Rowena Mittal
To Rowena, yoga is a way of life and a daily practice which rebalances the mind & body so we can continue doing our best work off the mat. She considers yoga a joyful, life-long study -- one of non-judgement & non-harming guided by anatomy, physiology, science, and philosophy in both a historical & modern context. Her goal in offering meaningful, purposeful classes is to give all yogis – from first-timers to the well-seasoned – the yogic tools to find and maintain balance and equanimity to live a full life.
Half Indian and with a PhD in biomedical engineering, Rowena's understanding and passion for health, wellness, and her cultural roots gives her unique tools for teaching yoga intelligently. Rowena shares yoga with all bodies, ages, and levels of experience in the students' language.
Rowena's yoga practice began in 2008 after being diagnosed with chronic pain, inflammation, and shallow breath due to stress. Skeptical, as scientists can be, and hopeful that she could leave prescription medication as a last resort, she gave yoga another chance per physician recommendation. With regular yoga and physical therapy practices, Rowena became a chronic pain survivor. After months of practice, Rowena noticed her mind shift towards equanimity. She started processing challenges on and off the mat with ease, calm, breath and grace.
Moving to SF in 2011, Rowena fell in love with the Dolores Mission neighborhood and made it home for the next decade. Part of that home included the peaceful, inclusive sanctuary at Laughing Lotus SF, where she knew she could count on teachers Minerva, Alex, Robin, Valerie, or Rebecca to offer smaller, engaging vinyasa classes to balance out intense physical workouts at the gym or mental workouts at the office.
Half desi (Indian), Rowena became a certified yoga instructor in 2014 with her teacher Rusty Wells at Urban Flow SF to demystify the western practice and share her discovery of yoga with her community while respecting her Indian roots and scientific mind. She's been teaching ever since all over SF, switching between a full-time and part-time capacity over the years.
Her yoga teacher training (RYT 410 hours) includes chair (seated) yoga, basic prenatal yoga, injury prevention, and the art of physical assisting. She offers beginners, all levels, level 2/3, and yin/restorative yoga inspired by her study of bhakti flow yoga -- a blend of vinyasa, ashtanga, power, yin, restorative and bhakti yoga. This school of yoga is guided by an 8-limbed approach that includes meditation and philosophical principles outlined in historical yoga texts. Emphasis is placed on acknowledging the teachers in our lives in all their forms.
