Here is an interview I had with Pino Rizzi who visited Mind Body Flow Yoga to lead a three day workshop we called, “A Weekend with Pino Rizzi.” Pino is a certified Baptiste instructor and has attended Baptiste level 1, level 2, and level 3 training. He has assisted Baron Baptiste at over TEN Baptiste programs all around the world.
Pino has extensive experience leading a variety of yoga trainings, yoga retreats, wellness events, workshops, and master classes. We are blessed to have had him for an entire weekend.
This trip to Mind Body Flow Yoga was Pino’s first visit to Buffalo, NY. We are thrilled to be his first memory of our beloved city and we know our community of fantastic yogis represented the city well.
In this video Pino, gives his perspective of the weekend workshop which was broken out as follows:
Day 1 – Core Workshop
Day 2 – Full Day Intensive
Day 3 – Master Class and Meditation
Our students could not get enough of Pino’s instructions, hands-on assistance, penetrating insights and infectious laugh. There were many personal breakthroughs during his time with us.
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[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_toggle title=”Interview Transcript” open=”false”]Marina: Well, hello. This is Marina Mukandala, founder and studio owner of Mind Body Flow Yoga and I have the pleasure and honor of sitting here with Pino Rizzi of Power Yoga Canada who has spent now an entire weekend with us here at Mind Body Flow Yoga. And here we are on the third and final day of our yoga adventure together. And just wanted to take an opportunity to really to just say from the bottom of my heart Pino it’s been such a pleasure, honor, joy to have you with us this whole weekend. And really just wanted to check in with you and ask you what has this been like. You know I contacted you at a whim, you know following you on YouTube, seeing your amazing practice, your powerful yoga classes, getting really inspired and lit up by you. not even knowing you or having met you before, but really just took a chance and reached out to you and said ‘Hey, would you like to come visit my studio?” And you just took that on. Like, you took that ball, you ran with it and here you are. We’re on this third day together…
Pino: End of the third day, complete. Woo!…
Marina: End of the third day. Yes. What’s it been like for you?
Pino: Well you use the work honor and I am certainly honored to be here. and your actions speak to the power of connection. As you mentioned, we did not meet before I arrived here in Buffalo. And its really the work is what inspires me and I am honored to be here and share that. The power of this work and I know will transform lives. It certainly has made a big impact and healed my life in a powerful way. And so I’m excited to have any and every opportunity to share and shine this light in people’s lives where they might find that they’re ready to take their life really to the next level and not sure what to do next. And so as you know, as a Baptiste teacher, we have the tools to empower our students. And so being here and connecting with you has been a dream realized because traveling the world and sharing this work is what I’m about. My purpose in life. And so being here, meeting your community, what you have created here is amazing and inspiring to me to see students come fully ready, fully lit up. Your students don’t know me at all but they showed up ready to take it on, whatever I threw at them they took it on with a big yes. And that created a powerful weekend and I leave inspired and ready to keep sharing, keep shining. I leave this weekend filled up because of you, because of your students. So i thank you.
Marina: Thank you. So we’ve had a very full weekend together. I mean the core workshop on Friday night to this Full Day Intensive on Saturday all day and then wrapping it up this morning with a powerful master class and meditation. There were many breakthroughs through out the weekend…
Pino: Yeah…
Marina: …lot’s of shifts, lots of transformations. Was there any point, let’s say from Friday to Sunday, where you know you felt like Wow that’s powerful? Or you know really impacted you? And what was that experience like?
Pino: So many moments. Absolutely. And I acknowledge you for your collaboration this whole weekend. So I acknowledge you in a big way. I thank you. I honor you. And so many breakthroughs. You speak of transformation and the magic that happens is I show up as the facilitator, the teacher, the leader, however I leave transformed by the students. They don’t even know the impact they have on my life. But really the students are my teachers and I learn from them and that was my experience this weekend. And so many uh huh moments that I will leave with. You know our student who made it to crow pose, was that on day one?…
Marina: Yes, day one
Pino: Day one, the very first day, and new to the studio
Marina: Right
Pino: Our beloved student, new to our studio, new to Mind Body Flow Yoga, and had never done this practice before and was stuck in “I don’t know how to do it” and as I brought her up to class she went into crow and really soared.
