Namaste, friends! I’m Yogi Michelle Patino, founder and owner of Be You Yoga. I began practicing yoga in 2008, and gleefully became certified by Yoga Alliance in January 2016. I fell in love quickly with yoga thanks to my original teacher, Gabriela Visola. Prior to that, I had never found such a discipline that was able to help me work with quieting my racing mind. Once I learned about the truths of yoga and Ayurveda together, I felt like I had finally come home to the knowledge I’d been seeking my whole life. Working with people using yoga and Ayurveda is truly my dharma, my reason for being here, and the way I best express the love of the divine that lives in all beings.

It is my intention to extend present-moment awareness into each student I work with and as such, teach students a balance of hatha, yin, Iyengar, and restorative-style yoga depending on their needs. I am also certified in leading Yoga Nidra, a practice of deep conscious relaxation. My overall approach is highly meditative, as I consistently cue students to look inward and stay with the breath and sensations of the present moment. This is key in honoring the body, and the basis of Be You Yoga.

Because I practice and teach Ayurveda, the sister science to yoga, I treat all students holistically through an Ayurvedic lens. This means that when a person comes under my care, I take their full constitution into consideration when writing lesson plans. Body, mind, and spirit are intrinsically connected and as such, I treat the entire person, not just their “sickness” and imbalances.

Students and patients come for a myriad of reasons, but most are disillusioned/dissatisfied with the way they are being treated by their physicians/western medicine and want to be empowered to take their health into their own hands. What I love most about working with people is allowing those with fear to embrace their own individual experience toward deeper harmony among body, mind, and spirit.

I lead classes publicly, privately, and online. I specialize in private one-on-one yoga for the injured, fearful, and inflexible. Additionally, I am certified in Ayurvedic lymphatic massage, known as abhyanga, offered in my office studio in downtown Modesto. Publicly I can be found teaching at Brenda Athletic Club on Tuesday and Thursday and Monday night on Zoom. Stay tuned for varied monthly workshops and special classes by signing up on my website at www.beyoumodesto.com

I hope to meet you on the mat one day: Om Shanti!