Humans
Connect, thrive and shake it out at Buti Yoga with Doreh Taghavi
High-energy, vibrant, musical – these are words you might not associate with yoga. In which case you haven’t heard of Buti Yoga, yet! A mix of cardio workout, vinyasa-style yoga, dance and core training. Meet Doreh Taghavi, Business Analyst in Hotel Search, certified Buti Yoga instructor and 500-hr RYT who shares her passion every Monday when she offers a class at trivago.
At trivago, we pay great attention to balancing work life with physical as well as mental health. Doreh sets a great example living this motto. By teaching Buti Yoga classes every week in our campus she infects trivago talents with her enthusiasm and dedication to this sport. At each class you blend into the beats of powerful music, focus on nothing but your body and your movements to find yourself leaving everyday life behind for an hour.
Life at trivago: Hi Doreh! A lot of people might have heard of different traditional yoga styles or even power yoga or aerial yoga. What is Buti Yoga?
Doreh Taghavi: Buti Yoga is a dynamic blend of vinyasa-style yoga, cardio-intensive dance, plyometrics and deep abdominal toning. The high-energy classes are built around music of substantial volume to get participants out of their heads and into their bodies. We use cardio bursts and interval training to exhaust muscle groups while flowing through yoga sequences. More than that, Buti Yoga is an ego-free zone, free of competition and judgment to help facilitate connection to one’s self and others.
Lat: Where does your passion for Buti derive from?
DT: That’s a hard question to answer. I have a vinyasa yoga background, actually I am 500-hour Certified Vinyasa Teacher, but when I started taking Buti Classes in 2014, I felt a lot more connected to it than I had been feeling to vinyasa courses. I enjoy being able to have all the freedom of ‘outside of the box’ movement within Buti Yoga courses that comes with the beat of the music, it keeps the energy high and forces you to tune in. Also, one of the most remarkable things about Buti is the community of ‘butisattvas’- there is no judgement, no competition, we support each other in a genuine way. Anybody can be a butisattva, you just have to show up on the mat, leave your ego behind you and let the Buti Yoga take effect. Lastly, I love the physical intensity of the classes. They aren’t easy, and can leave you sore for days at a time. Careful, though, it’s addicting!
Lat: When and why did you decide to get a teaching certification?
DT: One of the Barre studios in Portland, Maine I went to was offering Buti and that’s when I first tried it. I took Buti classes regularly for about 4 months, but then I moved to Germany in late 2014, where it wasn’t offered. I started considering getting certified in Buti and bringing it to NRW in 2016. It wasn’t until November 2017 until I finally decided to do it- I got certified at Ritual Sweat Society in Massachusetts, actually I planned a trip to the U.S. from Germany pretty much just to do that.
Lat: What kind of music do you use for your classes and where do you get inspiration to put together your playlists?
DT: The playlist is a huge part of the course. I never repeat the same playlist twice (at least, I haven’t yet!). I don’t even repeat the same playlists at trivago and McFit, or John Reed, where I teach after work. I am always searching for new music and listening to music is my main way of preparing for the courses. I use all kinds of music with strong and repetitive beats that inspire you to move. That includes dancehall, rap, electronic, trap, world music. Some examples include artists like Major Lazer, Wizkid, and Buraka Som Sistema. I need to know when the beat is going to drop, and which songs work well with cardio, which are the songs for core work, tribal dance songs, cool down and so on, we are entirely synced up with the music in the class, and the movement should feel natural to the beat. Buti Yoga is an orchestra and the playlist is the conductor. Also, I want the participants to be able to connect to the course as much (and hopefully even more!) as I do, so I am always happy when I get musical suggestions or song requests from them.
Lat: As Buti is quite active, is it as meditative or as “mentally clarifying” as traditional yoga?
DT: It takes a lot of focus and connection to the body to keep good form and give it your all in a Buti class, which certainly doesn’t allow me to think about anything else during Buti Yoga. I really veer towards cardio when I am looking for mental silence, and for those who do the same, Buti Yoga might be more effective than ‘traditional yoga’. Regardless, for me it’s important to recognize that people have different needs and what is mentally clarifying or meditative for you might not be for me and vice versa. I like the way Sri Swami Satchidananda says it, “Yoga is something that you live. If you want to be a yogi you should be a yogi always, not just while you are standing on your head. If you are a yogi only when you stand on your head, then what are you when you walk on your feet?” I don’t believe practices should be restricted to ‘traditional forms’, as long as whatever practice you choose to do helps you to be a better person at the end of the day.
Lat: What do you like about teaching Buti at trivago?
DT: Teaching Buti at trivago really allows me to play a different role than I do as a Business Analyst, which I absolutely love. Further, at trivago, we value trust and authenticity, which is also really important in Buti Yoga. I appreciate that trivago supports us in exploring those values through the different fitness classes that we offer here. Actually, Buti Yoga has core values I personally feel are aligned with those of trivago. Plus, I am ALWAYS looking forward to going to work on Mondays, when we have Buti Yoga at 12:30. I feel really honored to deliver fitness classes to 30-50 people a week, between trivago, McFit and John Reed. If you’re looking for something different, give it Buti Yoga a try (twice). The second time you will know what to expect and can focus more on the course.
All photos by Manuel Delgado
