Yoga with Elizabeth Gudrais

You cannot catch a horse in a field by running after it.
But if you stand still and hold out an apple, the horse will come to you.

- B.K.S. Iyengar

Elizabeth Gudrais firmly believes that the world would be a better place if all of us had a bit of yoga in our lives. To that end, she adds some yoga to her corner of Boston with classes in Cambridge and Somerville each week.

Originally certified to teach through YogaFit, she discovered the Iyengar method in 2005 (through classes with Linda di Carlo in Rhode Island) and quickly became an Iyengar yoga devotee. She is enrolled in a teacher training program with Patricia Walden and Peentz Dubble, and plans to pursue Iyengar certification upon that program's completion.

A former runner and aerobics instructor, Elizabeth was drawn to yoga through the typically American path: she thought it would be “a good stretch” and a good complement to other forms of exercise. Well, it was—but that turned out to be far from the whole story. She soon noticed that her sporadic insomnia was suspiciously absent on the days she went to yoga class. When letting go of anxiety and obsessive thoughts also become easier, Elizabeth was hooked.

True to the Iyengar method, her classes integrate poses, breath, and philosophy for a practice that cultivates strength, balance, and flexibility—on the mat and off. Through clear explanation, a focus on alignment, and offering adaptations for all body types and experience levels, she strives to make yoga accessible to all. Her classes are designed to complement a home practice, giving students adjustments and concepts to work with as they endeavor to understand the poses in their own bodies. Although classes vary along the continuum from intense to restorative, every class ends with deep relaxation.

Elizabeth's teaching reflects the notion that yoga is a companion for the lifelong journey. B.K.S. Iyengar writes that before we come to yoga, it is as if our bodies have been in a coma. Yoga awakens us and invites each person to piece together the puzzle of his or her body. Elizabeth is particularly interested in helping students identify asymmetries and detrimental alignment (such as the way the hips adapt to prolonged sitting, or the way the upper spine responds to being hunched in front of a computer all day every day) and learn how to work with these factors, bringing their bodies away from pain and fatigue and toward joy and freedom!

Join Elizabeth's e-mail list to get her current teaching schedule. The special courses page is mostly for her own recordkeeping, but feel free to click through to see who she's taken workshops with over the years.

In her life off the mat, Elizabeth is a writer and editor at Harvard Magazine. She looks forward to meeting you!

“Truly extraordinary! ...Elizabeth’s focus on exploring
how small modifications to one posture impact the physical dynamics of the whole body
cultivates her students’ interest in the process of yoga—not just the resultant benefits.
...I always leave feeling newly inspired!”

	Elizabeth Gudrais firmly believes that the world would be a better place if all of us had a bit of yoga in our lives. To that end, she adds some yoga to her corner of Boston with classes in Cambridge and Somerville each week.
	Originally certified to teach through YogaFit, she discovered the Iyengar method in 2005 (through classes with Linda di Carlo in Rhode Island) and quickly became an Iyengar yoga devotee. She is enrolled in a teacher training program with Patricia Walden and Peentz Dubble, and plans to pursue Iyengar certification upon that program's completion.
	A former runner and aerobics instructor, Elizabeth was drawn to yoga through the typically American path: she thought it would be “a good stretch” and a good complement to other forms of exercise. Well, it was—but that turned out to be far from the whole story. She soon noticed that her sporadic insomnia was suspiciously absent on the days she went to yoga class. When letting go of anxiety and obsessive thoughts also become easier, Elizabeth was hooked.
	True to the Iyengar method, her classes integrate poses, breath, and philosophy for a practice that cultivates strength, balance, and flexibility—on the mat and off. Through clear explanation, a focus on alignment, and offering adaptations for all body types and experience levels, she strives to make yoga accessible to all. Her classes are designed to complement a home practice, giving students adjustments and concepts to work with as they endeavor to understand the poses in their own bodies. Although classes vary along the continuum from intense to restorative, every class ends with deep relaxation.
	Elizabeth's teaching reflects the notion that yoga is a companion for the lifelong journey. B.K.S. Iyengar writes that before we come to yoga, it is as if our bodies have been in a coma. Yoga awakens us and invites each person to piece together the puzzle of his or her body. Elizabeth is particularly interested in helping students identify asymmetries and detrimental alignment (such as the way the hips adapt to prolonged sitting, or the way the upper spine responds to being hunched in front of a computer all day every day) and learn how to work with these factors, bringing their bodies away from pain and fatigue and toward joy and freedom!
	Join Elizabeth's e-mail list to get her current teaching schedule. The special courses page is mostly for her own recordkeeping, but feel free to click through to see who she's taken workshops with over the years.
	In her life off the mat, Elizabeth is a writer and editor at Harvard Magazine. She looks forward to meeting you!