Today we’d like to introduce you to Stevi Gongora
Hi Stevi, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’ve spent the majority of my life in the movement world, but that journey has taken many twists and turns. My childhood was spent dancing and doing gymnastics while only dabbling in yoga and strength work to compliment my tumbling skills.
While completing an undergrad in biology and chemistry with an emphasis on human physiology, I found the world of aerials and quickly became enamored with pole, Lyra, and the yoga hammock. I loved the welcoming atmosphere of this modality and after a few years, started teaching classes so I could share my passion with others.
This love of flying through the sky waxed and waned as I entered the corporate workforce and tried to decide whether to pursue graduate degrees or just keep on exploring life in my current state. I found camaraderie in the online pole world in early 2010’s, which then led me to another side of yoga that I had never had never encountered.
INVERSIONS. Handstand and arm balance play seemed like the perfect marriage (for me) of aerials and yoga. Suddenly I didn’t need any fancy equipment to playfully explore what my body could do. My background in gymnastics facilitated the entrance to the world of upside down, but it was the study of anatomy that helped me plan, practice, and progress.
It was fairly apparent that others were interested in learning to balance on their hands, but at the time, there weren’t a plethora of resources, especially if you didn’t have a solid background or immense strength to muscle your way around bodily and bony differences.
I was determined to help with this, but first some study was in order to further educate myself in the yoga world. I took my first 200HR yoga training with Meghan Currie. Her dance-like flows called to my creative movement background, but even though I left with a wealth of knowledge, I wanted a deeper understanding of the why behind the way.
So I dove into a 300HR with Christina Sell. Her background in gymnastics and dedication to detail scratched another part of my brain and my ability to cue and sequence workshops grew substantially.
I continued to study with countless teachers and complete additional trainings of interest in yoga, inversions, anatomy, FRC, strength and conditioning, and related modalities. Meanwhile, I put together my first two self-published books – Guide to Handstand and Guide to Handstand Pressing.
But it wasn’t all writing and educational seminars. I loved teaching, but found that traditional avenues for aerial and yoga instructors didn’t really fit what I envisioned for myself. My partner, Ben, and I had long since been planning a move to Costa Rica where we hoped to build and open a retreat center. Originally, we imagined renting it out to others who might have offerings to share with different groups. Ben was completing his PhD in Human Nutrition and deeply entrenched in the world of lifting and sports science. Combined with my growing desire to expand movement teachings, we started to think that perhaps we could also offer some of our own opportunities.
And so we took the leap. We spent all of our savings on 20 acres of wild jungle with waterfalls and an ocean view in Uvita, a small town we loved on the South Pacific coast. We moved to Costa Rica, sold our house in NW Austin, and used the funds to start building this retreat center on a hope and dream.
At this point, I had been doing a great deal of retreats and traveling workshops with my friend Erin Kelly. We called our combined efforts Authentic Movements, and focused on the combination of logical creativity with accessible inversion play.
We both were considering teaching a 200HR foundational training, but had been worried about finding the perfect location that would cater to our audience and our need for ALL THE PROPS! Enter FLŌ, the retreat center we were building. Again we crossed our fingers and launched a future training, hoping we could complete the location in time. Ben did the same with his first long offering, and we all got right back to the grind to get it done.
The pool was delivered a week before the first event. The electrical to the cabinas in the cacao forest was hooked up just 24 hours before, but we made it. And people loved it. FLŌ was designed as an educational facility. Slightly more amenities (think AC and wifi) than your standard jungle eco retreat, but shared lodging and lower cost than the fancy boutique hotels that were currently available in our area.
The next 5 years were a bit of a blur. Ben hosted 3-4 events each year in nutrition, research, and strength and conditioning. Erin, myself, and our new partner, Bianca Scalise, taught 200HR trainings, 300HR trainings, dedicated and focused modules on inversions, anatomy, manual assists, and more. In between the serious stuff, we offered fun retreats and traveled all over world to offer weekend intensives and share the love of Authentic Movements.
We met countless amazing people, worked incredibly hard, and constantly updated our offerings to better cater to our changing interests and audiences. I found myself unexpectedly pregnant in early 2019, but thankfully was able to keep comfortably teaching up to my daughter’s birth in August and shortly there after.