Marina: Yes. Amazing.
Pino: Really took flight. And just seeing those moments, that expression on her face, someone who comes with “I can’t” and just from a pose really taking on the idea, what I saw a lot in the students an awareness of this is more than just a series of poses. We come to do physical work but we leave with a greater awareness. And that moment when a student comes in from the place of “I can’t” and leaves with a new awakening, a new possibility for themselves that is what keeps me going.
Marina: Right. And as we sort of made our way through our weekend there were even more breakthroughs. More and more on an emotional level.
Pino: Yes
Marina: Were there any in particular that stood out for you by way of an emotional breakthrough?
Pino: Yes, again I would say so many. Its amazing the work that happens over three days and when students come ready to be open, ready to be a yes, ready to drop what’s in their way, breakthroughs just happen. It just flows.
Marina: Right
Pino: You know today there was a really touching moment. So many times I find myself holding back tears as well. I am emotionally connected to everyone that walks in.
Marina: Right
Pino: I feel them and I see their greatest possibility. And so today, our last day, just from a simple reading our student who stood up and read and really resin anted with the idea of finding her destiny and her questions around that, being stuck in judgement towards herself. And really who cannot relate to that. That the tape in our head that tells us we’re not good enough.
Marina: Right
Pino: And so seeing that moment where she can start to shift, change perspective and see the possibility of her dropping judgement and being okay with where she is right now.
Marina: Absolutely
Pino: Perfect as she is. And a powerful moment with that same student was her declaring “I am beautiful” and how just within moments of “I am beautiful” could not come out of her mouth. It got…she literally got choked up just by me inviting her to declare, “I am beautiful”. And in just a little bit of sharing that we did, a little bit of coaching she broke through. And I declared in a powerful way that “I am beautiful”. And she leaves with that energy for her children. She leaves with that energy for her spouse. And really she leaves with that energy for the world.
Marina: Right
Pino: Because I believe that when we are transformed and healed the planet is transformed and healed.
Marina: Absolutely
Pino: And that energy is throughout the universe.
Marina: Right
Pino: And so the work we do in like a studio shines, radiates far beyond these four walls.
Marina: It sure does. On that same wavelength of the emotional transformation we had some students that had more of those emotional breakthroughs.
Pino: Yes
Marina: And we left them with some homework didn’t we.
Pino: I love homework. I love homework.
Marina: Uh huh (laugh)
Pino: And that is the great thing about this. It really is…all of us have homework to do on and off our mats.
Marina: Yes
Pino: And so it is a lifelong process, a life long journey. We don’t get to a point where we have arrived, we are enlightened.
Marina: Right
Pino: It is an ongoing process an ongoing journey. And so the work of clearing when we got to that work…
Marina: Right
Pino: …so powerful and clearing, conversations that we need to have, past relationships that are holding you back. Clearing any stuck energy, resistance, anger, hate even came up in our work. All of that energy that really creates disease, lack of ease in our bodies physically, emotionally and spiritually. And so yeah, the work of clearing is always great because it is challenging but it works.
Marina: Right
Pino: It clears a space for a new opening
Marina: Yes
Pino: And so we do have a few students who committed to doing their homework, making those phone calls, having those difficult conversations. And I acknowledge you for being committed and connected to your students in a big way and really taking a stand for them. Even throughout the weekend students who were struggling, stuff was coming up for them and I witnessed you taking a big stand them and holding space for them to be themselves and show up as they were. And you taking on the idea of checking in with your students who have homework to do and holding them accountable. So I acknowledge you for your work and I know that I will feel you in Toronto. I will feel you wherever I am in the world and I am left here inspired and changed because of you and because of the community here at Mind Body Flow Yoga. And so I thank you, I honor you.
Marina: Thank you. And if you could leave this community with just sort of one word, words, of wisdom or pearls of wisdom. Maybe there’s a favorite quote of yours that really speaks deeply to you and resonates with you. If you could leave us with just one ounce of wisdom as you get ready to depart here in a few hours (laugh) what would that be?
