Geneva-based yoga teacher and energy healer, Tariq Al-Naif.

Tariq Al-Naif: Becoming a Yoga Teacher and Energy Healer

This former college athlete turned banker made the shift to pursue teaching yoga and energy healing as a full-time career — and loves it.

Rachael Forster
Jul 29, 2017 · 8 min read

Originally from England, Tariq Al-Naif found yoga as student athlete during his university days in Miami. After graduation, he worked in the finance industry in Geneva but continued to grow his yoga practice.

Completing a 200-hour teacher training course with YogaWorks in Dubai inspired him to make a drastic career change to teaching yoga and offering holistic therapies.

Currently based in Geneva, Tariq has a reputation for leading challenging vinyasa classes and says that yoga has helped him to find emotional and spiritual balance.


How did you first discover yoga?

Eleven years ago, I was at the University of Miami. I used to play football and wasn’t flexible at all, so started yoga. I thought it was all about flexibility but discovered it offered so much more.

As I continued training and practicing, I became more interested in yoga than anything else. I have always been big into sports, such as martial arts, football, tennis, and swimming but once I discovered yoga, it took over. It has had an incredible effect on my life.

What benefits have you seen from your yoga practice?

I noticed immediate improvements in my confidence, posture, sleep, and flexibility. I became more focused mentally, spiritually, and emotionally as well as physically more in proportion. It was enlightening, and I started understanding more about energy and chakras (energy centers), which eventually lead me to become a Reiki healer. Yoga has also lead me to a much healthier diet and also eating vegan.

What was your first yoga class like?

It was confusing at first. I had never been in any of the yoga poses before so I didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t just sitting there stretching; it was breathing, movement, and meditation. There were mantras and so I thought, “Wow, what is all of this stuff?”

After many different classes, I started to notice the benefits. The improvements I saw in myself were so great that I wanted to continue.

I have lived and moved all over the world. I have trained in London, Geneva, Amman, Dubai, Miami, and New York to name a few. I got so into it that I built a reputation of being “that yoga guy,” and so decided to do a teacher training course.

How would you describe your personal practice today?

Each practice varies depending on how I feel. If I need rejuvenation and recovery, I practice yin or restorative yoga. If I feel the need to gain some strength, grounding or if I have a lot of energy, I practice vinyasa or hatha yoga. I’ve found a good balance of solo practice and attending classes.

Everybody discovers their limits eventually. For example, I couldn’t do a handstand for such a long time. So I would want to focus on something else, but then I would realize how important the practice is to me and for my body and mind to break those limitations I put on myself. Generally, with inversions when you can’t get into a pose you really want to be able to do, you learn to refocus.

The key is consistency and not giving up. Keep practicing. Set your goals, understand your limitations, and be in the present. Know that yoga is not just a physical practice but also breath control, meditation, posture practice, and concentration. Of course, these things are not just in the yoga studio, but throughout your daily life.

What lead you to yoga teacher training?

I practiced for eleven years before deciding to complete my teacher training through YogaWorks. I previously worked in the finance industry, in banking specifically. I eventually realized that path wasn’t for me and through yoga was able to bring myself back to the present.

One day in Geneva, I was asked by a beautiful woman if I was a yoga teacher and if wanted to teach at a studio in Geneva. That was the point when I decided to start teaching, and that woman is now my girlfriend.

I love practicing, and I love teaching, so I made the decision to combine those two things and turn it into my profession. My goal in life became to spread yoga to others as well as to help guide others to a healthy lifestyle.

What was your teacher training like?

It was far more intense than I thought it would be. It was a lot of material, many exams and very comprehensive. All in all, they gave us everything that a yoga teacher should know. It was excellent. In particular, Liz Terry, who is highly experienced and knowledgeable, made the course great and was a real inspiration to everyone.

What is your favorite type of pose to teach in one of your classes?

