Meet Gabrielle Hawkinson | Yoga Teacher + Facilitator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gabrielle Hawkinson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabrielle, how do you think about risk?
Risk has become second nature to me. It is the lens through which I understand myself and the world. Every meaningful evolution in my life and career has required a willingness to step into uncertainty trusting that growth lives on the other side of comfort.

There was a life-changing moment when a student once said to me, “I didn’t sign up for this,” in response to an unexpected change in direction. That sentence landed viscerally. It imprinted itself on my psyche and cracked something open. In that instant, I realized that nothing in my own life had gone the way I thought it would. Not the path, not the timing, not the outcomes.

And because of that realization, my life became one of seeking of curiosity, challenge, and risk-taking. My path was never a straight arrow. Each time I made a plan, life had a way of dismantling it, rerouting me, and asking more of me than I anticipated. Those detours forced adaptability. They cultivated resilience. They shaped my capacity to meet the unknown without retreating fully.

Even so, I carried and still carry an enduring optimism. A kind of hopefulness that sometimes looked like blind faith, but in truth was a deep trust in becoming.

Risk has taught me how to listen, how to pivot, and how to grow in motion rather than wait for certainty. It is not something I do, it is how I move through the world. Open and willing to change + transformation + limitless possibilities!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I trained for over fifteen years to become a professional ballerina, much of that journey under the mentorship of my mother. Dance was my first language, my first love, and the place where I learned discipline, devotion, and the art of expression.

Unlike my mother, however, my path was interrupted by a series of life-altering injuries. What felt at the time like devastating heartbreaks became the very detours that led me home to my yoga mat. Looking back, I can see that my journey was never meant to be solely about mastering the physical body. It was always about the deeper pilgrimage…the mental, emotional, and spiritual path of healing my relationship with myself.

For years, people would tell me, “You’re a teacher.” I resisted it. In my mind, teachers were older. They had practiced for decades. They were masters of their craft. I was too young, too inexperienced, too uncertain.
And yet somehow, I kept finding myself teaching.

On the rooftop of hostels. Subbing classes I wasn’t technically certified to teach. Guiding friends and family. Offering private sessions. Saying “Sure, why not?!” To all opportunities to teach – fire departments, cross fit gyms, nursing homes, hospitals, The Children’s Museum, physical therapy clinics, College + University Sports Teams… It wasn’t something I planned, it simply kept happening. Officially, I might say I became a teacher at twenty-five, but truthfully, I’ve been teaching since I was fifteen.

As the daughter of an entrepreneur, I always imagined creating something of my own. One of the most pivotal moments came while standing in line for the bathroom at a Yoga Journal Conference. In a conversation that lasted only minutes, Bryan Kest encouraged me to start a donation-based yoga shala in a church. It sounds random now, but back then it felt like divine permission.

So I did. I built it. And they came.

What I realize now is that what I was really building wasn’t a yoga studio. I was building trust in myself, in community, and in the mysterious unfolding of life. Whether two people showed up, twenty, or two hundred, I gave everything I had to every class. I left it all on the floor.

I fell in love not only with teaching, but with transformation itself. I became fascinated by the human experience, the courage it takes to heal, to grow, to begin again. Every student became a mirror. Every class a lesson. Every training an opportunity to deepen my understanding of what it means to truly hold space.

The greatest teachings, however, came from life itself…

From becoming a single mother.
From navigating a heartbreaking divorce.
From moving across the country more than once.
From losing loved ones.
From physical setbacks that forced me to surrender and left me in shambles.
From anxiety, grief, and seasons when I questioned everything.

Through it all, I learned that showing up matters more than having it all figured out.
I learned to listen without fixing. To witness without projecting. To love without conditions. To offer compassion not because I had mastered life, but because life had humbled me. And as I continued showing up, as is, imperfect and human, something beautiful happened…The right people kept showing up too, doors opened, mentors appeared, opportunities emerged.

