Meet Pete
Meet Pete
Pete Guinosso (E-RYT 500) is an internationally recognized yoga teacher who helps students connect with their hearts. A “teacher of teachers,” Pete was one of the most beloved teachers at the San Francisco Bay Area’s premier studio chain, Yoga Tree, for over 14 years. His gentle guidance and intuitive assists allow students of all levels to step out of their comfort zones and find their own authentic path in the practice. Pete’s classes offer strong, vigorous sequencing grounded in the breath and intention, and always leave room for playfulness and fun.
Drawing from his years as a scientist, Pete approaches his practice with a sense of curiosity and wonder. He also draws from what initially brought him to the yoga mat: over twenty-five years of running, cycling, and competitive sports. His light-hearted exploration of going deeper on a path that is both physical and spiritual has created a thriving community of yogis in the San Francisco Bay area and around the world.
Inspired by his love of travel and the outdoors, Pete offers a wide range of yoga adventures each year, around the world and close to home. Motivated by his love of community he partnered with his dear friend Nasiem Sanjideh to create Green Yogi Telegraph studio. A place where he, and other teachers, share yoga and meditation with the Bay Area yoga community. His passion to guide students into their role as skilled, authentic yoga teachers and healers led him to create his signature Lighting the Path teacher training. Pete tours internationally for workshops, festivals, trainings and retreats.
Teaching in Person: Berkeley and San Francisco
Gathering in community is a time-honored medicine, and remains one of the pillars of health and well-being. In the presence of community space - safety, joy, grieving, celebration and mutual witness - become a living tapestry of healing and renewal. There is an old Irish saying, “It is in the shelter of each other that the people live”. Helping to create community is one of many reasons I love to teach yoga.
In this spirit, and the mutual desire to provide a healing community space, Pete partnered with Nasiem Sanjideh to create Green Yogi Telegraph. Although the studio has a new name, many of you are very familiar with the space that was once Yoga Mandala and then Yoga Tree Telegraph in Berkeley, where I’ve taught since 2012, along with many other yoga teachers and healers. I additionally teach occasional classes at The Castro Room, a bright, wide open space full of light and community, right in San Francisco.
We created an intentional space that feels like home. Please come join us for a class, workshop, or training.
Pete's Story
After thirty years of running, cycling, and competitive sports, Pete was astonished to learn that his biggest challenge and adventure would happen on a yoga mat. Within six months of practicing yoga consistently, Pete felt stronger and more flexible and started to feel the deeper benefits of meditative movement.
Motivated by a desire to further explore this connection of mind, body, and spirit through movement and breath, Pete spent several years and over 600 hours training with renowned yoga instructor Ana Forrest. He has spent the last ten years working to compassionately guide students of all levels through a vigorous yoga practice with integrated breath work and awareness.
Known for his joyful energy, compassionate guidance, and sense of humor, Pete creates a spiritual yet light-hearted environment for his students to uncover the deeper benefits of yoga.
“Maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you, so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.”
q&a with Pete
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I had a very active childhood. I grew up with three brothers, including my fraternal twin! We were all born within three years of each other, and spent our time playing together in the woods, fishing, and riding bikes. In addition to the outdoors, I was involved in competitive sports – football, soccer, baseball, wrestling, cross-country running, and swimming.
I spent my 20s mountain biking, road bike riding, and snowboarding. I completed several half marathons, one full marathon, and rode countless century bike rides. As I started to move deeper into my 30s, I could feel the toll on my body from years of going full force.
The physical aspects of yoga first brought me to my mat. After decades of being a competitive athlete, I wanted to see if everything I had heard about yoga building strength and flexibility could be true for me.
And so I went, propped my tight hips up on blocks and blankets, and waited.
The physical changes happened right away. It took me almost a year to feel the deeper parts of the practice tugging at my spirit.
I remember those first initial tugs as I started to sense the power of breath and meditation, and I found myself bringing my mind back to my practice more and more – even when I wasn’t at the studio. While I didn’t have words for it then, I was beginning to track mindfulness in my body.
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I am reminded of a quote by Maya Angelou:
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
-Maya Angelou
This quote has always been a huge inspiration to me. I graduated from my initial teacher training unsure if I wanted to teach. When I embarked on my journey to share my passion for yoga with students, I began to realize that I had been given an amazing opportunity to help people feel better and connect into their authentic selves. This is my main inspiration for teaching: to help my students feel good in their bodies, both physically and emotionally.
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Helping my students move deeper into their yoga practice motivates me to continue learning and growing as a teacher. As I track my own practice, I am inspired to share the challenges that I find when I get on the mat. Much of teaching is finding new ways to present this ancient practice so that it can be accessible to people. One of my great passions is running my Lighting the Path Teacher Training, and helping students grow into teachers. I love knowing that there is a legacy in teaching; that’s a beautiful motivator.
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Light-hearted. Compassionate. Challenging.
My classes incorporate sequences and intentions that help us explore who we are in the world. Longer holds, and a focus on breathing and body awareness provide my students with a vigorous class that also allows space to connect the body, mind, and spirit. There are moments that we cry and moments that we laugh out loud. My hope is that we always sweat and have a good time, even when we are moving through challenges. I want my students to feel cared for in a space that is safe and supportive.
