This week on the podcast I am joined by Ali Reina. Ali's yoga journey began in 2014 when she took a yoga class to help prepare her body physically for a half marathon but was amazed how yoga provided her the mind-body-soul connection that alleviated any worries and anxieties that she brought to the mat. A chronic health diagnosis a year later limited her physically as she was unable to exercise in the same way. Gentle yoga classes were the only types of exercise that she was able to do, and for her, yoga became a critical part of her healing journey and lifestyle change. A classroom teacher for 11 years, Ali decided to follow a new path in teaching others about the mind-body connection yoga has to offer. She received her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training and is also certified in Yin Yoga, Chair Yoga, and Yoga Nidra. She created her business, Gentle Waves Yoga, in 2021 to educate others on the awareness of and experience the benefits of the gentler styles of yoga, especially for those with chronic health conditions. In this episode of the podcast, Ali shares about her journey with yoga and chronic illness, the benefits of the gentler styles of yoga and why we should consider offering them to our students, as well as the process of creating her business and some of the biggest business lessons that she's learned through the journey.

Enjoy!

This episode is brought to you by OfferingTree. If you're interested in finding an all-in-one platform for online or in-person teaching, then you should check out OfferingTree. OfferingTree has been supporting M.B.Om for over a year now and I not only love the product but I also love the people. OfferingTree is providing special pricing for M.B.Om listeners, so be sure to visit offeringtree.com/mbom.

My new yoga book is out now: www.mbomyoga.com/book

In this episode:

• How Ali first got into yoga
• Getting diagnosed with a chronic illness and how that changed the path of Ali's yoga journey
• The journey to becoming a yoga teacher and understanding how the body communicates
• The good things that have come out of the COVID pandemic that would've been unheard of ten years ago
• Distinguishing between different gentler forms of yoga and other self-care methods
• Why teachers should consider gentler forms of yoga and how you can educate your students on the benefits of gentle yoga
• What Ali offers and what she has been creating over the last few years
• Ali's biggest business lessons learned so far

Guest links:

Gentle Waves Yoga: https://www.gentlewavesyoga.com/