About Dani

Dani talks about yoga for burnout — how it helps you calm your nervous system, release tension, and reconnect with yourself. If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, or disconnected, this is the perfect place to start. 

Disclaimer: This video has been dubbed using AI tools.

My Journey into a More Human Yoga Practice

My name is Dani Alvárez, and I’m a yoga teacher from Spain. I didn’t come to yoga through wellness trends or spiritual ideals. I came because something in me was searching—pushing, questioning, needing more than just physical strength. Over the years, my relationship with yoga has transformed completely. What began as a demanding, physical discipline slowly became a subtle and deeply human practice that helps regulate the nervous system, release emotional tension, and restore inner balance. Today, I teach yoga for people who are tired, burned out, anxious, or simply overwhelmed by life—and who need a place to breathe again.

From Martial Arts to Yoga: When Strength Wasn’t Enough

Before yoga, my life revolved around sport and martial arts. I loved discipline, effort, and physical challenge, but I always felt something was missing. I was drawn to spirituality, even if I didn’t have the language for it yet. My first encounter with yoga was confusing and contradictory—part of me felt attracted, another part rejected it completely. Years later, discovering the work of B.K.S. Iyengar changed everything. I realized yoga could be precise, structured, and demanding. I started practicing seriously and felt immediate benefits: more clarity, more energy, and a body that recovered faster—even after long nights and intense periods of life.

Iyengar Yoga: Discipline, Structure, and the Limits of Effort

Iyengar Yoga became my foundation. I trained deeply, practiced intensely, and eventually became a certified teacher. This period gave me an enormous amount: anatomical understanding, precision, discipline, and respect for structure. I taught with rigor and high standards, and many people remember me from that time as demanding—even strict. But slowly, something began to feel off. Despite practicing more and more, my inner life wasn’t changing in the way I expected. Old habits, inner tension, and unresolved patterns were still there. Yoga was sustaining me, yes—but it wasn’t transforming me in the way I intuitively knew was possible.

The Turning Point: When Everything Shifted From the Inside

Everything changed when I met Martine Le Chenic, one of the first Western students of Iyengar. I attended her workshop almost by accident—and without motivation. What happened during those three days changed my life. For the first time, yoga touched something deep inside me. Emotions surfaced, my body responded differently, and I felt an internal movement I had never experienced before. She saw something in me before I could see it myself and encouraged me to continue on this path. Studying with her in France confirmed what I already knew: my way forward in yoga had to include softness, inner awareness, and deep respect for the nervous system—not just effort and form.

How I Teach Yoga Today: Less Force, More Intelligence

My yoga today is still rooted in structure and alignment, but it begins from the inside. I no longer believe the body should adapt to the posture at any cost. Instead, the posture adapts to the person—their anatomy, their stress level, their emotional state. My work focuses on deep internal support, especially through the lower belly and pelvic floor, breath regulation, and subtle pressure inside the body. When this internal organization is present, the body opens naturally. Many students are surprised to feel both deeply relaxed and strongly energized after very gentle sessions. This is the yoga I believe in now: quiet, precise, nourishing, and profoundly human.

Why I Believe in Online Yoga (Even Though I Once Refused It)

For years, I refused to teach online. I believed yoga needed physical presence, touch, shared breath. Then the pandemic arrived—and my students pushed me into it. What started as a necessity became a revelation. I discovered that online yoga can be deeply personal and effective when taught properly. I work with small groups, observe closely, and guide from my own embodied practice as I teach. Students practice in their own space, save time, and stay consistent even in difficult life circumstances. Today, I see online teaching not as a compromise, but as a powerful way to reach people who truly need this work.

Many people have learned to live more peacefully, mindfully, and closer to themselves through yoga.
Now it’s your turn — begin your journey with Yoga with Dani.