There are two aspects I dislike about the highly commercialized yoga industry: a) Yoga is like an acrobatic art for skinny people who are hungry for different physical sensations, and b) Yoga is something kind of exotic and if you practice it you shall be considered a totally cool person. But what about the rest of us? The not so cool, not so strong and the not so young.

Though I love to work with my experienced yogi friends, I also wish to introduce the benefits of Yoga to those that would otherwise not attend a Yoga class in a regular studio. I want to share Yoga with my shy, chubby, stiff, older and not so flexible brothers and sisters :)

Yawi Griffini, PTA, RYT-500 is a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant that practices pediatric Physical Therapy and facilitates QiGong and Yoga with a therapeutic approach. Yawi obtained her PTA license by the Physical Therapy Board of California (PTBA), her 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training Certification at the Pilgrimage of the heart yoga and her 500 hr Yoga Teaching Certification through YogaWorks at Prana Yoga.  In her Yoga classes, she likes to emphasize self-care, alignment/breath awareness and the real value of Yoga that goes beyond fitness and body awareness, “asana practice (the poses) should give you tools for life: patience, humility, sincerity, non-violence, courage and purity are just a few qualities we can cultivate on the mat with the goal of implementing them in our life”.

Yawi discovered the link breath-movement first through dance; she taught, choreographed and performed contemporary dance for 5 years in Mexico, but it was Yoga that showed her that this breath-movement connection has higher levels which can help you find your spiritual path.

Yawi teaches therapeutic yoga at FITS-PT in Mira Mesa and Hatha Yoga at Chuze-Fitness in Mission Valley.

* Hablo Español e un po di Italiano - Ciao bella! ;)