MY STORY
Hi everyone! I am so glad you are here and interested in wanting to get to know me. Well, grab your favorite beverage and let’s begin …
INTRODUCTION
My name is Matty Espino (He/Him) and I am a Filipino-American yoga, Reiki, and dance cardio instructor based in New York City. I am originally from Orange County, California and moved to the City in 2013 to pursue my MA in TESOL at Columbia University. Prior to my life in health and wellness, I was an ESL instructor and have held teaching positions in NYC, California, and in Seoul, South Korea. If there is one passion that I love, it is teaching (regardless of modality). It offers me a chance to create ingenuity and innovation, presents a plethora of challenges to keep me on my toes and asks to me to be ever-evolving, and most importantly allows me to see the impact of how my students can create strides in utilizing what they are learning from me in their daily life. Teaching and learning is truly magic at it’s finest.
MY JOURNEY TO YOGA
So how did I get into yoga? During a rather difficult time in my life, I was brought to my first NYC yoga class. Initially skeptical about the practice, I began to discover the therapeutic benefits of consistently coming back onto my mat and, from then on, have begun what I call my journey towards healing. I am a firm believer that yoga has changed my life for the better. It has made me stronger, healthier, and happier and has consistently allowed me to challenge myself in new ways. I completed my initial 200-hour vinyasa training shortly after graduating from my MA program. Frankly, I never planned to teach as I was merely seeking to “deepen my practice” (cliché, I know but it’s true!). Lo and behold though, my Sagittarius nature (read: impulsive) got me to auditions as I really wanted to test the waters with yoga teaching. After landing my first studio gig, I became enamored with the art of yoga teaching and developed a strong passion for helping people to learn their bodies and cultivate a deeper sense of peace within themselves. In a nutshell, moving and breathing was such an innate recipe for feeling better about everything. Eventually, that love grew even more beyond what the ESL classroom could offer and I made the conscious choice to move to full-time yoga teaching. Yep that’s right - yoga teaching in good but notoriously tough New York City. The hustle was real, but I made it work! Ultimately, I wanted to be able to give people the gift of finding their breath, their body, and help them embark on a path towards a consciously happier, healthier, and more mindful life. The practice had helped me so much - why not share it with others?
Overall, my career in yoga encompasses years of hard work and dedication to which I am so happy I get to still do almost everyday. I have had the privilege of leading not only classes, but being instrumental in developing and leading future yoga teachers in training who aim to share their own unique gifts with others.
DANCE CARDIO, WAIT … WHAT?
So you might be thinking so how does a full-time yoga teacher go from teaching mindful find-your-bliss yoga practices to teaching booty bouncing dance cardio? My answer to that is well, why not? I’ve always thought to myself - If you put me in a box, I’ll be sure to break out of it. My passion for movement grew exponentially after I experienced my first 305 Fitness Dance Cardio class. Fun fact, I was hired by 305 Fitness to teach R&B Hot Yoga but little did I know they had actually planted the seed for me to start exploring my love affair with dance and fitness. Now, this journey has not been an easy one to say the least. When I began contemplating auditioning for a dance cardio instructor role, I found myself facing major road blocks of negative self-talk, imposter syndrome, and limiting self-doubt. I never really like danced danced before so what in the world could I be thinking? Cue Sagittarius impulsivity and I can do anything tenacity! Here’s the tea: I auditioned to be an in-studio instructor about 5 or so times with hopes that this time would be my time. There were some major lessons learned, true to form extreme discomfort and humbling growth, what felt like (at the time) Earth-shattering heartbreaks, and now what I’ve learned to reason as some major successes and milestones for my unique journey to movement story. A vital moment for me was advancing through each stage of the audition process only to be told a week later that it would unfortunately be a pass due x and y reasons. I was devastated. At that point though, I could have walked away. I was proud of what a “non-dancer” like me accomplished and perhaps it was time for me to accept that I must not be the right fit. But, no. I didn’t stop. I knew what I wanted and I wanted this. I took the gracious feedback I received and began implementing it in ways to improve my journey in movement and as a fledgling dare I say … dancer? I took a variety of dance classes in the City weekly and expanded my learning in newfound ways. I realized that the world of dance was something else (many things to love, many things to question). It was incredibly challenging being in so-called “beginner” or open classes and wondering why things were so so so incredibly advanced. But hey, that’s NYC right? It was tough, but I kept going. At the end of it all, the artistry and history of it all was so complex and mesmerizing and I understood that if I were teach something like this (albeit in a more fitness-helmed perspective), I knew exactly how and why I would teach the way I teach. Ultimately, I had my plan mapped out and then … a pandemic happened. So, a pin was put on this dream or so I thought.