Her birth, as well as conversations between business partners, did lead us to consider changing and expanding part of our business with FLŌ. We were all working VERY hard and feared we didn’t have the time to relax and enjoy the slower pace of life in Costa Rica. Plus having a little one made us crave easier visits with friends and family still in the States. We made plans to open FLŌ – Blue Ridge, a new retreat center we intended to build outside of Asheville, NC. We closed on the perfect little mountain hideaway in Feb of 2020 with plans to head North around May or June and split the year between Costa Rica and Asheville.
I’m sure no one needs a reminder of what happened in March 2020. With the sudden onset of Covid regulations, we sent our retreat guests home early from Costa Rica amid disappearing flights. Authentic Movements made the difficult decision to cancel our April 2020 training, and in order to be able to see our family and tend to our new, vacant property, my family grabbed everything and ran to Asheville on one of the last flights out of the jungle. Luckily, our amazing friends were able to care for FLŌ, for which we are forever grateful.
COVID changed everything, and while we initially still had plans to open a physical retreat space, my business partners and I made the move to convert more of our business online during the interim. We had experience in the online realm, so the metrics of this weren’t necessarily overly complicated, but we knew we wanted to be able to share the quality of our trainings through this new method.
After 6 months of planning and recording, we launched an on-demand 200HR that had multiple live-teaching check-ins, regular group practices, and video feedback from instructors. We found that the online format allowed us to customize trainings and actually offer more and better information (in many ways) than in-person opportunities where time is limited.
We added a live-streamed 300HR that combined pre-recorded information with live-streamed weekends for community, and then later converted that into a fully pre-recorded offering with video feedback. Thousands of students went through both trainings, and even though we added back in-person weeks for community once regulations allowed, it was apparent that movement teachings had changed forever.
During all of this time, we were going back and forth between Asheville and Costa Rica, Ben’s work was changing too, and all partners were starting to diverge paths in some way pursuing their own passions. Ben and I made the impossible decision to let go of FLŌ to some wonderful friends who have not only kept the amazing place going, but upgraded it significantly. I still teach there at least once a year and visit more often. You can find out about offerings via www.FloRetreatCenter.com.
Craving the community we had when doing in-person events and the stability needed for a growing toddler, Ben and I made another complex decision and decided to come back to Austin, TX where we had spent nearly 10 years before our big move to the jungle. Honestly, while I feared it would feel like moving backwards, instead it feels like coming home.
This leads us to the present. I reside in West Austin and balance my time between homeschooling my daughter, recording creative flow classes for the APP that I still share with Erin Kelly, doing feedback for our continued open enrollment 200HR and 300HR (now modular), and prepping for 2-3 in-person events, including an upcoming 50HR Inversion Playshop here in Austin, TX.
My yoga practice continued throughout this long and changing journey, but lately I’ve felt the inevitable tug back toward aerials and have been spending substantial time in my hammock and on my pole. I’ve found joy in teaching a combined dance + creative flow retreat with the new owner of FLŌ, Erin Lazzaro, and I look forward to hanging up some silks soon in our beautiful background. Who knows what the next 10-20 years will offering, but I can’t wait for the adventure.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have to acknowledge that it’s been a fairly smooth ride, all things considered. Of course, there are always obstacles, but Ben and I consider ourselves fairly lucky in how everything turned out. We took a variety of risks along the way, and almost all of them paid off.
A part of me will always miss our life in Costa Rica, while also recognizing that this is the best choice for us now. But it can be hard to suddenly feel like nowhere is perfectly home because you are always missing at least a piece of somewhere else. My heart is somewhat stretched between Austin, Asheville, and Costa Rica, but we are happy here.
As far as business obstacles, I think the changing climate and growth of the movement world deserves recognition. When Authentic Movements entered the room, we were one of the only people with accessible inversion and creative flow trainings. We thrived both with our in-person offerings and the online world, but the conversion to online was somewhat hard on us personally. While we have always had an online presence (and recognize how much this helped us), being tied to our computers for feedback and zooms was a challenge. Plus the irregularity of student check-ins and feedback, which was the very thing the students loved, was quite hard on the teachers. There was definitely a level of burnout.
