Urban Enlightenment: Yoga Instructor Carl Danielsen Reveals How and Where He Finds Peace in the Heart of New York City
Nearly ten years ago, lifelong yogi and instructor Greg Gumucio decided to recapture what he considers to be the fundamental idea of yoga; making it available to everyone. So, in 2006, he started a yoga school called Yoga to the People in New York’s Greenwich Village, and now has studios in other major cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles. Completely donation-based, the school seeks to make yoga affordable to everyone. It has gained a tremendous following in the past few years, especially among college students and young professionals, although some deplore the crowded classes. For Carl Danielsen, a Yoga to the People instructor, dancer, and actor, yoga is a way of life, and a gateway to good health and harmony.
NYU’s JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: How did you get into yoga?
DANIELSEN: I started with… Bikram yoga, and that helped open things up. And then I found Yoga to the People, which is even more about accessibility.
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: What’s Yoga to the People about?
DANIELSEN: It’s about making [yoga] accessible to everyone.
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: How does YTTP function financially?
DANIELSEN: I don’t think anyone is sitting around making a lot of money. But I think if there’s overflow, it goes towards starting another studio, spreading the word. People come and don’t pay, and… that’s what we want. We want it to be available to everybody. But I feel like where there’s more young professionals, like Brooklyn… I think people are giving the ten dollar suggested donations, which is half of what it is anywhere else… I can’t really speak to that. It’s way more complicated.
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: Donation-based businesses can be difficult to maintain. Do you think YTTP will survive?
DANIELSEN: …You never know what the future’s going to bring. But we announce… that it will always be donation-based. I don’t know how the miracle works, but so far, it’s doing really well.
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: Is there competition with other yoga studios?
DANIELSEN: Oh, there’s the rivalry! It’s more to us, than us feeling like we need to compete with somebody else, because if you want a different experience, there are many other fantastic yoga studios…
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: Are you primarily a yoga instructor? What else do you do with your spare time?
DANIELSEN: I’m probably in five days per week. At the end of the month, it’s a little extra change. I also teach Shakespeare… and have my private [acting] coaching practice at New York Film Academy.
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: How did you discover YTTP?
DANIELSEN: There were articles in the paper. And I would always tell [my acting students], especially young people, to go do yoga. It develops concentration. It sounded like hell to me! All those people schlepping up the stairs, and no room between the mats… But I kind of thought; Well, I should at least give this a shot. I’m recommending it. So I tried the one in Berkley, [California]… It was great! I thought: Wow! This really is a smart way to teach yoga.
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: How did you become an instructor?
DANIELSEN: I did get my training at Yoga to the People. I’d seen the teaching training programs at other places that [were] excellent, but it was less about the personal growth. I didn’t even really do it because I thought I wanted to be a yoga teacher. I wanted whatever that transformative quality was.
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: How many people usually attend a class?
DANIELSEN: It will vary. Our busiest classes are the candle-lits on Sunday nights and Friday at 6:00 and 7:30. We can get 68 in a class, which is the maximum for the room.
NYU’S JOURNALSTIC INQUIRY: What’s the atmosphere like during class?
DANIELSEN: …In New York, we’re type A, and we’re always striving to get to the next thing… The fact that someone encourages you to breathe, and close your eyes, and have an hour for yourself, is extraordinary. And people take that at whatever place they are in their lives. They do the best they can… And I find that my experiences in many other yoga studios it’s about: “What can I show off?” And there’s just very little of that here.
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: Do you have any advice for novice yogis?
DANIELSEN: Forget about the final product… Yoga to the People is all about making it a fun, light experience. Breathe. Have a good time.
NYU’S JOURNALISTIC INQUIRY: Finally, what are your thoughts on meditation and achieving mindfulness?
DANIELSEN: Aren’t they the same thing? People think that meditation is clearing your mind. That’s kind of impossible. But it does slow us down. It allows us to focus. It’s about listening to your breath… being present to now, which is so hard to do.
