Gail Witte has been a Yoga and movement specialist at the Good Karma Studio on Walker Way in Colonie since May. She lives in the Capital District with her husband, Tommy, and two children Gus and Lucinda.
Q: What is a movement specialist and who is it for?
A movement specialist is similar in spirit to a physical therapist. We use several movement techniques such as yoga, Pilates, and more to analyze movement or the lack of mobility — which is more often the case. Movement therapy is for people who have limited range of motion, chronic pain, who are healing from injury. Again, anyone who needs physical therapy could greatly benefit from the work I do.
Q: A quick look at your social media posts seem to indicate Yoga can help with all sorts of life’s challenges. How is that accomplished? How does Yoga help someone going through a divorce, for example?
A: Take a moment and consider Yoga as the rule book of life. There are eight limbs of a yogic lifestyle — the first two teach us how to operate in the world and how to treat ourselves well — then its movement, breathing, and the last three teach us how to turn inward towards meditation. As we apply these lenses over the stressful areas in our lives, we learn how to treat ourselves better and how to lead happy lives. So, for divorce, it’s really about becoming comfortable with our own company, let go of the experiences that left scars, and ultimately moving on.
Q: What was the first Yoga class you ever took like? Did you think it would become a way of life for you?
I started yoga from the fitness side of life. I took my first class at the community center I worked at (I’m also a personal trainer.) I thought to myself “this would look nice on my resume…” Fast forward 15 years and I don’t think I would have been able to love life this the way I do without it.
Q: What advice would you give to a person taking his or her first Yoga class?
A: Keep it easy! And use the props if they’re offered. Yoga classes are like laboratories — it’s a place to experiment.
Q: Name one person, alive or dead, you would like to have lunch with and what would you talk about?
A: Joan Rivers — as a small business owner, things can get dark sometimes, when the pace just doesn’t pick up. She went through a lot of good and bad times and had some fun and great advice on perseverance.
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