Gina Ward

In 2014, my father committed suicide. This was after losing all four grandparents over the course of 2 years prior and losing my mom when I was 19. And lost is what I felt.  Lost, hopeless, angry and full of resentment.  And then I discovered yoga.

I had been practicing yoga for a while but had never committed to anything above an “exercise routine.” It was an addition to my packed workout schedule of teaching spin, bootcamp, step and any other form of gym class possible. After my father’s death, I wanted to both distract and fix myself, soI decided to sign up for a Yoga Teacher Training at a Baptiste Affiliate Studio.  I had only taken a handful of Baptiste style classes. The lightbulb moment occurred for me when I was standing in front of the group, blaming my family for my problems, complaining about what they had done and holding tightly onto what had happened to me in the past, when my teacher said; “but Gina, you are not 13 years old anymore!” You see, I was living my life as the 13-year-old little girl whose dad had left her and who’s mom had wronged her……and so much more. This looked like being angry all the time, not connecting with people, refusing to get close and running when someone did get close.  I did this for 23 years.

Baptiste Power Yoga and its methodology showed me that I have the power to create what I want, most importantly to create who I am being. To take responsibility for what is happening, clean it up if need be and move through so that I can live in the present moment and really be with myself and others.  Because of this, I quite my corporate job and opened HEART & GRIT Power Yoga (formerly Moonshine Power Yoga).  Before Baptiste Yoga, I did not have a community, I had very little joy in my life and I rarely told anyone that I loved them.  Now, my community spans internationally, I choose to live in joy and I say I love you to so many people on a daily basis.

This practice is about possibility, about discovering what is available to you that has always been available, you just have to look. This practice is about transforming how you see and think so that you can live a life fully awake, present and full of aliveness.  This practice is about freedom.

I completed my first 200hr training in 2013 and a second one with Grace & Glory Yoga in 2015. I am a tier 3 1200hr Certified Baptiste Influencer and a graduate of the FIT-to LEAD (Faculty in Training) program with the Baptiste Yoga Institute. I have assisted three Baptiste Institute programs and am an Ambassador for the Baptiste Foundation, leading the #unstoppable program. I have a Masters Degree in Exercise Science and am a certified fitness instructor with the American Council on Exercise.  I have been instructing fitness classes since 2001.