Gabriella Christina - The Process of Making Your Passions Sustainable
By Alauna Roby
Meet Gabriella Christina! She was the leader of the first Surf & Yoga retreat of the 2022-2023 season! She is based in South Florida and has just opened her own brick and mortar yoga studio in Boca called Gro Yoga! She has been a yoga teacher for over 7 years, and has been practicing yoga for the past 14 years!
She started out teaching in studios, and was able to establish her home base and regular students in this way. However, she was craving a deeper and a more sustainable way to go about her passions. In 2022 Gabriella decided to begin leading international yoga retreats in El Salvador and Nicaragua in order to create a more intimate space for connection!
When asked how she turned her passion of teaching yoga into something sustainable, Gabriella said the most important factors were remaining true to her why, and establishing boundaries when it came to her passion. Without a why or boundaries, a passion can turn into a burden very easily and lead to burnout.
She was originally drawn to Still Salty Escape because of the community and connection to nature here. For Gabriella it is important to incorporate an element of oneness within her retreats; oneness with nature and each other! The Still Salty Shala has it all, it's a space for genuine human connection through the practice of yoga while being surrounded by the trees and the sounds of the birds and the ocean waves in the background.
The intention behind Gabriella’s Rewind Retreat was to host a space similar to a summer camp but for adults, where they could take a step back and rewind from their busy everyday lives to do some self reflection. She gave each student their own composition notebook, and asked each student to write at least one thing per day. Gabriella also kept the entire week lighthearted and joyful, and brings her amazing energy wherever she goes. She is a kind and compassionate leader, and goes out of her way to make sure everyone feels included in the spaces she holds.