We are delighted to feature Giovanna Hilera as our Teacher of the Month for February 2021. Her purest of heart, fire, bright light, compassion for her students, thoughtfulness and beautiful spirit make us fall more and more in love with her everyday. Giovanna’s transparency, wholehearted words in her classes and her collective care for each of her students is truly incredible.
When/how did you discover yoga?
It took me a while to integrate a yoga practice in my life. I discovered yoga when I was 12 years old in a gym nearby my house, where I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Since then, I always felt curious about what yoga is, but kept searching through other ways to learn and experience life. My involvement with learning more about human behavior motivated me to do my studies in psychology, later studied interior design and work as an interior designer and realtor in P.R. As a hobby I ran, swam, and biked to maintain my physical health, but also through it I saw an opportunity for self-exploration and observation of who I was. After a knee injury I returned to practice yoga searching for physical healing. I was 40, overwhelmed with life and struggling with where I was at that moment. In 2017, hurricane Maria hit P.R. and after such devastation I moved with my family to the United States. Unsure about what I was going to do and what change would bring, I returned to Yoga!
What do you love about teaching yoga?
I am grateful I can practice yoga and share it with my students. I feel a blazing light in my heart when I offer them a space to learn, heal and grow. In return, I learn so much from my students
How has yoga and meditation changed your life?
Yoga expands my perception to see the true nature of who I am. Self-study has made a profound impact on how I approach life. Through the teachings of yoga, I live from a place of love, compassion, gratitude, kindness, and a changed lens of how I see others and the world.
Why do you teach at Bella Prana?
I love teaching yoga at Bella Prana because it is where I attended my teacher training and I continue to learn how to integrate the physical asana and mediation to gain better understanding and clarity of mind. I enjoy providing students the tools to distinguish information from the intellect, senses, ego and what gives us an immediate reward. This allows my students to see the information provided by one’s higher self that brings harmony and wellbeing. The pause in our day to connect within us, through asana and meditation, brings back to life the awareness of the peace that lives within all of us.
Tell us a fun fact about you.
A few fun things about me. I always get a nap in when I watch tv or a movie. I love to wake up early to see the sunrise. I love to cook, two-year vegetarian. I love to chant. I love music and I’m learning how to play the hand pan as well as working on a my handstand.
Giovanna teaches Hot Power Hour and Power Hour Classes at Bella Prana Yoga & Meditation, Tampa, FL. Bella Prana offers 90+ classes a week and offers an online virtual studio which contains 500+ prerecorded classes and broadcasts 23 livestream classes weekly, of all levels. Questions: email us at [email protected].