Sierra Laurel Yoga

Private Lessons: Introductory Offer: Initial appointment includes a FREE 30 minutes. Total time is 1.5 hours. Subsequent lessons are typically one hour each. 1 one-hour session is $99 One FREE phone consultation is available before first appointment

We meet at their home or my home studio for 90 minutes. There is about 20-30 minutes of intake and assessment after which I develop a personalized yoga practice for them, which includes yoga poses (asana) breath exercises and meditation. I lead them in the practice and answer any questions they have.

Formal Education I have been practicing yoga for over 20 years and instructing for over a decade. I have over 2000 hours of training. Student of Iyengar Yoga with an emphasis on Restoratives and Inversions 1997 to 2001 Anusara/Hatha teacher training with former senior Anusara teacher, Katchie Ananda, 2013 to 2014. 800 hour Yoga Therapy teacher training through the Niroga Institute. 2015 to 2016 Vippasana meditation retreats 2015 to 2016 Buddhist and Hindu philosophy and Insight meditation with Sean Feit Oaks and Will Kabat-Zinn 2015 to present Partner yoga workshops and retreats with Alok Rocheleau and Anjeli Mahendra 2017 to present Student of Morehouse, an intentional community focused on pleasurable living through self-awareness. (On-going)

My work is informed by my own personal experiences with injury and rehabilitation. In each instance, I successfully used yoga asana, meditation, and philosophy, in combination with self myofascial release, to facilitate my own healing journey—both physical pain and mental/emotional suffering. With my broken ankle, I had three surgeries, received six screws and a plate, and was unable to walk for over four months. It was extremely humbling to lose the capacity to do basic tasks and movements I had taken for granted all my life. Ultimately, as I recovered, I gained greater confidence in my ability to persevere. I now feel a sense of empowerment knowing that I can heal through my own actions, informed by ancient wisdom together with contemporary therapies. On a professional level, these injuries have been extremely informative to my work. Adaptive ways to do poses, new ideas about what yoga is truly about, and greater empathy and compassion for my students all emerged. My goal is to guide and assist my clients in their own empowerment and their capacity to heal themselves. My heartfelt intention is to develop my clients’ potential to experience greater confidence and contentment.

I have worked with all ages from 4 years old to 96 years old. Over the last few years I have focused on working with special populations, especially older adults, and people with chronic conditions. I enjoy meeting and working all kinds of people, though.

Hearing about the journeys that fellow yoga students have taking is a powerful way to gain insights and learn more about ourselves. I’ll be sharing with you the story of David J. He got inspired to engage in private yoga sessions to better care for his body and to help himself build a stronger sense of identity and inner strength after his wife of many years had passed. By integrating the yoga asana practices he learned into a daily routine his shoulder pain and stiffness dramatically improved and we were able to spend the majority of our three months working together addressing deeper levels of self care. I was there to listen, encourage, share my insights and offer him some of yoga’s many tools. With such a huge shift in his life after his wife’s death was committed to use our time together to build a greater self-awareness and self-esteem. Repeating affirmations was new and unusual for him but he quickly adapted it to serve his desire for refining his sense of identity from being a full-time care-giver of an ailing wife and two children to someone with a healthy sense of autonomy and devotion to self-care. It had been a very stressful time for him, dealing with his grieving process while also beginning retirement from his job. During the course of our time together he found that the deep breathing practices and meditation were a very helpful way to relax. I guided him through a series of mindfulness practices including self inquiry during mediation which supported him in re-patterning a new relationship with himself and his beliefs around romantic partnership. It was inspirational to see him really devote himself to healing and growing. He gained self-confidence and a pathway forward. “I feel I’ve taken first steps on an important journey—one I would not have known how to undertake without your guidance.” - David J. P.S. Thank you, David, for letting me share some of your story. May it benefit others.

The advise would be very specific based on their needs and interests.

I would ask a professional about their education and level of experience, particularly with working with similar clients. I would also want to know what I would and wouldn't receive for the price quoted.