Tina Martin (she/her)

YTT Co-Lead, RYT-500

Hola! I'm Tina. I found yoga in college 17 years ago. I moved towards it and away from it over the years, but my practice is here to stay now. Just as all things in life, there were lessons and experiences that I needed to have before I was ready to fully embark on this path, a path that was always calling me.

Among other things, I am a mother, wife, woman, sister, daughter, and friend. I was born and raised in San Jose and will always consider myself a Californian (Bay Area girl) at heart. I graduated from Berkeley with a degree in Integrative Biology, having wanted to become a doctor since I was 4 years old. I know now that my want to become a doctor was a deep intuition in my nature to become a healer, for myself and others. Now I can say that I hope to do so by leveraging the ancient and natural wisdom that exists in the world. I can look back and connect the dots in my life; most notably that going to Berkeley opened my eyes to alternative forms of thinking, that working at Facebook built skills within me that I didn't even know I needed, and that losing my mother brought me profound loss and grief, but made me softer and and stronger in all the best ways.

I consider myself a free spirit, and also a fierce spirit, which I credit to my Mexican and Filipino ancestors. My teaching style aims to be vibrant, inspirational, and challenging. My hope for myself and my students is to awaken the warrior inside each and every one of us. It is the only way to face this life. For me, yoga is choosing the path of going within, of looking inside yourself for the answers, for the truth of who you are and what you are meant to do in this life. It's this idea of discovering yourself beyond the material and superficial to connect back to your truest nature and let it come alive. Yoga is this beautiful and brilliant expression of yourself completely. We learn to be present in our bodies through asana. We learn to heal by connecting to our breath. We learn to accept and transform in all the ways that make us lighter and fuller. A peaceful mind, a courageous heart, and a healthy body are built in these ways. I believe that there is no right or wrong in doing yoga. No experience, flexibility or fancy yoga gear required. Our bodies are all different and we move in different ways. Come as you are. I welcome you. Let's go!

Instagram: @tinamartinyoga