Welcome:

Note from Kimberly Blaine, owner of Palos Verdes Yoga and Fitness:

I’d love for you all to hear the story of how it came to be that I own a yoga studio in Palos Verdes, CA! It’s a wonderful tale of serendipity, the law of attraction, being in the right place at the right time, and letting the universe show you what to do. It’s proof to me that if you approach life with an open mind and heart, your path will reveal itself with no question. I really never thought I would be in these shoes, but I met such wonderful and supportive people and found a studio that was such a great fit for me, next thing you know, I’m signing ownership documents and agreements. I hope to provide people with a light hearted and accepting approach to their yoga practice as well as their lives. I also hope everyone who enters the studio feels a sense of warmth and welcome. We’re changing lives and creating a community of like minded individuals on their journey to a greater existence. If you want to hear the whole story of how it came to be, we’ll chat after class! Peace and Hugs…..

All Levels:

This class is available to everyone from Beginners to Advanced. Instruction is focus and adjustments are offered to assist students with asana. Often this class includes an easy flow series to warm the body.

Level 2/3:

Yoga experience recommended. Challenging, empowering, and uplifting, this class will allow you delve deeper into your yoga practice. With a focus on alignment and breath – Your teacher will guide you through an inspired sequence of poses, set to a groove-inducing soundtrack. Come ready to shed a detoxifying sweat in a room warmed to a summery temp. Strengthen the body, clear the mind, and welcome the bliss.

Power Yoga Flow:

For those with an athletic background and/or prior yoga experience. Sweat, flow, build strength, hold poses. This class is designed to give you a work out.

Forrest Inspired Yoga:

Steeped in classical Forrest Yoga principles and core work. This Forrest Yoga class is focused on steadiness with deep, conscious breathing. Each sequence is designed to help students tap into their own internal strength while building heat for healing and purification. Experience a balance of strength and breath and the integration of intention and purpose. New or Experienced practicioner, you are sure to leave this class feeling empowered, expansive and deeply
connected.

Soft and Slow Yoga:

This is a Basic to All-Levels class set to a slow thoughtful pace. Appropriate for Beginners looking to ease into yoga or advanced students looking to deepen their practice. The main emphasis is on breath and connection. You will leave feeling relaxed and renewed.

Strength and Stretch Yoga:

All Levels Welcome. This class focuses on building strength in the major muscles complemented with deep stretches. Asanas (poses) range from beginner to advanced levels. Props and modifications are always available.

Forrest Inspired Yoga:

Kristi’s Kardio:

Perfect to define your lines and burn fat and calories! A fitness class including cardio warm up series and interval weight routines. This is not a yoga class.

Groovy Kids Yoga:

GroovyKids™ Kids yoga classes are 45-55 minutes long and are made up primarily of movement in the form of asanas, which is the term yoga uses for postures or poses. These are excellent tools for improving STRENGTH, FLEXIBILITY and CO-ORDINATION in children. They are often named after things found in nature, from animals to birds to things! Some are challenging, some are easy but they all have a common thread. They involve physical movement, which allows and encourages kids to explore body mind awareness and even better, to have fun doing it! Some poses require balance, some require relaxation and others demand focus and dedication from the practitioner. Sometimes we stand on our hands, other times even on our heads and shoulders, with great attention to safety of course. Visit the gallery page for some examples! Classes always end with some STILLNESS, a key component of the yoga system. Kids ENJOY meditating and while there’s no way for us to really know whether the child’s mind is really still, these are simple tools that learnt at a young age, will always EMPOWER the child to manage their own powers of CONCENTRATION.

Yoga for Athletes:

All Athletes know the beauty of playing out of the ‘head’ and in ‘the zone’ – where mind, body and breath are working together toward one goal – winning. Students will strengthen their core, refine their balance, focus their minds, enhance their breathing skills – and stretch key areas fatigued by the repetitive movements of their sport. Yoga for Athletes is a private class designed for each specific team and the unique demands of each sport. Contact the studio directly to set up a time for your team.

The Yoga for Athletes program at Palos Verdes Yoga is led Jennifer Allen Richard. For five years now, Jennifer has been teaching yoga to football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, tennis, and volleyball players. As the daughter of a pro football coach, Jennifer grew up with a deep understanding of athletes – and the necessary balance mind and body in action. Jennifer brings this knowledge onto the mat, guiding students through sessions that are physically challenging and mentally steadying, encouraging all to tap into their own inner strength

Class Tips and Etiquette

Yoga Mats
If you practice regularly, enjoy the cleanliness of your own mat and purchase one at our retail area.
Mats are available to rent $1 per session per person.

