Conduit for Greater Consciousness
Subject: Brian Buturla
Company: Brian Buturla Private Studio Personal Training, Norwalk, Connecticut
Metamorphosis. Brian Buturla’s journey into health and wellness began in his teenage years. “I was in sad shape—malnourished, overweight, socially isolated and bewildered,” he says. “I knew I needed help so I joined a health club and had the good fortune to meet a gifted trainer.” Buturla noticed changes both inside and out, which ignited a desire to learn more about health and fitness so that he might share this information—and inspiration—with others. He has since dedicated his life to understanding the various methodologies, theories and practices of fitness and wellness—from tai chi to yoga to corrective exercise—so he can provide the best possible services for each individual who steps inside his studio.
A Slight Change in Plans. Buturla eventually obtained a degree in health-care adiministration, followed shortly by a personal trainer certification. He then opened a private studio and garnered accolades from various membership associations. A few years later, however, he suffered a broken collarbone and shifted his exercise routines to focus solely on yoga. “Yoga was the only thing that could completely and totally rehabilitate my whole self,” he recalls. After discovering amazing results from his practice, he decided to further his studies and went on to graduate from the Kripalu School of Yoga. “By 2005, I had delivered over 4,000 private, customized hatha yoga sessions to individuals who wanted more for themselves,” he says. “Specifically, to individuals who wanted to lose weight, correct complex physiological injuries and get into the best mental and physical shape of their lives. These men and women also had another common trait; they all wanted to improve and/or change their personal energy levels.”
A Catalyst for Change. “I train whoever God brings through the door,” Buturla states. “Today on my schedule I have a pregnant female, a 9-year-old boy with cystic fibrosis, a phenomenally in-shape 40-year-old housewife and a man in his 50s who once played football for Michigan State.” Later that evening, he says, he will teach intermediate vinyasa yoga to a class made up of dancers and “gentlemen who install swimming pools for a living and do other forms of heavy construction work during the day.” Despite the diversity of his students, Buturla finds that they are unified by one common bond: each individual seeks his assistance with hopes of gaining greater insight into his or her own spirituality for a more holistic approach to health and fitness. These people “know that there is more out there in terms of professionally coached mind-body personal and developmental training techniques,” he says. “To focus one’s individual fitness program on sets, reps and form is so 90s.”
Fitness Evolution. “Fitness today is more about how free you can be with your entire body, not about how much steel you can push or pull,” Buturla says. “The concept of strength is evolving.” He finds that his unique path allows him the freedom to provide a variety of methods for each of his students to explore. “My students (who are my best friends) like this because all day, every day, they are forced to live in the world of corporate business rules, laws, regulations and formalities. They come to my house to play tai chi, qigong, yoga and [play] with the Cybex training equipment. They want knowledge and they want the best of both Eastern and Western training techniques and disciplines.” The bottom line for this trainer, however, is to help others to find methods for achieving greater balance and joy in each of his students’ lives. “Raising the bar beyond comprehension is what my career is all about,” he says. “I like to push it and see how much I can get people to live in a constant state of samadhi, or bliss. This concept is known as kaivalya and is really what I sell, teach and preach day in and out to my friends and family.”