I love inversions and usually insert them as the peak poses in my classes for intermediate and above. Inversions are challenging because of the strength and balance that they require, but once you get into them, they are great fun. People experience a sense of accomplishment when they push past their limits.

What benefits have you seen from teaching yoga?

It has certainly made me more confident in my practice. I realized that you have to be confident in what you’re saying and doing for anyone to listen to you or even come back to your classes, which I guess applies to any profession.

Everyone that attends a class is there for their own personal reasons. My job is to help them move towards overcoming their issues or achieving their goals.

When you have a class with mixed levels, it can get confusing. If you can see someone is getting frustrated in a particular posture, it’s important to be able to offer them an alternative pose. If someone is getting discouraged, then I try to make them feel confident and supported in what they are doing.

What changes or benefits have you seen in the students that you teach?

There are a lot of movement and exercise classes here in Switzerland, but yoga is not so common, so the people who come to my classes are very enthusiastic and ask lots of questions. It’s quite new for most of my students here.

I have noticed significant changes in my students’ attitudes, postures, breathing, focus, and balance to name a few. It is that sort of success which pushes me to keep developing my skills as a yoga teacher.

How has your teaching evolved over time?

It has become more natural. I’m more aware of my students’ preferences and motivations. Everyone has different goals. For example, the teaching has to make sense and be specific for one-on-one classes, whereas group classes need to include a bit of everything.

What advice would you give to someone who is considering transitioning to teaching full time?

Yoga teacher training can be helpful for someone who wants to deepen their practice and understand more about anatomy, the origins of yoga, how to structure a class, and correct alignment within postures to avoid injury. I found out that I was doing quite a few things wrong in some of the poses, which could have caused damage to my body if I didn’t correct my technique.

I would advise anyone with a regular practice and has the time to invest in a yoga teacher training to do it. It’s a worthwhile investment.

Who have you had as mentors to help you along your yoga journey?

  • A man I knew in Miami, Fred Busch, stands out to me. He cut out all of his toxic habits and turned his life around. It was truly inspiring.
  • Another person, whom I follow on Instagram and who has come to Dubai a couple of times, is Patrick Beach. He is incredible with inversions and has pushed me to take my inversions to the next level.
  • My younger sister Layla also encouraged me to use my yoga for more. She’s a superstar and one of the best yoga teachers in my biased opinion.
  • While he’s not a yogi per-Se, Kenneth Gallarzo, whom I trained with in Dubai, does incredible things with calisthenics. I admire his focus and dedication, which are qualities that I’ve admired in all of these people.

How do you think your perception of yoga is different, being a male in a mostly female activity?

It’s true that the majority of people in the classes I go to are female. I was the only male in my yoga teacher training course, so it was an enjoyable experience. But it really doesn’t affect me or make a difference to me. It actually presents more of an opportunity for me because there are fewer men in the industry.

Generally, men are less inclined to get in touch with themselves and how they are feeling. It can also be challenging for some to be still and connect with their body. That being said, I believe that more men are being inspired and drawn to yoga every day. With more awareness being spread about the benefits, it’s hard to say no to yoga.

A lot of the guys I meet in jiu-jitsu martial arts have some major injuries, and they have turned to yoga for recovery. People I have met that have problems in other areas of their lives have also come to yoga for reasons like stress, fatigue, high cholesterol, blood pressure, asthma, obesity, and osteoporosis — the list goes on.

How can we encourage more men to try yoga?

Share the benefits. You can’t turn down all of the juicy benefits of yoga. Show them the kinds of men that use yoga every day in their lives. They generally all come back with the same message of peace and strength of mind, body, and spirit.

What are your plans for the future?

My goal is to incorporate yoga with holistic nutrition and healing. I have to see how, where, and when this will unfold in my life. Along with being a Reiki healer and a personal trainer, I also give one-on-one nutritional consultations. I like to help people develop themselves, their practice, and to reach their optimum health potential.


To learn more about Tariq Al-Naif and his yoga classes, please visit Instagram.com/TariqAlNaif.

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