We recently connected with Lauren Puente and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

During my early years of teaching, I was living in NYC and teaching GYROTONICⓇ and GYROKINESISⓇ out of a studio on the upper west side called Studio Riverside. The studio owner Leda, who has now passed away, used to have daily group class at 9 am rain or shine, whether there were two people signed up or ten. Classes were often full, full with apprentices, professional dancers, artistic directors of major dance companies, elderly people, sometimes a rabbi, people of all sizes and capabilities. Leda was an exuberant source of energy, legitimately funny, and determined to get everyone laughing. With this, she somehow was able to level the playing field, allow people to let their guards down and be themselves, and enjoy their bodies. I was 25 at the time, and coming from a conservatory background; doing things correctly and receiving external validation for my proper execution was of great importance to me still! I had my eyes opened seeing how people’s physical capabilities blossomed, including myself, when the external pressures of life were removed a bit from the learning environment. I was shocked at what some of these people could do in class! 

It was during this time at Studio Riverside I learned to see people differently, I learned to see where they were in their own process. Leda was an excellent teacher, but her magic was her ability to hold space for everyone to work in their own process. I think this ability requires a level of attunement that makes some teachers artists. 

Lauren , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I work with people one on one in Santa Monica, CA, and with people online internationally and throughout the country as a somatic coach and Gyrotonic teacher. I help people heal and understand their injuries, and inhabit their bodies better. Some people come to me with torn labrums, disc issues, or pelvic floor dysfunction and others just want to move better.

My background is in dance. While I was earning my BFA in North Carolina, I was beginning to study Klein Technique to improve the expressivity of my dancing, and Gyrotonic to help with the constant physical pain I was living with on a daily basis. My low back and hip pain was at times depressing me, and it caused me to be nervous in my body. I remember being at the physical therapist’s office in the morning before technique class and looking at the technician using the ultrasound device on my hip and thinking “is this even working?” I had zero understanding of why my body was hurting so much. I became very obsessed with the “how” of my body. How do I get my leg higher, how do I gain more flexibility, how do I do anything without pain. What I realized and essentially fell in love with, was that through my voracious efforts to get out of pain and find proper anatomical functioning in my spine, I discovered an improved ability to access my body as an artistic tool of expression. This might sound obvious, but for many dancers, there is often a negotiation between the two. After 18 years of teaching and continued studies, I still find this to be true for non dancers too!

I teach for American Ballet Theater in the summers as a body conditioning teacher for pre professional dancers. It’s a huge honor, it connects me to the origins of my journey. The rest of the year I mostly work with non dancers ranging in all levels of ability, some with serious limitations. I really enjoy it. My toolbox has expanded over the years. I use weight training, energy work, yoga, ELDOA, it really depends on what someone needs. 

I never really set out to become a teacher, but it has become my vocation, my walk of life. It brings me joy to see my clients improve, to be out of pain, to feel confident in all areas of their physicality.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I think what success means in my field is very personal. For me, success means showing up as my best self, continuing to grow and have clients continue to come in the door because they feel that I am helping them. It’s a cliché saying, but you can’t pour from an empty cup. Working with people’s bodies requires a certain type of energy that’s hard for people outside of this industry to understand. I’ve been given this advice many times, and in the past I didn’t listen. I thought I was wired differently than other people in my field, that I could just grind, but there is no reward for grinding, and I was definitely wrong in my thinking. We also don’t have as much support built into this field generally speaking. In some of my studies, specifically in Klein Technique, there is a lot of information about how to interface with clients, maintain a sense of self, and I think Susan Klein explains it very beautifully; it’s an integral part of her teaching philosophy. Each modality has their different way of touching on this, if they do at all, but it’s mostly time and experience that teaches you where to draw the line.

My product is my knowledge and training but it is also my life force energy, and it requires a great deal of replenishment. For me, that sometimes means being alone in nature, or playing sports with friends, but I have to take note each week how I am paying attention to myself and grounding myself. Maintaining a personal practice is key. I just started taking this advice only a few years ago and I wish I applied it earlier!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

Know what you are good at and let that help you discover who your clients are. No one is for everyone. All of us teachers and coaches have different specialties. Some teachers are good with beginners, some are good with older people, with elite athletes, with certain injuries. One is no better than the other. I think you have to know yourself and take a step back and look at what you are good at and not only accept it but appreciate it!! I’ve found that clients connect best to me when I am grounded in my knowledge and deficiencies. For example, I feel pretty competent in handling lumbar herniations, but thoracic herniations are harder for me! I still try to grow my edge of course, but people don’t really like it when you pretend to be good at something you’re not. I think it’s one of the things that keeps them coming back for years, some people I have been with for nearly 15 years! For me that is more important than having a revolving door of clients.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.laurenpuente.com
• Instagram: laurenpuente

Image Credits
Nastassia Bruckin Christina Stroh