Where are you originally from?
I was born in San Jose California.

How long have you been teaching?
15 years.

Who was your very first yoga teacher and what was he/she like?
My first true yoga teacher David Houk, instructed me in the Bikram Yoga lineage. He was an advanced teacher who embraced the physical, mental and spiritual sides of life and yoga. He was the first teacher I had who emphasized compassion in practicing asana and insisted that said compassion should start with you.

What motivates you to practice today?
Well, first and foremost I still find it interesting.  Second, I feel more and more the yoga gets me connected.  Connected to the world, my community, and myself basically it just makes me feel better about life in general and it helps me deal with this challenging environment that confronts all of us.
How would you describe your personal practice?
My personal practice is variegated. Sometimes I find myself in a very challenging sun salutation based flow, very solar with a helping of standing postures, backbends and inversions.  Finishing with hip openers and long sustained twists and ending in a forward fold before savasana.  Some days I start sitting and skip salutations altogether and warm up with long warrior poses single leg standing balancing postures and move to the floor to begin a pranayama sequence.  It truly depends on the day.  If an old injury re-manifests I may target my practice towards a therapeutic tone and as I warm up amp things up a bit.  I continue to take classes and focused workshops whenever time allows and find that this affords me an objective viewpoint to illuminate my personal practice and affording me insight for teaching and invaluable information to place in my “yoga tool belt”.

What teacher has had the biggest impact on your practice?
Ganga White and Tracey Rich have had an amazing impact on all aspects of how I manifest, approach and more importantly define any physical practice.  They continue to suggest a non-dogmatic, non-authoritarian approach to all aspects of yoga.  They both graciously took me under their wing and taught me that teaching was an art form.
Though I have studied many lineages of Hatha Yoga, Ganga and Tracey gave me the freedom to learn how to make my own yoga out of all these myriad influences.  They also gave me license to find my own voice as a teacher.  Their idea of Hatha Yoga as an art and science dovetails with my exploration as an artist.

Aside from yoga, what other hobbies or interests do you have? 
I have been an artist as long as I can remember.  I primarily paint the figure.  I consider myself a working artist dividing my time between running my yoga center, teaching and making paintings.  I consider myself a very fortunate individual.  The yoga feeds the painting and the aahas I get from painting similarly inform my teaching and my asana practice.  I get to live where art and science co-habitate.   Or at least I enjoy the attempt.

How would you describe the experience of an intensive TT (Teacher-Training)?
Having taken several teacher trainings myself I can only give you my own experience, first of all the excitement, and the sense of jumping into the unknown.  It takes a lot of courage to take your first yoga class.  The ante increases when you set yourself a goal like a teacher training.  You dive into strange waters and struggle to acclimate.  As the training proceeds the physical rigor throws us back on ourselves.  The practice now being viewed more as a tool rather than a goal oriented device.  My wish is that training will allow us to change rigid headsets.  This can lead to an ongoing investigation to cultivate self-knowledge.  All of this gives us a glimpse of the journey into balance.

How long have you been leading trainings?
I have been assisting in trainings practically from the beginning of my teaching experience and leading them for many years.  My own formal trainings began 8 years ago.

What is your most memorable experience during a TT?
The most memorable experience is the moment you see a student apprehend information and assimilate it directly into their practice and therein to their teaching.  It is thrilling to be in a room working with individuals who are passionate about yoga and enjoying the ride, seeing the vast possibilities available to them.

What do you feel is the biggest benefit students receive from experiencing a Teacher Training?
A lot of feedback I receive involves people completing the training experience feeling more equanimity, feeling more equal to the task of dealing with the everyday mundane things that task us.  They experience a sense of walking with less fear and more grace.  In a sense a training can be a baptism of fire or a rite of passage.  The satisfaction of making it through the experience is transformational in itself.

Who should enroll?
Anyone with a deep desire to deepen his or her yoga experience.  That means the physical practice as well as an inquiry into the art of teaching yoga.  Teaching yoga is an art form.  A teacher training is a wonderful way to immerse yourself , to eat, drink and sleep yoga while getting the fundamental information you need to dispel the mystery and begin your personal journey as a teacher.