I would be remiss if I mentioned that my life philosophy somewhat changed as my daughter grew. While I was able to throw myself into work headfirst at all hours before having a child (and even during her first year), this got harder to do as she got older. Again, I have had the immense privilege to be able to pull back on my teaching so that I can be with and facilitate her learning environment. I don’t regret this slower pace of life, but sometimes I do still feel the pull for the grind and can lament a missed opportunity, even if I’m not exactly sure I really want it.
I’m not sure if that makes sense, but to some degree, I think it’s normal to miss the versions of ourselves that never came to fruition, while still being thankful for the present. I have my health, my family, and a somewhat clear and malleable path in front of me to develop my creative offerings. Perhaps that’s some of the challenge. The sheer volume of opportunity in front of me, and my current (and newly found) resistance to simply diving in and further monetizing something that continues to bring my joy despite the lengthy timeline. Parenthood has somewhat limited my energy output to others (besides my daughter) and I want to be thoughtful and certain about how I spend that surplus.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I offering accessible inversions and creative flow. Some call this yoga, some call it dance-fusion. I call it Authentic Movements.
At the moment, my most affordable offering is the online APP I share with Erin Kelly. AuthenticMovements.APP has thousands of online classes that range from a 6 week handstand program to beginner-friendly flows. All are organized into categories based on time, prop, or theme. Each week, both of us add a new class, and there’s even a weekly guide for those looking to do 60 minutes or less of movement each day. This app is always available, and if purchased by year, offers access for about $8/month.
In addition, we have an open enrollment for an online 200HR foundational training and 300HR modular advanced training. The 300HR is broken into different focus categories such as anatomy or philosophy, which can be completed individually and in any other. 1-2 of the 300HR segments can be done in-person, so I teach those modules 2-3 times a year, but also open enrollment to those outside of the program. My next offering is 50HR Accessible Inversions in Austin, TX this July.
Finally, I still have my (now updated) books on Handstand and Handstand Pressing, as well as a variety of mini courses. I’d like to say Authentic Movements specializes in simplifying complexity or adding a playful nature to challenging flows and transitions. I’m personally known for a certain silliness I bring to teaching, sound effects, and weaving in anatomy in an approachable way to my teachings and offerings. I’m proud that we’ve been able to stay true to our pillars while continuing to grow as individuals. We regularly update our teachings and offerings as we learn more and improve, and try to recognize and highlight the many paths for different people and practices.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
My life partner, Dr. Ben House, definitely deserves the first credit. He’s always been my #1 supporter and cheerleader, since the day I told him it was my dream to move to Central America decades ago. Combining my planner attitude with his doer mentality has helped us achieve quite a lot before both of us are 40.
My daughter also deserves recognition for the significant life philosophy switch she initiated. As I’ve stated, I lived for my work and all that I could offer and give through that part of myself. She’s forced me to slow down, begrudgingly at times, but now I find it possible and enjoyable to go slower and marvel in the joy and pace of life that offers. Which is funny because that’s the very reason I initially wanted to move to Costa Rica, and yet here we are experiencing that together in Austin.
Then of course, my Authentic Movements partners and those who have worked with us to build and create. Jhonder and Karen and Sebas for helping create, care for, and continue with FLŌ. Erin Kelly, Bianca Scalise, amazing admin Cait Nolan, superstar builder Joe Fox.
My original teachers Meghan Currie and Christina, and newer instructors Jules Mitchell and the FRC team. My old boss, Mario Mendias (owner of My Fit Foods) for also supporting my dream and letting me work remotely for him for so many years and not allowing me to quit in more ways than one.
And let’s finish up with EVERYONE who has participated in and supported Authentic Movements or my personal movement offerings over the years. The thousands and thousands of trusting participants who came to the jungle, showed up to workshops, bought my book, and simply trusted us enough to spend their hard earned money and time with us slightly whacky movement peeps.
Pricing:
- $8/month for AuthenticMovements.APP
- $10 e-books on handstands & pressing
- $200-500 online 300HR modules
- $800 July 50HR Inversions In-person CET
- $2300 Jan 2026 The Moving Canvas Retreat Costa Rica
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.AuthenticMovements.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Casa_colibri
Image Credits
@lifeinanimage