Pino: You know, really the biggest word of wisdom is hit your mat. Like stay committed to your practice because I know that when I’m not on my mat I am hiding, I am avoiding, I am in a space where I don’t want to feel. Hitting my mat and going through this Baptiste practice demands of me that I feel and only when I feel do I heal. And sometimes it could be just something small like a little frustration, or a little fatigued that I’m feeling or just excuses that I’m making for myself….
Marina: had a bad day
Pino: Absolutely and in my life in the past it’s been like really big, big issues as well. I’ve worked through some demons in my life, I’ve worked through addiction in my life, I’ve worked through depression and anxiety, some really dark places. And I know that this practice works and I know that this practice heals. And a quote that resonates with me is “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. And really adding to that “you are the change”. You are the change, we are the change. And to me that’s powerful because it tells me that it is not something I need to seek outside of myself. It is something that I am. I show up from that place of “I create change in people’s lives”, “I create a shift in people’s lives” and “I am committed to modeling an example of what is possible”. So, I do the work, do the work of everything we spoke of. Doing the clearings, having those difficult conversations, hitting my mat even when I don’t want to and then I remind myself I must be the change I wish to see in the world. That is my purpose.
Marina: From the bottom of my heart I just thank you for being with us this weekend and one of the things that you spoke to in this morning’s class was that of not living in a place of fear or mediocrity or complacency. And really just playing big and I have to say when I saw you on YouTube I felt you, I felt that energy and part of me wanted to play small and that if I reach out to this person you know how will that be perceived. How will that be received. Would he even give me the time of day and want to come out to my studio? But I just dropped that and played big and said I’m taking a chance, I’m going to put myself out there and here you are. And so really it was kind of a breakthrough for me…
Pino: Yeah, you created that…
Marina: Just in getting you to come here. And so from the bottom of my heart thank you so much. You came and you just gave of yourself and you gave so beautifully to this community here. This is my dream. This is my dream realized, this Mind Body Flow Yoga. And having you here has been such a blessing and so thank you so very much. Thank you.
Pino: Thank you
Marina: I have to give you a hug
Pino: Yes
Marina: Thank you so very much
Pino: Thank you
Marina: And I know you are a man on a mission. You are changing the world. You are changing this planet so you are all over this place. You travel, you teach everywhere. How might people get in touch with you? Contact you if interested?
Pino: Yes, yes, the best way is my website. It is www.dcfcanada.com. DCF is a company I created, it stands for Decide, Commit, Follow through. Which really I think are the three pillars of creating change in your life. You decide to create positive change in your life then commit to the process, to the work of that change and then the follow through is day-to-day.
Marina: Right
Pino: Day-to-day committing to doing the work, showing up, following through, holding yourself accountable. So the company that I created, Decide Commit Follow through, it really is embodies that philosophy. So DCFCanada.com.
Marina: DCFCanada.com
Pino: Hey
Marina: Thank you so much Pino (clap)
Pino: Thank you (clap)
Marina: Woo (laugh). Thank you so much to you our viewer, our subscriber for taking the time to watch this video. And certainly Pino we are up to big things and I’m just going to declare right now that this will not be your last time here at Mind Body Flow Yoga, right.
Pino: I’ll be back
Marina: Yeah
Pino: I’ll be back. And to the Mind Body Flow Yoga community, the buffalo community, you have made a huge positive impact in my life. I thank each and every one of you. I acknowledge each and every one of you and I will see you soon.
Marina: (laugh and bow) thank you. Namaste
Pino: (laugh) Namaste[/vc_toggle][/vc_column][/vc_row]
The Mind Flow Yoga community is thankful for Pino’s boundless enthusiasm, energy and wisdom. I was personally grateful to hear in the interview of the lessons he learned from our community, the encouragement he had for our yoga students and some insights we can all live by.
We look forward to his next visit.
Interview Mentions
- Pino Rizzi’s website (www.DCFCanada.com)
What did you remember most about your experience with Pino or what speaks to you the most from this interview? Please leave your comments below.
