Bay Area Yoga Teacher Highlight: Martina Chavez
Name: Martina Chavez
Practice with me at: Gaia Yoga, Point Richmond.
How long I’ve been practicing yoga: 10 years.
How long I’ve been teaching yoga: 3 years (over 500 classes!!).
What kind of yoga I teach: Mostly Vinyasa, but I've done it all! I love slowing it down for Gentle and Restorative classes - that only happens when I sub these days. My most natural state is a strong, steady flow. The pace really depends on a combination of my mood, the music, and the energy of the students in class. There's always a game plan, but I almost always go off script.
My mantra these days: I have so many...the one that is tattoo'd on my body, that will always be an important reminder is: "Surrender to Grace" (GRACE: Gently Release All Conscious Expectation). I often suffer from attempts to control, ummm...everything. This life practice is a day to day, sometimes hour to hour kind of experience!
An asana/meditation or kriya that has been resonating with me lately is: The whole truth and nothing but the truth: Savasana. I work a full time job (requiring travel), own a yoga studio, teach yoga, and am very active with CrossFit. My personal yoga practice looks and feels a lot different than it used to. I need a much more restorative experience on my mat now. Savasana is always there. When I'm traveling for work, Adho Mukha Svanasana, Balasana, and Savasana are the perfect combo to reset after all the airplanes.
How I like to practice yoga off the mat: I am a social justice advocate and am particularly committed to ending Mass Incarceration of communities of color. I recently attended a weekend intensive to learn about the Prison Yoga Project with the intention to one day teach trauma informed yoga in prisons. Until then, I use my personal platform as well as the studio platform to raise awareness about social injustice and fundraise for organizations like National Bail Out, Prison Yoga Project, Mindful Life Project, RYSE Center, and others.
My sign: Aquarius.
The last book I read was: Not Quite Nirvana: A Skeptics Journey to Mindfulness, by Rachel Neumann (I highly recommend! I laughed the whole way through and related in so many ways)
Favorite local juice/tea spot: I am definitely a coffee drinker lol...and lucky for me Kaleidoscope is 2 doors down from the studio! Delicious coffee, expert baristas, and an awesome, diverse community. Great work/study spot.
Where I go for a nourishing meal: Do burritos count?? (The answer is yes). Maya Taqueria and Gordos are my two favorite burrito joints. I hit them up once a week easily. Calories are important to maintaining my active lifestyle - kale just doesn't cut it (although it is a part of my daily meal prep!).
What’s on your yoga playlist right now: The Lime Tree - Trevor Hall, Beginnings/Shanti - MC Yogi, Tucana (Instrumental) - Mt. Wolf.
A few of my favorite yoga teachers are: Maria-Christina (Green Yogi Berkeley), Pete Guinoso (Yoga Tree), Dana Damara (Embody Truth Teacher Training).
A ritual I love: Bath time! My partner and I remodeled our bathroom a year ago and installed a big soaker tub. Candles, lavender bubble bath, and epsom salt. Bliss.
What I am letting go of this year: FEAR (of success/abundance).
What I am embracing this year: ME. Being visible as my whole self.
My website: www.gaiayogastudio.com.
My instagram: @marzgrl.
