Instructor bios: Yoga & Nutrition
Bow
Unlike most people who get attracted to yoga because they want to start an effective, low-impact exercise routine, my reason for taking my first yoga class was for emotional and spiritual nourishment. It was after my first class at Yoga@Cindy’s that I began to discover the wonders that this was doing to my body on a physical level as well. In an instant, I fell in love with Heated Vinyasa Flow, and since my first class in June 2007 there hasn’t been more than 2-3 days in a row that I wouldn’t find myself inside the yoga studio.
Being relatively new to the practice, I was like a sponge that absorbed as much as I could in each class. I learned a lot faster than I thought I would and I discovered so many things about myself that really surprised me. When I was invited to do the Teacher Training, I was a bit hesitant to join just for the reason that I had only started doing yoga a couple of months before. But I had so much passion for it that I eventually told myself that nothing should stop me from doing what I think I am capable of doing. One of my teachers told me that you don’t have to have the most knowledge about yoga, but you have to be able to relate the knowledge that you do have to your students in a way they can understand. With that, and with a change of heart, I took my Teacher Training with Yoga@Cindy’s in September – December of 2007, and got certified in January of 2008.
Yoga is a huge part of my life and it is something that I cannot imagine living without. And now, the opportunity to be able to share it with other people makes it even more worthwhile.
Cindy
Bio here soon
Jamie
Jamie has been instructing at Yoga @ Cindy's since graduating from the first Teacher Training class in September of 2007 and practicing hot yoga since 2004. With a BA in Interior Design from Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, Jamie works full time in Menlo Park at a high-end residential Architectural, Interior Architectural and Construction design firm.
In her spare time she also enjoys the outdoor life of hiking, biking running, swimming, skiing and camping, with plenty of room to try new activities, with her family and friends. Jamie is originally from Washington State and moved down to California in 2002, continuing to experience the great outdoors from Yosemite to Tahoe and every where along the coast.
Joyce
I started practicing yoga regularly from 2004. About one and a half years ago, Mandy told me about the Hot Yoga and introduced Yoga @ Cindy’s to me. It was a whole new experience to me and I loved it. Despite the fact that my body was tired afterward, I felt so refreshed and rejuvenated. With steady and consistent practice every week, my body became stronger and more flexible. I became more and more aware of the sense of peace and joy I felt after each class. In September 2007, I decided to deepen my own practice and gain new understanding by joining Yoga @ Cindy’s yoga teacher training. In January 2008, I started to teach at Yoga @ Cindy’s.
For me, yoga is not just about asana (postures). It is also about how to connect your mind, your body, and your breath together. Through the sequence of breath and asana, along with the awareness of alignment, we will explore the truthfulness in ourselves, understand our strength and accept our weakness. We will find growth, love, and a greater connection to ourselves. In my case, yoga has helped to open myself. I feel more positive to everything and grateful to everyone. I also become more aware of all the beauty life has offered and get inspired by it. Right now, I am only at the beginning of my journey. And I am looking forward to share my spiritual journey with you and bring you the wisdom and joy that yoga can provide.
Kara
A native Texan, Kara started her fitness career in 1995 teaching various aerobics & fitness classes. Several years later she discovered Power Yoga and fell in love with its challenges and rewards. After a few years of personal practice she extended her teaching to include Vinyasa and Power yoga and has been teaching now for 6 years. Her laid-back teaching style reflects her belief that improving one's health should be fun, engaging and challenging.
In addition to yoga, Kara teaches fitness classes in the Bay area and is a Senior Visual Designer for Yahoo!.
Misako
As a registered teacher with the Yoga Alliance, Misako hopes to share her belief that the practice of yoga can offer dynamic opportunities to discover the youthfulness of the body and to open the heart and mind. She strives to infuse her classes with playful challenges,attention to healthy alignment, and a deep connection to the breath.
Misako is a recovering engineer who completed her Yoga TeacherTraining at Avalon Art & Yoga in Palo Alto and is currently a student of Chinese Medicine. Her own studies of the Anusara Yoga and ShadowYoga styles have inspired her to create an integral experience thatseeks to balance the neuromuscular system of the physical body as well as the eternal nature of the spirit.
Sam
How I found yoga and why it saved my life. As a young girl and teenager I studied dance, mostly ballet and jazz, right here in the Bay area. Until I was about 17, that was my life.
When I was in my early twenties, I became ill and was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. It took a while for the doctors to come up with the diagnoses. Meanwhile, I was getting sicker and sicker. I developed an anxiety disorder and couldn’t leave my house. After a couple years of medication and therapy my life was pretty much back to normal although I still felt weak tired most of the time. My physical body and cardiovascular systems were really out of shape and I was struggling to find some form of exercise that I enjoyed.
Then in my mid thirties, I had to have surgery. Recovering from the surgery was difficult. My autoimmune disease acted up and I became frantic to hold onto my life as I had stopped work. I left my home in Arizona, leaving my long time boyfriend behind to come to California for treatment at Stanford. When I started feeling better, my doctor suggested Yoga. I had done yoga on dvd and liked it. She also thought it would be good for me to be around other people instead of isolating myself. I came to Cindy’s excited and scared. Scared because I was afraid I wouldn’t have the strength to last 1.5 hours in the heat. It was hard at first and I was absolutely exhausted. But I loved it, and I loved it right away. It was hard but I got into shape quickly. I loved coming to a place that felt serene and peaceful, knowing that I could practice at my own pace. Practicing the graceful postures made feel accomplished. Being with my breath made me feel clear and centered, getting into physical shape was a big plus too. I had finally found something I had needed for a long time.
This past year I studied with Cindy and received my certification in December 2008. It has been a wonderful and fulfilling experience for me. My biggest goals are to imbue a sense of mastery, peace and strength in all of my students, to help them to realize their own personal strengths and not feel defeated by any perceived faults, and help them to grow spiritually, opening their minds to new ways of thinking or being.
I feel really well these days. I owe a great deal of that to the practice of yoga, to Cindy, her studio and my fellow yogis. Namaste, Sam
Nutrition Instructor
Linda
Linda is a Certified Nutrition Educator and Natural Chef, who graduated from Bauman College Holistic Health and Culinary Art School. Her belief is rooted in a holistic lifestyle that utilizes the body’s natural healing systems through the use of whole foods, herbs, and therapeutic movements. Using her professional social work education and training, she specializes in working with individuals in their environment to assess their unique constitution to give advice that is personal and individualized to their dietary needs. She is a member of National Association of Nutrition Professionals (NANP), Weston A. Price Foundation, and Silicon Valley SLOW FOOD.