Meet The Team - Bruno Morais

Tell us a little bit about yourself 

I’m Bruno Morais, a 33-year-old Portuguese dancer who became a yoga teacher back in 2018. I’m very much into travelling; having lived, worked or visited more than 30 countries in this beautiful world of ours. I’m interested in all things natural movement, body-mind stuff, neuroscience, nutrition, I love the sun and the beach (I’m a flip-flop-year-round kind of guy) and, surprise surprise, dogs. Just your regular yoga teacher, I guess. 

Do you remember your first yoga class and how it felt? Were you drawn to yoga right away, or did it take a while? 

To be perfectly honest, I don’t really have a great memory. I’ve done a variety of body awareness workshops/masterclasses over the years. As a dancer, but also before that. So, my first yoga class must have been sometime before 2010, when I started to become serious about dancing as a career. However, I know for sure I wasn’t drawn to it right away, as I think happens with most people. And specially dancers. There was/is this misconception of what yoga is or, to put it more clearly, that there’s only that one ‘kind’ of yoga. I remember I couldn’t get the breathing and the meditation. But somehow, I kept being drawn to it. To the point where I started to become curious about it and, eventually, couldn’t get enough of it and its holistic quality.   
 

You spent a lot of time travelling and teaching, especially in Mexico. What was your favourite place to teach there?   

Mexico is truly a wonderful country. No, it’s a wonderful experience, it’s a lot of countries merged into one. Its official name is actually United States of Mexico. After a year travelling, starting in the south, up the eastern states, through the north, then down again through the western states, I fell in love with it. As a yoga teacher, it’s impossible not to mention Tulum and its ‘tuluminati’ vibes. It just has it all. I lived roughly 3 months in that area. I was volunteering at the reception of my hostel and teaching donation-based classes in the terrace. At the same time, I became the resident teacher of several high-end resorts/wellness centres in Tulum. There was a point when I would easily teach 4 classes a day in different venues. What I liked about it was the plurality of it: I was dealing with people from all walks of life, different practice experience, varied budgets, etc. I could, in the same afternoon, go from teaching in a gorgeous lush jungle shala with a sea view (having all the props, essential oils, air conditioning and anything one can ask for) to teaching in the middle of a hostel with no mats in the middle of people socializing very loudly. I learnt a lot. But Tulum has its not-so-great side too. I felt a sense of hypocrisy here and there. There’s truly something magical about the place, but not all the organizations/resorts/centres respect the land and its original community as they should. Maybe let’s not get too much into that. It’s a complex subject. I taught for a month in Holbox as well. And in several other places. There is another state that is very dear to me: Oaxaca. Its capital has a very rich cultural scene and its coast has Puerto Escondido, Mazunte, Zipolite, etc. I had a really easy and relaxed time there.  
 

Any tips for travelling yoga teachers on how to find classes to teach?  

I can only speak from my experience. Let’s stick to Mexico, as an example. Before I would arrive in a town, I would go online and try to find yoga places. I would contact some of them and then show my face once I was there. I found that to be the best. Put on your smile, and just go and be you. They need to see you, to hear your voice, to feel your energy, to understand you actually love what you do and to see what sets you apart, what is unique about you. Then lots of places will turn you down, but lots will invite you in, and you know it’s going to be great because you clicked. Be it with the people, the venue, the smells, etc. In Tulum, for instance, I literally walked the whole beach strip, from resort to resort, introducing myself and saying I’d love to teach yoga in their venue. I was lucky because it was the low season and most of the teachers had left to the USA/Europe, so I took all their jobs. Hehe. Then I started to know more and more people and became part of the local community, to the point where I was subbing their classes, they were subbing mine, they’d call me to new teaching opportunities they themselves couldn’t take, etc. But it all starts with just being yourself, going around and ask. Ignore the no’s and stick to the yes’s. In some towns it doesn’t work. So what do you do? You move on. Eventually, you’ll find your tribe.     

After first assisting and then co-teaching alongside Nina for a while, you have now taken the Lead Teacher role for our 200-hour Intensives. How does it feel to guide students through that transforming experience?  

I have to be honest and say I never really thought of myself as a teacher. Of anything. I never really considered that option. Even the first TTC I did was originally ‘just for myself’. I wasn’t planning on actually teaching yoga classes. But I absolutely love it. And even more to lead teacher trainings. To be there with them. To remember how it was/felt for me when I was in their place. To really go through their experience with the students and enjoy all the struggles and the discoveries. And the more organisational aspect of it all, making sure everything is running smoothly and everybody is happy and comfortable. It really is great. I realized I can actually communicate things in a simple/understandable way. Also, there is so much I learn in return. It’s a dialogue, a dance. I have to say it is currently my favourite thing to do, to lead teacher trainings. So I can’t wait for the next one.
 

How would you describe your classes outside of the Teacher Training curriculum?  

The practices I propose tend to be on the physical/stronger side, but are still quite simple/basic/safe classes, focusing more on strength/healing and good alignment. Nothing wrong with more acrobatic/complex practices. I enjoy it a lot myself as a practitioner. However, after a few years teaching and because of a few other disciplines I studied beyond yoga (like anatomy) I noticed some of the asanas/vinyasas are just not functional and actually counter-productive for, say, 99% of us. Most people look for 'squareness' and simplicity in yoga. A moment (in most cases, the only moment) they get to connect with themselves, their bodies/minds. So the simpler/safer the practice, the better. But don’t get me wrong, there will be the occasional jumps during the practice and, mind you, even going outside of the yoga mat! As I said, I’m in love with movement in general. It’s become kind of my religion. So I draw inspiration from a lot of places, like my dance experience. Nevertheless, I tend to never go too far from the method I learnt with Spanda Institute. It just works.  

What is your favourite thing to do when not on the yoga mat? 

It’s really hard for me to answer this kind of questions. ‘What is your favourite _____?’ I have a tendency to never really stay too long on the same thing, I’m interested in many different areas. But I guess, right now, it is spending time with my 1-year-old niece, the cutest thing in the world.