Hello, Everybody. You Probably Don’t Know Me.

Hello, everybody.

You probably don’t know me.

I’m Gail.

And I have spent a surprisingly long time doing two things that don’t necessarily seem to belong together:

technology and yoga.

For about 16 years, I worked in IT and the oil and chemical industry as a computer scientist.

I’ve also been practicing yoga for about 40 years and teaching it for more than 26 years.

So, yes, there was a time when my life involved computers, data, systems, and oil and chemical plants during the day—and yoga mats, breathing, and teaching on the side.

Eventually, the yoga side got bigger.

These days, I’m Gail PB, a yoga and Tai Chi instructor in Southeast Texas. I teach gentle yoga, chair yoga, adaptive yoga, Tai Chi, and QiGong, both in person and online.

And the people I teach aren’t necessarily the people you see on the cover of a yoga magazine.

Some are older.

Some are beginners.

Some are Veterans.

Some have stiff backs, cranky joints, balance concerns, or bodies that simply don’t want to cooperate with the yoga poses they see on Instagram.

And some just look at yoga and think:

“Yeah. That’s not for me.”

That’s actually one of the reasons I love teaching.

Because I don’t believe yoga should be reserved for people who are already flexible.

You don’t have to touch your toes.

You don’t have to get down on the floor.

You don’t have to balance on one leg with your foot behind your head.

And you definitely don’t have to bend like a pretzel.

You start where you are.

Maybe that’s standing.

Maybe that’s sitting in a chair.

Maybe it’s lying on your bed.

Maybe today you can do a lot.

Maybe today you can do very little.

That’s okay.

My job isn’t to make you look like a yoga teacher.

My job is to help you discover what your body can do today—and perhaps help you do a little more tomorrow.

And I think my years in technology actually helped shape the way I teach.

I like systems.

I like figuring out how things work.

I like breaking complicated things down into smaller pieces.

And I like finding another way when the first way doesn’t work.

That’s pretty much adaptive yoga in a nutshell.

If getting down on the floor doesn’t work, let’s use a chair.

If standing for the whole practice doesn’t work, let’s sit.

If one version of a movement doesn’t work for your body, let’s find another version.

There is almost always another way.

That’s what I mean when I say:

You Don’t Have to Bend Like a Pretzel to Do Yoga.

It’s not just a catchy line.

It’s really how I teach.

So, if you’ve been around here for a while, thank you for being here.

And if you’re new…

Hello.

I’m Gail.

I teach yoga and Tai Chi.

I’m still a student myself.

And after all these years, I’m still fascinated by what happens when we give people permission to start exactly where they are.

Welcome.