Yoga Services
The Yoga I Teach
The yoga taught at studios today was originally designed to teach traditional asana (poses) to prepare your body for sitting for long periods (meditation). Savasana (corpse pose—the resting portion at the end of a yoga class) is and always has been my favorite pose. I think the value of being able to calm the mind and body through movement to then prepare to rest is still the ultimate goal of a yoga practice.
However, most of the asanas in yoga involve a lot of stretching and mobility work, and not nearly as much stability or strengthening work. This can create imbalances in the body and lead to a greater risk of injury.
My approach draws from my trainings in Yoga (ERYT-200), Pilates (through Balanced Body, in progress), Breath Coaching (YogaBody™ Certified Breath Coach through Yoga Teacher's College™), MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction), and my own personal experience of injury, rehab of injury, strength training, and somatics research to provide more balance to your yoga practice and to your body through equal attention to mobility/myofascial release work and strength and stability work.
In every session, I place great emphasis on alignment for your body as a way to keep you at lower risk of injury and greater optimal efficiency in your yoga practice, but also in your daily life as you move your body through the world.
We will use therabands, blocks, straps, and other props for support, as well as a way to provide more resistance, awareness, and connection points for your strength and stability work. I start and end each session with breathwork and a short meditation practice.
My primary goals for a client are to build their awareness of their own alignment in their bodies to move more efficiently and effectively through life and through their movement practices, whatever they may be (yoga or other sports). I am also happy to work on any specific goals you may have as well!
The Details…
Intake
The Logistics: We’ll find a time and place that works for you—I can travel to you and teach you in the comfort of your own home, or another public or private location of your choosing, or we can meet over zoom if traveling to meet is not feasible. I will also gather some information about you to better get to know you and your goals.
Initial Visits
Initially, we will focus on posture and alignment, as this will be the foundation that we build upon for the rest of our time together. We will start moving the body right away, but it will be a much more focused flow, based on alignment and what your body is showing us you most need.
One on one attention
Once I’ve gotten to know you and your goals, I will cater each class to fit your needs and requests. I will come with a plan, but am also always prepared to completely modify that plan based on what I see your body most needs on a given day.
Testimonials
“Sonia is a wonderful yoga teacher. Her practice is very rejuvenative and healing, and I found my posture improving more and more as our time together went on. She has deep knowledge of different areas of the body and different stretches and exercises to help with pains and weaknesses in problem points. The practice begins and ends with mindful gratification and grounding, and you will leave every session feeling much better. She is a wonderful and patient teacher and I highly recommend her classes, either remote or in person!”
-Nathan S.
“I met Sonia when she was teaching a group class. She was really good at communicating instructions and was hands on to make sure the class was doing poses correctly. I enjoyed her so much I went on to take private lessons from her. The lessons were always tailored to my needs, and she always made sure I was doing the pose correctly. In a gentle way she pushed me to challenge myself. I highly recommend Sonia.”
-Sherie D.
“Sonia is one of the best yoga teachers I've had the pleasure of working with. Over the past year she has been great at working with the accommodations I need. She's helped me improve range of motion, strength and alignment. She's generous at incorporating new routines and poses so that I stay challenged and engaged. One of her superpowers is assessing what’s going on with my body and adapting yoga poses and routines to help me.
Plus we have a good time during class, which is important.”
-Ann C.
“You may believe that living life to the fullest is seeing every country in the world and quitting your job on a whim and falling recklessly in love, but it’s really just knowing how to be where your feet are. It’s learning how to take care of yourself, how to make a home within your own skin. It’s learning how to build a simple life you are proud of. A life most fully lived is not always composed of the things that rock you awake, but those that slowly assure you it’s okay to slow down. That you don’t always have to prove yourself. That you don’t need to fight forever, or constantly want more. That it’s okay for things to be just as they are. Little by little, you will begin to see that life can only grow outward in proportion to how stable it is inward—that if the joy is not in the little things first, the big things won’t fully find us.”
— Brianna Wiest
Contact me.
Fill out the form to send me an email. I’ll follow up within 1-10 business days.
I’m located in Redwood City, CA but I have clients as far north as San Mateo and as far south as Sunnyvale.