nurturing guidance through breath and movement
Paula Reyes (she/her) has always been fascinated by bodies and movement.
She received her first training in movement at the early age of 5 as a ballet dancer. She grew up with a dancer’s discipline, allowing her to explore her own body’s capabilities and perceive her own space. She presents this dynamic background in her yoga practice and shares it in her yoga offerings.
Paula took her first yoga class in 2008 in the East Village in New York City, which to her felt like coming back home. Since then she has become intrigued by the joy and other feelings that emerge during and after all forms of the practice, and has learned to cherish the experience. She considers this experience as a gift and aspires to share it with as many people who are open to receiving it as possible.
Paula considers herself a forever student. She received her initial 200-hour Yoga Alliance Certification in 2010. Since then, she has attained a couple of 300-hour trainings and various continuing education programs, ranging from Ashtanga- and Iyengar-inspired teachings through Nicki Doane and Eddie Modestini to her trauma-informed training via Exhale to Inhale to Hatha- and tantric-focused education by her mentor Yogi Charu to brief online courses with Dr. Raj Balkaran. She believes that for her to be a trustworthy teacher, she must remain open to learning—even sometimes unlearning and re-learning—the many aspects of the yoga practice. (See below for a complete list of her certifications.)
Through her decade-plus experience as a yoga teacher, Paula is able to reaffirm her core belief time and again: you are your own best teacher. She hopes to keep supporting others so that they can explore their own strength and ability to evolve within their unique yoga practice.
Currently, Paula is taking her maternity leave from her home yoga studios as she awaits her first baby to arrive in late September 2026 alongside her husband Mike and their beloved rescue dog Cinnamon. She intends to return to her public yoga class offerings in Winter 2027.
certifications
September 2025
85-Hour Planting Seeds Prenatal Yoga Teacher Training
with Tonie Warner
Through Yuja Yoga; online and in person at Madhura Studios, Brooklyn, New York
October 2023
50-Hour Mudras Teacher Training
with Yogi Charu
Through Savitri Yoga Shal; Online
December 2021
50-Hour Yoga Nidra Teacher Training
With Yogi Charu
Through Savitri Yoga Shal; Online
June 2020
14-Hour Trauma-Informed Teacher Training
With Julie Fernandez and Jenna Conner
Through Exhale to Inhale; Online
November 2018
300-Hour Advanced Hatha Yoga Teacher Training
With Yogi Charu
through Savitri Yoga Shal; O’ahu, Hawaii
December 2017
100-Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training
With Nicki Doane
through Maya Yoga; Maui, Hawaii
October 2015, October-November 2016
300-Hour Advanced Yoga Teacher Training
With Nicki Doane and Eddie Modestini
through Maya Yoga; Maui, Hawaii
May 2010
200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training
through Yoga to the People (permanently closed); New York, New York