Please arrive on time
Classes start and finish on time. We understand that schedules may cause you to be late on an
exception basis. Choose a class time that is appropriate for you so that lateness is minimal. Please be mindful and respectful of your fellow yogis and enter quietly. Take a place in the spot most
easily accessed. Never leave during Savasana.

Practice on an empty stomach
It is recommended to refrain from eating 90 minutes to two hours before class.

Print your name on the sign in sheet
Please print your name neatly and legibly on the sheet. This is our reference for paying the instructors and keeping records of your accounts.

Please do not bring cell phones into the practice room
Your personal calls are a distraction to a group yoga
setting and counterproductive to what we are trying to achieve in the room. If you need to check your phone, leave it in your car or the lobby and quietly step outside.

Cleanliness
Excessive fragrance or odors are distracting to others and non-serving to you. Please keep your mat and your body clean. Towels are recommended for all classes. If you leave any sweat in areas around your mat, please wipe with provided wipes.

Choose the level of class that is appropriate for you
Yoga is available to everyone, but we all have our own limitations and preferences. Classes are described in detail above. If you are not certain which class to choose, please consult your instructor for guidance. We want to find a fit that will inspire your on-going practice in a welcoming non-competitive atmosphere.

Let your teacher know if you have any injuries.

Greville

Yoga, in all its many forms, can help enrich one’s experience of life. I consider myself most fortunate, because as a yoga teacher, I can help people help themselves. My classes are thoughtful alignment based explorations of the possibilites both physical and mental and I enjoy questioning things, looking for the humor in all situations. I began practicing in 1985 and have been teaching since 1997.

My path led me toPalos Verdes Yoga via Bikram, Kundalini and Sivananda classes, all the wayto  Maha Yoga in Brentwood and then Yoga Works in Santa Monica, where I’ve become very familiar with the Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga traditions. There, I completed both the celebrated Teacher Training and Advanced Teacher Training programs with Maty Ezraty, the founder, and Lisa Walford. Maty hired me right away and I’ve been there ever since. In 2004 I began teaching Kids Yoga, and in 2006, I received my Yoga Works Certification to the 500-hour level and went to Japan to teach teachers how to teach Kids Yoga, returning there to co-teach an adult training.

Since then I’ve led and continue to lead adult trainings for Yoga Works and Yogposer as well as my own Kids Program, the GroovyKids Yoga Teacher Training; which I’ve taught in Santa Monica, Japan, Manhattan Beach, Cyprus, Norway, Spain  and Athens, Greece. I’ve walked around and into the Himalayas and spent time in India on her beaches, in her markets and amongst her rich and poor. I’ve accompanied yogis in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Thailand, Mykonos and Turkey.. Everywhere it’s the same. Yoga helps people.

Eunjoo

Eunjoo Pacifici, Pharm.D., Ph.D. has been practicing yoga for over ten years under the tutelage of a number of wonderful teachers including Maggie Mellor (traditional Hatha style) & Linda DiCarlo (Iyengar style) at the Westlake Yoga in Westlake Village, California; Tracy Bogart at the Triangle Yoga in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and most recently, Robyn Marin (vinyasa style) at Robyn’s Energy in Motion. Eunjoo’s own teaching style emphasizes proper alignment and breathing while moving through deep and slow flow yoga. As a licensed healthcare professional and a university educator, Eunjoo explores ways to holistically incorporate yoga practice to enhance one’s overall quality of life.

Jennifer

Jennifer Allen Richard began practicing yoga nearly twenty years ago at the Jivamukti center in New York City. Throughout the years, as a journalist and on-air reporter, yoga has remained the anchor in her creative life.

Here at Palos Verdes Yoga, Jennifer has taught yoga to football, soccer, lacrosse, baseball, and volleyball players in her Yoga for Athletes program. As the daughter of a pro football coach, she grew up with a deep understanding of athletes – and the clear balance between mind and body in movement. Jennifer brings this knowledge onto the mat, guiding students through sessions that are physically challenging yet mentally steadying, encouraging all to tap into their own inner strength.

Jennifer received her 200-hour certification from Planet Yoga, and has been teaching in Los Angeles for ten years now. She is currently being mentored by master teacher Annie Carpenter – and is in the midst of receiving a 300-hour training certification in Smart Flow Yoga at Sacred Movement.