As the gravity of the pandemic began to reign its terror on wellness and fitness (among everything else), I began taking my yoga teaching online. It worked out well, but in the back of my mind, I still thought about my journey toward teaching dance cardio. Luckily, fate dealt a card in my favor and I found out that I was eligible to enroll in the 305 Fitness Dance Cardio-certified program and join a community of like-minded individuals spreading the joy of movement in their own unique way. I became certified in June of 2020 and well, the rest is history. Again, I never imagined I would ever teach this format, but I fell in love with it so deeply that it has become a weekly highlight to offer up to the world in addition to all things yoga and mindfulness that I teach.
THE BIRTH OF MOVEMENT & MINDFULNESS
So, with yoga and dance cardio now being options for me to teach - I decided to create my platform called, MOVEMENT & MINDFULNESS. My reason for this is that both have helped me in profound ways. Movement (whether through yoga, dance, or cardio) has helped me connect to my body and work through so much that I never even knew I shut out. The practice of Mindfulness (or how I’ve found it through yoga and meditation) has helped me appreciate me and my circumstances more and enjoy truly living in the present moment. Both have created the arduous but beautiful journey to love myself again and again. So yes, I am a both a yoga instructor and dance cardio instructor. Two vastly different worlds, but both with so much potential for connection with yourself and others. I am so excited and grateful to do what I do and I can’t wait for you to join.
WHY TAKE CLASS WITH ME?
I will be your biggest cheerleader. Whether it'‘s yoga or dance cardio, I pride myself in creating a space that is warm, welcoming, and filled with invitation to do you. As a teacher, I offer carefully sequenced classes that are challenging and playful, while still supportive of all levels and accommodating to all bodies. With compassion, a bright smile, and an intuitive and intelligent approach to the body, I strive for each of my students to feel comfortable, confident, and to feel no judgment to move like them - a major motto of mine. You do not have to subscribe to any notion of what a dancer or yogi is supposed to be or look like, but are encouraged to march to the unique beat of your own drum. I am a firm believer that it is not about what you look like in my classes, but being able to trust yourself and find joy and compassion for the moment at hand (like I always say loving you, loving yourself!). I am incredibly excited and grateful to be teaching virtually (hopefully in-person soon) and give thanks to all of my teachers who have shaped my health and wellness path. Outside of teaching, I am a lover of language and culture, baking cakes, and traveling all over the world.
TRAINING & CERTIFICATIONS
Accessible Yoga Certified – 30 Hours (September 2020)
Accessible Yoga Teacher Training
Yin Yoga Teacher Training with Bernie Clark – 50 Hours (September 2020)
Yoga International
Lotus FlowTM Yoga & Social Equity – 25 Hours (September 2020)
LL Studios Advanced Teacher Training Programs, New York, NY
Lotus FlowTM Yin & Essential Oils – 25 Hours (August 2020)
LL Studios Advanced Teacher Training Programs, New York, NY
305 Fitness Dance Cardio Certified (June 2020)
305 Fitness, NY, NY
Yoga for Trauma (Y4T™) Online Training – 32 Hours Continuing Education (April 2020)
The Center for Yoga and Trauma Recovery , Oakland, CA
Yoga Tune Up® Certified Teacher Training – 70 Hours Continuing Education (November 2019)
Yoga Tune Up® Training Programs, New York, NY
Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training – 17 Hours Continuing Education (September 2019)
Exhale to Inhale, Inc., New York, NY
Yoga Tune Up® Embodied Integrated Anatomy Training – 20 Hours Continuing Education (August 2019)
Yoga Tune Up® Training Programs, New York, NY
Lotus Flow™ Art of Assists Training – 25 Hours Continuing Education (May 2019)
Laughing Lotus Advanced Teacher Training Programs, New York, NY
Lotus Flow™ FLY Training – 50 Hours Continuing Education (April 2019)
Laughing Lotus Advanced Teacher Training Programs, New York, NY
Trauma-Informed Yoga Teacher Training – 17 Hours Continuing Education (September 2018)
Exhale to Inhale, Inc., New York, NY
Lotus Flow™ Super Sequencing Training – 50 Hours Continuing Education (August 2018)
Laughing Lotus Advanced Teacher Training Programs, New York, NY
Lotus Flow™ Advanced Teacher Training – 300 Hours (May 2018)
Laughing Lotus Advanced Teacher Training Programs, New York, NY
SPECIALIZATIONS IN ALIGNMENT & THERAPEUTICS(25 HOURS), BRIDGE TO LOTUS FLOW (25 HOURS), CHAKRAS (50 HOURS), RESTORATIVE YOGA (50 HOURS), HANDS-ON ASSISTS (50 HOURS), BHAKTI YOGA (50 HOURS), AND AYURVEDA (50 HOURS)
Kids and Teens Yoga and Mindfulness Training – 35 Hours (April 2018)
Harlem Yoga Studio Teacher Training Programs, New York, NY
Vinyasa Flow Teacher Training – 200 Hours (August 2015)
Three Sisters Yoga Teacher Training Program, New York, NY
ADDITIONAL SKILLS: REIKI LEVEL 1 & 2 CERTIFIED