Anne Esguerra: Teacher Spotlight November 2022
Anne Esguerra is one of Sea Change Yoga’s founding teachers and the founder and owner of Integrative Life Therapy, a valuable collaborative partner. She currently teaches our AARP Maine Gentle Chair Yoga class, our online class for Mountain View Correctional Facility, and serves on our Program Committee and Stewardship Team. Anne also serves as a mentor for both our Yoga Teacher Training Scholarship recipients and new yoga teachers.
As an IAYT Certified Yoga Therapist, Group Facilitator, Life Mentor, Consultant, and first generation Filipino American, Anne brings a wide range of skills and lived experience to our team. Throughout our work together, Anne has modeled what it really means to live our yoga off the mat. “Embodying my practices and integrating them into my own being has always been far more important to me than the ability to quote books. We communicate with more than just words and text. Being open to sharing from who I am being offers far more than any regurgitation of someone else’s words,” shares Anne. When Anne served as Co-Chair of our Beliefs and Values Committee, I witnessed how meetings can skillfully be facilitated in a way which honors each individual. Instead of rushing through the agenda, Anne always took time to check in with us and notice what was present. Creating this space allowed us to show up more authentically, which created deeper connection and cultivated a culture of care amongst the group. Subsequently the work we did together - working towards more justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion - emerged from a felt sense of belonging and connection.
Anne has always been a strong advocate for more conversation around racial equity and action working towards dismantling white supremacy culture, reminding us that to truly apply the principles of yoga and trauma-informed care, this work is critical. She has continued to work with Sea Change because of our commitment to profound transformation, and continues to support the organization in building an internal culture that nurtures this change. We are deeply grateful to Anne for believing in our mission and our potential as we walk on this often messy path together. Anne shares that “Right now, I feel like Sea Change is in the practice of Svadyaya and applying the Yamas/Niyamas in order to take a deeper look at itself as an organization of many peoples and many parts. Though the work is not easy, to see these practices being applied to the new foundation, I trust Sea Change will meet our greater community in ways it only imagined before”.
Anne was pivotal in the design and implementation of our Yoga Teacher Training Scholarship program. She recognized the innate power dynamic a scholarship sets up, and built in strategies to counteract this dynamic, starting by designing a truly trauma-informed application process. Anne advocated to include mentorship as part of the scholarship program, acknowledging that dominant white culture may feel exclusive or unsafe to our scholars, and to create an equitable learning environment additional support may be necessary. The mentorship component of the scholarship program has proved to be invaluable for our scholars.
In her classes, Anne always centers her students and honors how they are showing up in that particular moment. “Anne’s philosophy is: This is your practice… try something, and if it doesn’t work, we're not in this for ‘no pain, no gain’”, said AARP student Roz. “Over the past two years I had to reevaluate, going on 84, what is really best for me? What works for me? And I think that's something that [Anne] has helped me work on.”
“After my breast cancer surgery, I knew I wasn't going to be able to do some of the things for yoga… but I could call in and listen. Anne even said it’s okay just to listen and imagine what your body’s doing”, added another student, Vilene. “Sometimes when you’re in trauma, you don't relax, you don't sleep well. Well, after that particular session, I just fell asleep and slept for a couple of hours. It was fantastic.”
When asked about her teaching style, Anne says, “I don’t like to call myself a teacher. A facilitator, one who shares or offers feels more appropriate. Reminding folks of self-agency lives at the core of what I offer. We each have an inherent capacity that evolves with time, energy and effort. It is something we can participate in on some level. Often there are things in the way that obstruct our connections within us. Having someone remind you of what can be possible, reflections of what could be, remembering your own wisdom…that’s why I show up.”
Anne is a leader in our community and we truly can’t imagine Sea Change Yoga without her. Her commitment to our students, our community and our mission inspires us all, and we are grateful for all that she does and is in this world. To learn more about Anne’s work visit her website www.integrativelifetherapy.com or follow her on IG @integrativelifetherapy