Kimberly

Kimberly Blaine is the owner of Palos Verdes Yoga and Fitness. She grew up camping and hiking the East Tennessee area of the Appalachian Trail and studying martial arts and gymnastics. Kimberly began her yoga journey in 1999. Her passion for yoga bloomed from the very first class she took as she set her goals on becoming a teacher. After practicing in Florida and East Tennessee, she found herself in California under the instruction of Chappell Foote, founder of Harmony Yoga, Redondo Beach. Here, she immersed herself in her practice and then participated in the first Teacher Training offered at the studio. Upon completing an intensive training course in 2004, Kimberly was certified as a Yoga Instructor and began to teach and assist immediately following. Her instruction is based on the Vinyasa Flow technique which creates a union between breath, movement, and building strength. Alignment is included for beginners and to protect students from possible injuries. A soft vocal delivery combined with an intelligent, challenging sequence has become Kimberly’s unique style. The class is designed for anyone who is seeking peace and acceptance in their body today. Come with an open mind and an open heart.

Quote from Kimberly…..

“When I first experienced Yoga, I embraced it and sought it on a deeper level with intentions to ultimately share the magnificence with others. Yoga has taught me more than asanas, but a way of life, and to seek inside myself for love and consciousness for that is where it truly lies. It has opened my body, my mind, my heart and soul to each and every form of life. Because of my devotion to my practice and meditation, I am aware of the small miracles happening around us every day and I offer gratitude for those bestowed upon me. I thank all those who have encouraged and instructed me along my journey, as I have approached this moment to share this love and knowledge with others, to teach. This is what I have experienced and know to be a transformation beyond imagination. So, I offer to you my instruction that I have devoted to those seeking a state of consciousness where peace truly lies. Follow it and believe in it, but most importantly believe in yourself and the divine power that already exists within you and every other being. Welcome, yogis, to enlightenment…..Namaste”

Veronica

VERONICA WOLKOW is a Yoga Alliance Registered Yoga Teacher. She began studying yoga in 2005 for stress relief while working in the investment management industry in Los Angeles. After leaving a career in financial services in 2007, she completed the YogaWorks 200-hour Teacher Training and 300-hour Professional Program in 2008 where she studied closely with Jasmine Lieb and Christine Stein.

Veronica is a devoted Iyengar practitioner who enjoys teaching principles of alignment and postural integrity. Her classes blend yoga traditions and provide students with a safe environment to practice with mindfulness and healthy movement.

She received her Bachelor of Arts from Franklin & Marshall College and Master of Business Administration from University of California, Irvine.

Michael

Each time we step onto our mat or open our hearts to the practice of kirtan, we are opening up to experience our Self as pure love and unchanging equanimity. As we engage in Nirodha (the stilling process) with an open heart, we touch our true nature. In “The Age of Turbulence” we are now living in, maintaining a yoga practice is no longer a luxury or a way to take care of ourselves from time to time. Instead, yoga is a necessity that gives us clarity, strength, vitality, self acceptance , and the understanding to see things as they truly are.

In 2004, while visiting Southern California, I wandered into Bryan Kest’s SMPY. It was an event that would change the direction of my life, and eventually inspire the birth of a vibrant yoga and kirtan community in Baltimore, MD.

I had been practicing yoga for years, but it wasn’t until I spent some time in Maui that I tasted what yoga had to offer. It opened up something in me that I had never experienced before. So I made it a point whenever I traveled to seek out yoga communities. This is what brought me to SMPY in 2004. I was so touched, inspired, and humbled by the vibrancy of the community I experienced within the SMPY, it was as though I had come home.

In late 2005, my father began treatment for cancer and two weeks later my mother had a heart attack and stroke. It was right after this that I knew what a gift yoga had been to me. It became my mission to share that gift with as many people as possible. This was the inspiration behind Parkside Power Yoga, Baltimore’s first donation based yoga studio. I founded the studio based on Bryan Kest’s SMPY.

In 2007, with the guidance and encouragement of my friend Govindas, I began the practice of Kirtan in Baltimore. And by February 2008, with friend and founder of Baltimore Yoga Village, Anjali Sunita, we began weekly Kirtan in Baltimore.

I have helped clients and students work through the greatest booms and busts of human history. I have seen firsthand what fear and anxiety can do to the fabric of our lives. My classes are focused on breath, on being present and opening the heart as a practice of purification ,acceptance of our changing limits and devotion (Bhakti Yoga). My classes draw on the wisdom and experience I gleaned as a musician, coach, and as a professional estate planner .

I have been guest lecturer and yoga instructor at Johns Hopkins Hospital and University system as well as an instructor to professional athletes and college and high school sports teams.