Mario

Once you have practiced yoga asanas regularly for a period of time, you will discover that your quality of sleep improves, you have more energy, tend to work more efficiently, and are much calmer and at ease.  These are the changes that take place in the body and mind as we begin to practice Yoga asanas.

As we go deeper into the asanas, we will increasingly demand more of ourselves in our sense of balance in body and mind. When our spine and muscle joints do not stretch fully, we may wonder if something inside might be stuck.  What it is that causes our minds to be imbalanced and prevents us from being at peace?  From the yogic perspective, these obstructions are referred to as bodily toxins.  They are derived from the foods and unclean air that we have consumed over the years that may have accumulated as acidic toxins in our muscles and tissues.  Stress from our daily lives, family, and relationships can cause imbalance in the body and mind.  With a dedicated asana practice the body will gradually begin to excrete these toxins.  Within the various practices of Yoga, there are forms of practice for eliminating these obstacles more effectively and efficiently, thus bringing better health and peace of mind.

You have studied with many great Yogis.  Who has had the biggest impact on you?
Gurumayi Chidvilasananda.  She has had the most impact on me because of her sheer power (Shakti), the power of her love, and her open heart. I have never experienced such openness from any other yogi. She has been very influential for me, as a person and a teacher.

What qualities should a student look for in a teacher? 
This is a vast subject.  The student should look for a teacher that has a connection to her own teacher, and that teacher should have a strong lineage. It is important that there is someone they studied with in the past and that they maintain a present connection to these teachings. Furthermore, the student should look for a  teacher who has integrity.  They should be good hearted, have all the virtues of the heart from kindness to truthfulness to generosity to being delighted and full of joy. They should radiate happiness and an enthusiasm and exuberance for life.  The teacher should be compassionate and joyful. The next requirement is that they are both sharp in intellect, and have technical knowledge on yoga, as well as a lot of life experience, and book knowledge. Lastly they should be vibrant and full of Qi. 

The four most important aspects of a teacher are;

1. lineage
2. good heart
3. sharp mind
4. vibrant body

What qualities does a student need in order to experience teachings?
A student has to have 5 basic qualities;

1. Spaciousness of heart and mind.  The student should have the attitude of being a beginner in order to receive the teachings as purely as possible.
2. Discipline, commitment, and dedication to the practice, and a willingness to practice what the teacher gives with steadfastness over an extended period of time.
3. The ability to be accommodating and flowing as things change.  They have to be ability to go with the flow.
4. The student must have the fire of aspiration, a lot of strength of will, and a deep longing and meaning behind their actions and practice.  They must receive the teachings with a sense of importance.
5. Lastly, the student needs a dexterity of mind to be able to understand intellectually the teachings. The student must have the capacity to understand and articulate the teachings.

 How has your own practice evolved over the years?
This is another big subject, that has evolved over the last 40 years. In the early stage of my practice(sadhana) the focus was on discipline; developing a steadfast intensity. The focus was on boundary - setting limits of the body and mind. This was a disciplined and sometimes harsh approach. It can be considered Yang. Over the years it has softened and evolved into a more fluid, yin approach.  I began to recognize both the effort of yang energy and the gracefulness of yin energy. I became open to Spirit and letting Grace lead the way. Today I put my effort into a currents of grace and work to find a balance of yin and yang. I find the middle of the current, and then enjoy the ride!

What is the role of Asana in that process?
It is one of the ways I can embody the virtues of heart and mind that I wish to cultivate. It is a way to connect to the teachings on a physical level. Instead of an intellectual understanding the teachings, I am experiencing them through an exploration of body and mind. This is a challenging method that requires stamina and flexibility both mentally and physically. It goes beyond the physical asana practice and into daily life off the mat.

How do you think Anusara has changed the way the world experiences Yoga?
I think Anusara Yoga has helped to remind people that there is an artistic element to the practice, a real expression from the heart that can help each individual to embrace there own creativity and talent. This can be put into their practice of asana in ways that are artistic. Through this effort, more beauty is created. It is an expression of art, love, and embracing our diversity.  Some of the basic Tantric ideas are that life is essentially good, and there is a level of goodness that can be found in everything. Also, there is a lot of emphasis placed on community in Anusara.  It is a joining together of people around the world.