Yoga as a Somatic Practice

I have been practicing yoga for over a decade and teaching for several years. But what I bring to a private session goes beyond alignment cues and sequencing.

I am also a Hakomi practitioner — trained in mindfulness-based, somatic experiencing work that understands the body as an intelligent, feeling system that holds far more than muscle and bone. It holds memory. Pattern. Emotion. History.

Which means when we practice together, I'm not just watching your form. I'm listening to your nervous system. Noticing where you brace, where you hold, where you soften. Responding to what's actually happening in your body — not what the pose is supposed to look like.

This is yoga informed by somatic awareness. By an understanding of how the nervous system responds to stress, safety, movement, and breath. By a genuine belief that your body is not something to be conquered or perfected — but something to be inhabited, respected, and listened to.

What a Session Feels Like

We begin by checking in — not just with your goals or your injuries, but with how you actually are today. What your body is carrying. What it needs.

From there, each session is entirely tailored to you. I draw from hatha yoga as my foundation — deliberate, mindful movement that honors both effort and ease. I weave in guided visualization to invite you deeper into your own experience rather than performing for an external standard. And I offer hands-on touch and adjustment — attentive, consensual, and responsive — that helps your body find what it's been reaching for.

Sessions often include:

• Mindful hatha movement tailored to your body and nervous system

• Breathwork to regulate, restore, and reconnect

• Guided visualization and somatic awareness practices

• Hands-on touch and adjustment

• Space to simply feel what's happening — without rushing past it

Some sessions will be physical and strengthening. Some will be quiet and deeply restorative. Some will surprise you with what comes up when you finally slow down enough to listen.

Who This Is For

Private yoga with me tends to resonate with people who:

• Have tried group classes but feel lost, rushed, or unseen in a room full of people

• Are recovering from injury or surgery and need a careful, attuned approach

• Experience chronic pain or tension that standard yoga hasn't touched

• Want to deepen their practice beyond the physical — into breath, presence, and inner awareness

• Are already doing somatic or spiritual work and want movement that supports that journey

• Simply want to be met exactly where they are, without comparison or performance

You don't need experience. You don't need a certain kind of body. You just need a willingness to slow down and pay attention.