We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nina Linda Alvarenga a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Nina Linda , thanks for joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
The story of how I found yoga and the leap of faith that allowed me to fulfill my dreams beyond my wildest imagination.
In 2008, I was a full-time bartender in the entertainment capital of the U.S., Las Vegas, NV. I knew I needed a change from a life filled with drinking and indulgence in Sin City—you can only imagine. Nights in my 20s were thrilling, but something was missing.
Behind the bar, I spoke to everyone and listened to countless life stories from strangers who needed an outlet—a listening ear. Little did I know then that I was preparing myself for a profession I hadn’t even realized existed. This was around 2007-2008.
At the time, I didn’t know what yoga was or what it looked like. I wasn’t active on social media—Facebook had launched in 2004-2005, but I didn’t participate. I hadn’t watched YouTube videos or picked up a book about yoga. Still, I was inexplicably drawn to it like a magnet.
One night, I overheard a conversation between a few customers at the bar. They talked about attending yoga classes downtown, where the teacher referred to the women as “Goddesses.” That piqued my curiosity. I mentioned it casually to a close friend, who happened to be familiar with yoga. She even had an extra yoga mat and said, “Let’s go.”
From that very first class, I was hooked! My friend and I went together every Wednesday for a while. Eventually, she stopped going, but I continued religiously for two years. During that time, I fell in love with the practice. It shifted my perspective on life in the best way possible.
Yoga gave me the space to love myself and redirected my life toward a path that had once seemed like a distant dream.
This newfound love and discipline sparked a desire to become a yoga teacher. I wanted to share the mental and emotional transformation yoga had given me with others—especially those who might not even realize they needed it.
In 2010, I enrolled in a yoga school in Henderson, NV, committing to a nine-month program held every other weekend while still working full-time.
There’s much more to the story of how I became a full-time yoga teacher—a path that once seemed impossible.
With the unwavering support of my life partner, I took a leap of faith. I started with seven classes a week, which wasn’t financially sustainable, but I kept going. What drove me forward was the belief that everyone deserves to feel good about themselves.
Whenever I wanted to quit and teach only one class a week, my partner reminded me, “Nina, I see how your face lights up after you teach.”
Everyone in this world deserves to feel happy, confident, worthy, and loved. That’s what yoga gave me, and I wanted to gift that to others.
It has taken years to make a decent living on this path, but that was never the point. The true reward is witnessing the transformation in even one person’s life. Money cannot replace that feeling.
This is my favorite part of teaching yoga: being a witness to change. For this opportunity, I will always be grateful to the bar customers who had that random conversation about yoga all those years ago.
Nina Linda , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Yoga was not something that was as familiar or mainstream as it is nowadays for me.
To start I wasn’t part of social media or had any online presence. I found it via customers while I was tending bar.
After attending classes for approximately 6 mos I was hooked and realized in a brief moment that a life of self-love existed for me. It’s not until I started the journey of my 200Hr Yoga Teacher Training that I realized how much, stress, anxiety and depression I was carrying and how much I’d shed from practicing yoga on a regular basis. Which by then it had grown from once a week to five times per week. It was glorious!
My education extends beyond my 500 hour certification into (Stress Management Center of NV, All About Yoga) a space of every week I learn from my students, the literature I read online and from my library of yoga books. Also a required Yoga Alliance approved continuing education of 10 hours per year. Recently added 25 hours of Kids and Teens Yoga Teacher Training with Yoga for Life LV.org. And currently I’m going through a 100hr certification for Somatic Healing.
Within this education I teach many styles of yoga including:
Yin Yoga, Restorative Yoga, Chair Yoga, Gentle Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Power Yoga, Meditation and Yoga Teacher Trainings and also attuned for Reiki. Along working with seniors, those living with neuro conditions and those having experienced injury and are in recovery after being released to exercise.
Every time I teach and see the smiles and calm on the faces of my students I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be. Teaching the gift of yoga is a privilege and honor.
Allow me to guide you to a well balanced life with breath awareness, mindfulness and movement to feed and ignite your soul. Realizing your energy!
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
Choosing to become a yoga teacher at first wasn’t exactly how I imagined life. At first it was intimidating being around other teachers that were seasoned. In additon, the compensation didn’t add up to what I was use to as a bartender. There were many times where I would look at my partner and say, ‘I’m going to quit’. He responded, ‘No, I see the look in your eyes when you share about your students’. He saw my passion for the subject and how much joy I experienced. I continued forging forward and little by little I gathered experience and found more gigs closer to home. I’ve taught in various spaces over the years and with my schedule changing yearly. Which I feel may be jarring to others that crave stability and I am also that person. Yet over the years the changes have taught me to be stronger, resilient and also develop a trust to the process of life since I believe truly that this is one of my purposes.
This has been a long road to finally make a living that is decent. Decent in the sense that I am proud to have a career that I love and look forward to sharing my experience with fellow humans every day. ❤️
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
A lesson that I had to unlearn is when I’m on my journey I have to consistently create community and not just focus on my career. How do I do this? When coming to teach in a new community of yoga practitioners connect with them personally. Enjoy classes from fellow teachers, be of service and substitute teach when needed, make friends with my students, listen and be compassionate and empathize. Create space for all of them to be themselves. In the beginning of this beautiful career I only focused on creating space for myself and realized that it’s all in the definition of Yoga, to yoke, unite and create community. I
know now and will never forget. This is what has made my passion and career complete. ❤️
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Ninasoulfulyoga.wixsite.com/yoga
- Instagram: @ninasoulfulyoga
- Facebook: Nina’s Soulful Yoga
Image Credits
My students ❤️