“I began Yoga because I couldn’t roll over in bed without getting out of breath. Alexander did what the best teachers always do–began where I was and took me on from there. His encouragement helped me overcome self-consciousness and actually enjoy using my body. The practice of Yoga has led to significant physical improvement, and it continues with each session. My blood pressure is lower with each visit to the doctor. I have lost weight and my body is stronger and more flexible. A knee that was once up for arthroscopic surgery no longer hurts.  I can walk steps and distances now without pain. Even my cholesterol and blood sugar are lower.

Alexander finds what I need within the practice of Yoga and both restores and stretches my body’s ability. However, I have also found a way of looking at my life and the world, as well as the beginning of a philosophical journey with Alexander’s guidance. My life is truly enhanced by our work together–he has given me back my life.”

S.K., age 69, retired school teacher

“I started working with Alexander several years ago. Because of my medical condition, I was skeptical about my participation in yoga. However, when we met, a great rapport was established and after that I continuously looked forward to each session.

Alexander was clearly able to give me detailed instructions as to how I should move my body and limbs. Despite my visual limitations I am always able to understand him. Not only am I blind but I am also wheelchair bound due to my MS and the yoga sessions have to be modified to meet my needs.

Since I began working with Alexander, I have found that I have gotten stronger and my balance has improved. Alexander has helped me to strengthen muscles to better support my body. As a result of our sessions, I now have much better bed mobility; something very important to a person with MS. Posture improvement, increased upper body strength, relief of stiffness, and unsupported balance in my wheelchair are just some of the benefits from working with Alexander. I find that I am comfortable without additional physical therapy since I am constantly improving with yoga.”

Emily S., Age 23

“I am a 55 year old mother of three with a spotty background in yoga. My chiropractor recommended Alexander’s help as part of my recovery from a painful tennis injury.  The first session gave me remarkable relief, subsequent sessions were always therapeutic. Alexander impressed me most by crafting a routine for me that I could manage on my own. I am extremely appreciative to be independent of appointments and remain pain free with my at-home routine.”

Diana E.

“Alexander has helped me to gain control of my feet after a lifetime of walking with a crippling bone deformity; a congenital birth defect that went undetected until I was 16 years old.  Thanks to him I am now gaining mobility and relearning to walk.”

John J., Age 19

“I started working with Alexander at age forty; I had two small kids, and hadn’t exercised at all for twenty years. I thought yoga might improve my posture, and I never thought I could do “real” yoga like the actresses in People magazine. But after two years, my body is completely transformed (I lost 20 pounds and 2 whole sizes without making any other life or diet changes), I can do things I never imagined (back bends, lotus position, twists), and I still look forward to every session.  I’m still amazed.”

Julia, age 42, writer, The New York Times

“When I came to yoga, I was mildly depressed, sleep deprived and had survived three eye surgeries within a span of five months. I was also a mother of a super energetic three year old. I felt utterly exhausted and defeated.   I needed to start taking care of myself again – to reclaim the journey back to my physical and spiritual self.

When I first started with Zander, all I did was breathe and listen – to him and to my body. Zander is exceptionally intuitive and can sense what is needed for that day’s practice. He has a good eye and can help you and your body come into balance for the asanas. If something does not feel right; he will offer other ways to help with your practice. I believe he is a healer.  My practice has brought renewed, harnessed energy and awareness back into my body. I can now manage, slow down and stop the madness of a crazy moment without going into a tailspin. I am breathing, loving and honoring myself again. I am meditating, laughing, not taking myself too seriously.”

Nina L. – mother, producer, director, acting coach and co-founder of a non-profit theatre organization.

“Yoga saved me as I worked through an auto-immune syndrome and the fear of not knowing what was wrong with my body.  There were days I felt too tired to move, let alone do down dog, and yet Zander and I managed a full practice every time.  Zander honored where I was, at that moment, and gradually I found myself becoming stronger and less fearful.  He was intuitive and compassionate, and I feel blessed to have worked with him, particularly during this challenging time.”