People recognized not perfection, but devotion. They saw discipline, creativity, resilience, honesty + heart. I was entrusted with opportunities to lead, create, and facilitate teacher trainings of my own… And in many ways, the story came full circle.

The little girl who spent countless hours in dance studios watching her mother teach and inspire others eventually found herself doing the very same thing just through a different medium. My mother taught through movement. I teach through transformation.

Both paths are rooted in the same truth: helping people remember who they are.

Today, every training I create, every retreat I lead, every student I mentor carries a thread of that lineage. A lineage of courage, creativity, trust, and showing up as you are in that moment unapologetically + fully for life.

Because ultimately, teaching was never something I chose.

It was something that chose me.

And perhaps the greatest lesson of all has been this:

When we continue to show up with sincerity, humility, and devotion even when we feel unprepared life has a remarkable way of revealing the path beneath our feet.

One moment, one breath, one transformational metamorphosis at a time.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m probably the worst person for this question, lol… I live life like a little granny who loves nature and tea time + chocolate! Ok… I’d say here’s your Gabrielle version “Best Day Ever In Sunny SD!”

1) Begin with a morning yoga class! Where? Well there’s over 200 yoga studios, lol so, we’d pick any studio or go visit NamaSteve at Sunset Cliffs for ocean air + amazing community vibes OR an obvious choice head to where I teach at Trilogy Sanctuary for an epic mat or aerial yoga glass on our rooftop geodesic dome!

2) Then if they survived that… jk off to Bird Rock Coffee Roasters for my favorite dark chocolate ganache iced mocha w/homemade whip!

3) Then a surf, SUP, or kayak session or lesson at La Jolla shores

4) Then I’d have to ask my 18yr old son where the best Cali Burrito is?

5) Then a life changing visit to the Dan McKinney YMCA for a restorative Sauna + Hot Tub session with great local vibe insights and conversations – they have showers too ;))

6) Once freshened up, time to head over to Torrey Pines for golf, hiking or paragliding for later afternoon

7) Now we’re heading up the 101 to Encinitas – to Swamis for ocean view and beautifully curated meditation gardens at SRF – Self Realization Fellowship Center – maybe a little wandering and local shopping in Encinitas after our moment of mindfulness + gratitude 🙏

8) Lastly Dinner at Campfire 🔥 my favorite North County spot for unique super fresh local dishes and craft cocktails 🍹

9) Finally… since we’re going all out drive all the way back to bay or ocean for campfire setup + s’mores + under the stars (or marine layer) or ice cream + seals 🦭 at night at Bobboi + The Cove

Phew 😮‍💨 exhausted and heartfilled 🧟‍♀️💋

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
To my trailblazing, fearless mother, who recently metamorphosed beyond her earthly form and, in doing so, left behind a legacy that continues to inspire generations of women to trust themselves, take the leap, and dare to create a life uniquely their own.

Without her, of course, I would not exist. But even more importantly, I would never have known what unapologetic strength, elegance, resilience, and grace truly look like in human form.

She didn’t simply walk through life, she danced. Every step was infused with passion, purpose, and artistry. Whether she was defying gravity on stage, choreographing movement from emotion, transforming life’s challenges into creative expression, preparing mouthwatering meals, or hosting unforgettable celebrations, she chose again and again to honor life itself.

Anyone fortunate enough to cross her path was touched by her magic. She had a way of mentoring, nurturing, and inspiring others to become more fully themselves.

While she didn’t always understand or support every choice I made, she never stopped loving me. She was always there with open arms, a listening heart, and endless cups of tea as I forged my own path through the world. She allowed me the gift of becoming myself.

Today, I carry her lessons, her courage, her creativity, and her love forward. Her physical presence may be gone, but her rhythm still echoes through the lives she touched, the beauty she created, and the hearts she helped awaken to possibility.

Website: https://www.monarchyogalove.com

Instagram: gabrielleblachley

Facebook: gabrielleblachley

Other: My website is down right now

Image Credits
@lauracostaphotography
@johnwilliam_photography