoy teaching group classes and always will, I feel there is a natural shift that happens to yoga teachers as they age. The grind of running around from class to class and private to private is taking its toll. I imagine there will be a point where I will be leading more teacher trainings, writing and embarking on other creative endeavors, but for now, I still love what I do. There is nothing more rewarding for me than to see the inevitable transformations of the yogi’s who attend my classes.
The world has changed so much over the last 20 years. It’s harder to capture people’s attention. People are more stressed than ever, so I feel in a way it is my responsibility to be of service and try to help through teaching yoga. I always encourage my students to turn their phones off during class and create space after class to just be in the world. I also encourage them to slow down. Life moves so fast. It’s interesting to see the younger generation of yoga teachers coming up. I am hopeful for the future and grateful to have been able to teach for as long as I have and still love what I do.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since I began teaching yoga in 2002, I have experienced lots and lots of obstacles and challenges, but there are three main ones that I am currently working with…
Finding time for my own practice is the first big challenge lately. So many people assume that because I am a yoga teacher, I have life all figured out. They think I should be this serene person that is never bothered by things or that I should be a pillar of health and peace. This is simply not the case. I was a student before I was a teacher, and I am still a student for a reason. I believe in the magic of a consistent yoga practice, but when my teaching schedule becomes a bit too full, my personal practice is usually what suffers. When I don’t practice regularly, it shows right away, both in my teaching and my personal life. So one struggle for me is finding balance with my teaching schedule, my yoga practice and my relationships. I imagine this is what many people deal with in their work, however, with as yoga teachers, it is so important to maintain our practice. It’s what feeds us, what fills our cup. It’s what inspires us to ultimately inspire others.
Money is the second challenge. Teaching yoga is not the most lucrative job. Depending on where you live, you can make an average of $30 – $100 per class. I am lucky to have a husband who supports me. If I really needed to make ends meet on my own, I would need to teach at least 20+ classes per week which is a lot (or have a second job to supplement my income). Leading teacher training and retreats has definitely filled in some gaps financially. I think most yoga teachers would love to be able to offer their teachings for free or at a small fee, but we all have to earn a living and not be a burden to society. So many of us have to hustle a lot to make ends meet. When Covid happened, and so many studios closed, I came to terms with how volatile the yoga industry really is. There are some teachers who have been able to find their niche and become really successful, which is great. Then there are the hundreds of thousands of young teachers who are just graduating from teacher training and trying to find their way. I am somewhere in the middle I think. There is definitely a shift that must happen in every yoga teacher’s career. When our practice and teaching mature, so must our ways of sharing the practice. There are only so many years one can run around and teach daily group yoga classes before going insane.
Managing people’s energies and setting boundaries is the third main challenge I face as a teacher. This is actually something I’ve dealt with all my life, even before I became a teacher. We, in many ways, are seen like wizard therapists. People come to class with all sorts of preconceived notions, goals and aspirations. Some students have severe injuries or physical limitations that have affected their entire being. Others have major emotional traumas that they are trying to work out on the mat. That being said, when I hear a sad story or see someone really struggling, I tend to internalize it. I make it my mission to help them but truth is, I can only teach what I know and hold space. They need to work it out on their own. This is something I encounter a lot with private clients. They want results, and they want them fast. Yoga does not work that way. So when a student is still unable to do a certain pose or feels a certain way, they get really frustrated and often times I blame myself, which is ridiculous. Being realistic with expectations, understanding that I cannot make everyone happy or like me, and managing my own empathy is a constant practices for me.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a yoga instructor that has been teaching for twenty years (full time 10 years). I teach an alignment-based flow that is both challenging and soothing. My goal as a teacher is to inspire and empower students. I want to give them the tools to continue doing the work. I also try to instill in them the idea that yoga does not only exist on the mat in a studio or gym. Yoga can encompass our way of life. How we treat ourselves and others is the practice. I have heard many students say that they know exactly what I am asking of them with their eyes closed. My ability to explain the fundamental postures inside and out definitely sets me apart from most teachers. I learned this way of teaching from my teachers and it has worked really well for me. There are so many different styles, and my style may not suit everyone. There is a level of maturity that needs to develop in my yoga students. My goal for them is not necessarily to go faster or harder. I often encourage my students to slow down and hold poses for a bit and observe how they respond. At first, many of them resist this way of practice (classes are so fast and intense these days). Eventually, though, something clicks. I see a shift and a softening. Don’t get me wrong, I still offer lots of challenges and encourage them to find their edge. But the goal in my eyes is not the posture, but the unraveling of knots, so the student can be comfortable enough to sit with themselves and find a certain level of peace.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Non-Attachment! This is actually one of the main practices of yoga as told in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. I am a bit of a control freak. I like to plan everything out and know what is coming. Obviously, life does not work this way. When things don’t go the way I plan, it really throws me off. I get angry, frustrated and discouraged. The Covid pandemic was one of the biggest life lessons when it came to my attachment issues. I lost almost everything I was working so hard for. And moving back to LA in the middle of it all was equally challenging. I’ve been practicing the art of surrender lately. I am still a bit rusty, but I try to be kind to myself and remind myself constantly that this is a lifelong journey.
Pricing:
- $150 private clients
Contact Info:
- Website: www.chrissylovesyoga.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chrissylovesyoga/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrissy.gonzalez.10
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdvdDv00uJAs9TuQYHJ9fcg
Image Credits
Celeste McQueen Dean Gonzalez
