what they're saying
"Thank you very much for the beautiful class today. I love the heart openers and I really liked how you broke down the mudras into different components and put them all together at the end. You managed masterfully to guide us through all the subtleties involved in the different mudras, which are difficult to notice if we go straight into the full excercise. I am still feeling the after effects: lightness and clarity."
Roberto Olivera, Engineer
" . . . I have known Yvonne to be an exceptional and dedicated teacher. She is wholly dedicated to her yoga practice and her dedication is an inspiration to me and to all her students." (more here)
Farah Nazarali, Yoga Teacher and Mediator
"I just wanted to say how much I love the classes! The way you teach and explain all the subtleties and layers and fill all the spaces in between with love and beauty. I can't believe I get to learn yoga like this! I'm filled with such deep gratitude and awe. Thank you so much!"
Zoe Gill, Integrated Energy Healer (student)
"Thank you for having me at your [Yoga of the Subtle Body] workshop. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot of new valuable information. It was so lovely to meet you as well, you are an amazing teacher and carry such a powerful bright light. Thank you!"
Jenine Reverente, Yoga Teacher
"Much gratitude for teaching us Inner Focus: Mastering the Bandhas. I was so grateful to be there and experience the beauty and the depth of your teaching. Thank you to your teachers and a very big appreciation to you, for the way in which you have digested their teachings and your ability to translate and pass on to us in the delightful way that you do. The knowledge and experience has helped to integrate loose threads of confusion, as well, has helped me to drop a little deeper into my body."
Briege Farrelly, Yoga Teacher, owner of Soulstance
"Thank you for everything, it's such a gift to be able to attend such amazing [Padmanjali Sadhana] classes, I can't imagine there is anywhere else to find that in the lower mainland (or even beyond?) so I am always so grateful whenever I can come."
Dr. K.A., Psychologist
"The weekend [Inner Focus: Mastering the Bandhas] workshop was incredible - I learned so much, and so differently than anything else from any other workshop I've taken. You are so captivating and teach from such a place of authenticity, I am just so inspired!
I am still amazed by having you teach us how to pinpoint our chakras- I've taken many workshops on chakras but have never even come close to feeling them as I did yesterday with so much specificity....actually in any of the workshops I have taken no one has even attempted to show us how to find them before. I am so very grateful to you and appreciate you reigniting my passion for yoga."
Alanna McConnell, Yoga Teacher and owner of Studio 108
[Alignment = Enlightenment] Workshop was luminous, brilliant, practical and useful. Brillant - when you said 'that's emanation.' I felt it was very profound because I have been thinking of that lately, and it was only when I was quizzing [a friend] that some realization landed in my heart. You rock! Profound - the whole part at the beginning about time being a vehicle for practice. I plan on chewing on that for a while. Awesome practical tips about physical alignment. Please, please, please teach another workshop!
You are such a hard-core yogi! It is inspiring! You are extraordinary in your discipline and commitment to the hatha yoga practices. I feel honoured to have you as my teacher.
I have been a student in several of Padma's Yoga Philosophy classes and workshops and I have also attended several Yoga Retreats organized by her. I consider Padma to be my teacher, mentor, guide, and friend. As a student, I have known Padma to be an exceptional and dedicated Teacher. She is wholly dedicated to her yoga practice and her dedication is an inspiration to me and to all her students. Padma also has an incredible understanding of physiology and anatomy due to her background as an Exercise Therapist and also through her own experience gained during three years of isolation in silent retreat. Padma's expertise also extends to kriyas (yogic techniques for cleansing), scriptures (sacred yogic texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Yoga Sutras), and Sanskrit (the ancient language of yoga). In the 10 years I have taught yoga in Vancouver, I know of no other Vancouver-based teacher with the knowledge and expertise that Padma has. I highly and without exception recommend Padma as a yoga teacher, specialized workshop facilitator, and yoga teacher trainer.
Farah Nazarali, producer of Drishti Point podcasts, Workshop Facilitaor and Yoga Teacher at Open Door Yoga
I would like to express my experience from being your student and from practicing yoga with you.
At Langara College, during the Yoga Teacher Training 2014-2015 when you taught anatomy, I found your class very engaging and easy to follow. You kept a practical approach with creative solutions to help us remember the terms and functions of the human body. You encouraged class participation, stimulating our imagination and keeping our attention engaged. The combination of theory and practical exemplifications was very effective, offering the possibility to become aware of all the muscles, even the ones that are beyond our everyday awareness.
In my yoga practice I was looking for a long time to find a class that provides a deep, fulfilling practice, where I can find an authentic combination of techniques. It was at your sadhana class where I found what I was looking for and more. It is an honour to have the opportunity to attend your classes at your private studio. I learned so much and I deepened my practice since I started attending these classes. What you share with us there is improving my personal practice, the level of awareness and the way I teach.
Yoga is indeed a lifetime journey and it is so much better to have an experienced teacher to guide me along the way. I had the experience to search by myself, attending short classes, but it was only after attending your classes when I remembered how good it feels to dive into a relaxed practice, trusting the teacher. Your way of teaching comes from personal experience, it is very obvious, because the way you lead us into more complicated poses, can only be known by someone who found her way into it through awareness and trials.
Thank you for being here for us, thank you for being you.
Codrutsa Rotaru, Langara College Yoga Teacher Training Program, gradute of the class of 2014/2015