David Macharelli
David first walked into the yoga classroom in 2003 as a tag-along, and though he had little idea of what to expect, he was taken with the practice immediately. The eventual transformation in body & personality was startling. Through yoga, a man with little confidence, who was utterly mortified by public speaking, restored the long-forgotten playful, inquisitive, extrovert that he'd been as a child. After developing a strong personal practice, David was slowly coaxed (more accurately dragged kicking and screaming) into a teacher training in 2011. And then... a two-decade fear of public speaking suddenly disappeared and he was finally free to just be himself.
A Yoga Alliance certified E-RYT 200 with an artist’s open mind and a love of constant tinkering with different sequences, David's style is best described as a challenging yet playful, eclectic freestyle Vinyasa. While never the same class twice, there is an ever-present focus on exploring not just the postures themselves, but the moment it takes to go from one to another, and how the different aspects of mind and affect and reflect one another.
David is self-deprecating and silly, encouraging students to explore their anatomical quirks and learn which poses suit them best. He has a tendency to use rhyming and alliterative cues that draw on elements of many yoga schools, pop-culture references and a (hopefully)charming wit to help students move beyond their fears, to embrace what works, to not stress about what doesn’t, and to find strength within themselves that they never knew was there.
When not teaching or practicing yoga, David is an artist, actor, avid rock climber, museum worker and volunteer for art organization and animal rescues. He lives in Waterbury with his wife Shannon and their two cats.