Sherry, age 46, former corporate writer, mother

“I have been studying yoga for over 15 years, everything from Hatha to Iynegar to Anusara with a variety of teachers and was frankly, a bit burned out a year and a half ago when I first started studying with Zander Gish. Many of the studios in NYC seemed to be a bit competitive and the focus had shifted away from the process to the result. This past year and a half with Zander has renewed my faith in yoga and has become the highlight of my week.  His patience, intelligence, humor, specificity and intuition are remarkable.  He has subtly transformed my practice so that postures I had taken for granted, have become much clearer, more specific, deeper and most importantly, not painful anymore. Perhaps it is his uncanny ability to listen to what the client is saying, translate it into a series of postures that will best serve their specific needs on that day combined with his deep understanding of anatomy that is so unique in this era and in this city.  That said, he absolutely pushes his clients but always in a mindful, encouraging way that instills confidence in them, no matter what their level of expertise is. He is truly a gifted teacher.”

Garland H.

“I have worked with Zander for three years.  Our work together is an exploration.  I have learned to understand my body in unimaginable ways — to feel muscles, bones, movement, subtleties — the language of the body.  This is not only physical, it’s emotional, it’s psychological.  Before I saw and felt my body as a burden, the enemy.  Now I see it more and more as possibility and opportunity.”

Marion, age 60

“As a former dancer and fellow instructor, I have the utmost respect for Alexander’s exquisite attention to proper alignment and safety in the postures. He encourages his students to understand their own bodies and their own particular challenges, so that they can experience each posture on their own terms. There is no competition in his classes and no showing off. It is a wonderful environment in which to have a very individual – yet group – experience. As a teacher, his style is welcoming, inclusive, humorous, and down-to-earth. He is a fantastic communicator and seems genuinely excited for the progress his students invariably make under his guidance.”

Nicole, age 38, Pilates Instructor

“I don’t think what I learned from Alexander is something that he consciously meant to teach me. But given who he is, it is something that he cannot help but communicate, demonstrate and pass on to his students. And that is that yoga is a dance.

As a young child, continuing into my teens, I wanted to be a dancer, but for a variety of reasons I did not pursue it. Alexander reawakened the dancer in me and while I learned from other teachers that yoga is a philosophy, a discipline and a way of life, I learned from Alexander that yoga is also an art.

As a result, although it may not look like it from the outside—I am almost 61, did not begin to practice yoga until I was 50 and my structural limitations will always keep me at a basic or beginner level—I feel, at least on the inside where it is most critical, a grace and fluidity I would not otherwise have.”

Christopher, writer, chaplain, priest

“Alexander is the first yoga teacher I have ever had who taught me to love yoga; I had been to many others, but disliked my experiences, and stopped, until I encountered him.  I wanted to keep my body flexible and strong, and to learn to stand on my head! I am doing all these.  Alexander is the most sensitive teacher I have encountered; sensitive to the body’s every-changing needs and conditions; his background in dance has helped him to understand my aches and pains, and he seems to know exactly what I need in each lesson. It is pure joy to study with him.”

Judith, age 71, professional bread baker/ex musician

“With Zander’s amazing teaching abilities, yoga is accessible to everyone, regardless of age or level of skill or ability.  Perhaps one of his greatest strengths is his unique ability to express difficult concepts so they are understood easily.  Intelligent and intuitive, he always seems to know exactly what I need, and my practice is never static or routine.  After each session, I feel renewed and energized and grateful for the experience.”

S.M.

“Working with Alexander through yoga has helped me not only in my practice, but in life, to challenge myself to stretch and build strength, but to also have compassion for my limits from day to day and moment to moment. Alexander expects his clients to arrive on the mat ready to work, play, and grow; a useful philosophy for yoga, and for living. I don’t see how anyone cannot see positive changes in their bodies and spirits after practicing with him.”

Alena G., age 34, Social worker and yoga teacher