Sarah and Kelly

Kelly Irwin is the Office Manager for Palos Verdes Yoga and Fitness, and works tirelessly at handling student accounts and profiles and keeping all the paperwork organized and up to date. A permanent fixture on her mat in the southeast corner of the yoga studio, Kelly is a loving mother to three wonderful children and has recently returned to the work force doing something she loves; working with and teaching kindergarten students. Kelly also enjoys doing volunteer activities with her children, both in conjunction with their schools and serving meals with her son Shane at Samoshel, a transitional housing facility and project of OPCC.

Sarah Jessup does her best to keep the accounts running smoothly for the studio. Additionally, she proudly serves as Board Chair to OPCC, a social services organization whose important vision is to end homelessness, break the cycle of domestic violence and assist people suffering from mental illness (website at www.opcc.net).

The two work closely with owner Kimberly Blaine keeping everything balanced and running smoothly.

Sarah and Kelly are lovingly referred to as “Gifts with Purchase.” They have been students and friends since the beginning of the studio under the operation of Robyn Marin. When it went up for sale, they raised their hands to handle the operations while shopping for the right owner. They did such a great job through the transition, Kimberly adopted them into these roles. Now their energy bubbles all around Palos Verdes Yoga and they are truly part of the heart of the place. Not only are they taking care of business, they love to monkey around and have fun while staying safe and enjoying health and fitness.

Jenn W

“In my life I count among my greatest blessings my early ill health, poverty, lack of education, and the harshness of my guru. Without these deprivations, I might never have held on so faithfully to yoga. When everything else is stripped away, the essential is revealed”.
Iyengar Yoga found Jenn fifteen years ago. She fell in love with hatha yoga and was instantly hooked. Finding a deep connection with the spiritual aspect of yoga and noticing the subtle changes it was making in her life she continued her practice. Going to her first Vinyasa Flow class in 2005, Jenn fell in love with a style of yoga new to her.
With a background in Psychology, Energy healing, and Chinese Medicine Jenn started seeing how all of these healing methods are integrated in yoga and asana. Amazed by this, she decided to deepen her practice and find out more about how and why yoga works as a way of healing mind, body and spirit. Jenn received her training in Hermosa Beach in 2012 and started teaching in 2013.
Jenn is currently a Massage Therapist and just beginning her third year of a Chinese Medicine program at Yo San University.

Michelle

Movement has always been Michelle’s backbone. It began with dance, surfing, snowboarding, and then yoga found her. What a pleasant surprise that all this movement brought her to stillness. From the first yoga class she ever took her practice became a part of her that is continuing to grow and change. Teaching was an obvious and rewarding step in her path.

Michelle attended The White Lotus Teacher Training course in Santa Barbara in 2002, taught by Paul Reynolds, Kent Bond, Tracey Rich, and Ganga White. There she was trained in the Vinyasa Flow style which is the foundation for many of her classes. Over the course of many years she has had the opportunity to learn from David Swenson, Annie Carpenter, Gabriel Hall, and Saul David Raye. Michelle will always be a student and is continuing her study of yoga whenever possible.

From 2002-2005 Michelle ran a studio in Big Bear, CA. With a small space to hold classes she was able to offer a variety ranging from yoga for athletes to yoga for seniors. She specialized in private sessions to help cultivate a person’s practice to meet their unique needs.

From 2008-2012 she has been teaching classes at Yoga World Studios in Long Beach- a variety of styles- from Advanced to Restorative. In addition to her normal classes she enjoys creating workshops. A few of her past favorites were; Healing the Sacred Feminine, Finding Joy through Movement, and The Wild Self.

Michelle strives to keep every class fresh with a new blend of moves to match an ever changing mix of students. No two bodies are the same and no two practices are either. She believes in modifying as much as needed to create an approachable style for everyone.

Michelle is proud of her ability to share her love of yoga and help others to cultivate their own practice.

Private Instruction Available Upon Request.

Jennifer Wallace

Palos Verdes Yoga & Fitness IN HOUSE massage therapist,

Contact for an appointment today…warmest wishes, Jennifer…
hellojenn12@yahoo.com

MASSAGES

DEEP TISSUE

Targets deeper layers of the musculature tissue. This massage is specific to areas of tension and may not cover the full body if appropriate.

Half $55   Full $85   Deluxe $105

RELAXATION

A full body Swedish style massage with light to medium pressure. Very effective for the overall well-being of the energy flow in the body.

Half $50   Full $80   Deluxe $100

REFLEXOLOGY

A deeply relaxing foot treatment that relieves stress and improves circulation, bringing balance to the body.

Add $10 to the price of your massage

AROMATHERAPY SCALP MASSAGE

Warmed aromatic oils applied onto the hair/scalp followed by massage on head, neck, and shoulders.

15 minutes $30   30 minutes $55