Have You Met Heather Gutekunst?

We are SO happy to be welcoming Heather Gutekunst to our weekly teaching staff! We asked her some questions so you can catch her vibe!

1. Tell us about your yoga journey so far… I was actually introduced to yoga in a high school weight lifting class, which now feels like the unlikeliest of places. It was a VCR tape with a white man teaching vinyasa; I couldn't tell you what his name was or even what poses were involved, but I can say that it was the first time I moved my body without shame or without thinking my body wasn't good enough to perform. In undergrad, I found a donation-based studio that allowed me to grow my physical practice; however, this still felt unsustainable. It wasn't until I found Be Free Healing Center in 2021 that I learned how transformative and loving a yoga practice could be. At first, when I walked into Be Free for the first time, I was uncomfortable with the lack of mirrors, the check-ins at the beginning of class that build community, and the open and caring instructors who gave thanks to the land, space, and Indigenous wisdom to begin a class. Now though, I couldn't imagine yoga without these foundational practices. It wasn't until one of those instructors, you might know her as Jo Buckley, asked "have you ever thought of going into yoga teacher training?" I told her yes, but I had never uttered that dream out loud before. What a gift to feel seen by the Be Free community even when you're afraid. From there, I entered Root to Rise in 2025, unsure that I would ever really teach. With Melanie's guidance, though, I found my spiritual presence as well as an opportunity to serve my community in a way that felt, and still feels, aligned. To come back home to the body--to make the body feel like home--is something I only want to share with anyone who has ever felt like they want to escape their bodies.

2. Tell us about your class! In Evening Unwind: Align and Flow, folks can expect grounding down with brief meditation and pranayama to release your day through the breath. From there, I will invite folks to engage in a slow and steady warm-up, aligning breath and movement to build somatic engagement and prepare the body for stillness. Our flow will end with a quality savasana, inviting in rest for the remainder of your evening. I would love people to know that giving yourself the gift of attention with creative and accessible movement can, yes offer some regulation, but also some release and play, as it is always my goal to adapt class to the changes of the world around us! I hope this class offers folks the opportunity to feel equal parts activation and rest.

3. What's one of your favorite Yamsa/Niyamas? One of my favorite yamas is ahimsa. I remember first hearing ahimsa as Alisha themed her class around this guiding concept. How foundational, how sweet, to adopt nonviolence in all things, in thought, word, or action, to guide not only your practice, but your life as well. Guiding how we interact with one another, with our own selves, and with Mother Earth. To me, moving with ahimsa starts by offering yourself care, moving in a way that feels good rather than attempting to push your body, and offering your body a loving word when it feels like everything else--advertising, social media, etc.--tells you that you and your body aren't good enough. This is truly a radical act.

4. What are you up to when you’re not teaching yoga? When I'm not teaching yoga, I'm often in nature, hiking, camping, skiing, or observing all the life that moves around us. I am forever grateful to have the opportunity to spend time with loved ones and my kitty, Penny, maybe playing board games or discussing books. You can also find me reading or writing, and if I have the chance to combine both my loves of nature and writing, you can bet I'll be there. Currently I'm working at CSU in the office of financial aid, and though the system is still very much fraught, I hope that I can continue to help students gain equal access to education.

5. What's lighting up your world? Something currently lighting up my world is the abundance of love and friendship in my life right now. Getting to feel held in a community of support and glowing words of affirmation has only been something I've been able to sit in comfortably fairly recently! And wow, do I feel lucky.

6. Tell us something people might nit know about you! People may not know that I have a master's degree in literature. I am such an English nerd, and I had the opportunity to teach composition and global literature as an adjunct professor! Even so, while I love teaching yoga, I quickly realized I cannot teach college students literature. That's okay though, I'll stick with guiding some movement at Be Free!