Simply being in the company of Suzanne Mazzarelli is calming; her warm spirit is soothing and serene. “I love providing a safe space for people,” she admits. As her many students attest, Suzanne not only provides a safe space but within it, she offers opportunities for connecting and healing as well.
Originally certified as an early childhood teacher, Suzanne continued her education by earning a master's degree in Social Work after which she began to work with victims of domestic violence as well as teens in group homes who had survived abuse and neglect. “I loved being with people and nurturing their healing process.” Ironically, during this time Suzanne needed help healing as well; after giving birth to her third child in four years she developed back pain so severe that she was unable to lift her newborn from the crib. She began studying yoga as a potential remedy and after careful and diligent practice, she found that her body had become pain-free. “As I got healthy, I realized that it wasn’t just my body, but my mind and heart were healing, also.”
Grateful for the impact yoga had on her life, Suzanne decided to follow her heart and pursued certification as a yoga instructor. Following 200 hours of classes, she launched a new career which was followed shortly after by another round of classes to become a yoga therapist. “I put in 1000 hours of training to become a yoga therapist. Now I facilitate the healing process with the body which is indistinguishable from the mind, the heart and everything.” Suzanne explains that while yoga began to attract followers throughout the United States as a form of exercise, it was originally meant to integrate the body with the spirit and heart. As a yoga therapist, she combines the physical and spiritual roots of the practice, helping people find and connect within themselves. “It’s about peeling away the layers, finding the highest self-which in yoga is the divine. What brings you a sense of awe, that connection to yourself, this exquisite beauty with all that and the people around you.”
Through her classes, Suzanne seeks to restore connections; in a world dominated by cell phones and Covid, Suzanne strives to create a safe and comfortable place to open up and connect with oneself, the world around you and the people who surround us. “There is a word, Dukha, and it means suffering; in yoga the highest suffering is the disconnect from your highest self, your sense of spirituality, your connection with something greater than yourself, with your community and the world.” Through yoga therapy Suzanne urges her students to know and be kind to themselves, to their bodies and to practice personal forgiveness.
Suzanne especially enjoys drawing out the wonder and awe in older adults, “They are such great teachers.” Thanks to her social work background she is a perceptive listener, and by “showing up with your whole self,” she creates trust and “a safe place to put voice to what is going on and realizing you’re not alone; grieving, for instance, is natural and normal; you don’t need to pretend it’s ok.” Suzanne encourages her students to acknowledge their spiritual and emotional needs while also connecting them with the needs of the body and each other. “In yoga, the highest self is the divine that brings you a sense of awe, a connection with yourself, the exquisite beauty around us and the people around you.”
Any conversation with Suzanne quickly references gratitude, a central plank in her outlook and practice and it is with gratitude that we thank Suzanne for enriching, enlightening and uplifting us and the community around us.