By Susan R. Eisenstein
Yoga therapist Marta Gil brought a different type of yoga experience to the community.
Yorktown-based Marta Gil is bringing a new breed of yoga business to North West Chester.
While yoga practice is considered an ancient art, yoga therapy is a relatively new field.
“As a yoga teacher, I was able to offer my clients a sense of general wellbeing,” says Gil, who started Yoga Therapy With Marta Gil. “As a yoga therapist, I can tailor the practice to specific health goals and conditions based on the client’s skills, lifestyle, and time available.”
She said yoga therapy is offered in private sessions or small groups where a common illness is shared. Gil works with clients in virtual and personal settings, teaching them how to use yoga and mindfulness techniques to manage pain, stress, anxiety and autoimmune diseases.
Gil helps clients suffering from depression, disconnection, insomnia, cancer, lack of energy, grief, weight loss, and difficulty concentrating. She often works with the client’s family doctor, physiotherapist, or other health care professional.
Gil dreamed of opening her own full-time yoga therapy practice. She knew she had the education, knowledge and passion and was aware that her services were needed.
But her participation in a Westchester County’s business accelerator program called Launch 1000 sparked that entrepreneurial leap.
“Suddenly I found myself among hundreds of people in the very place where I was passionate about an idea and convinced that their vision had the potential to change people’s lives for the better,” said the Polish-born and to the US in 1999.
Attending Launch 1000 gave her a fantastic community, resources, and guidance from trainers. The county offers the program in response to significant economic disruptions over the past year. The goal is to give 1,000 Westchester residents the opportunity to start a business or develop a source of income for themselves and their families.
Now, Gil’s yoga therapy business is no longer a dream.
When working with clients, she is aware of the trauma they may be going through. Gil sets goals with them and stresses that she is a leader. She also wants clients to know that while yoga can be therapeutic, it is not yoga therapy. She gives clients the knowledge and tools, and her yoga therapy courses are designed to give them the opportunity to improve their own health.
Gil and her husband also run a painting company. Their daughter was born in Westchester and the family enjoys Yorktown and the friendships they have made. They also love the trails, parks, and farms.
Gil said she appreciated the way Westchester looks after its residents.
“I’ve had the privilege of teaching seniors in Yorktown and Peekskill yoga classes,” Gil said of what she did before the pandemic. “The lessons were free for them.”
Now she is excited to have customers find out about her new yoga therapy business in Yorktown.
For more information or to schedule a yoga therapy appointment, contact Marta Gil at 914-685-6859 or visit MartaGilYoga.com or Facebook.com/martagilyoga.
