Welcome! I’m Leila, a yoga teacher, artist, and lifelong student of movement, mindfulness, and creative practice. I have over two decades of personal yoga practice, more than 2000 hours of teaching experience, and hold the designation of Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 200) through Yoga Alliance.
I received my foundational yoga training in 2011 at Exhale in Venice, California, through the Awakened Heart Embodied Mind School of Yoga, taught by Julian Walker and Hala Khouri, cofounder of Off the Mat, Into the World.
Link to final thesis (pdf): Yoga, Meditation, Dance, and Art: Finding An Authentic Voice for Creative Expression
I am also Level 3 certified through Little Flower Yoga and enjoy working with children.
I have shared yoga in a wide range of community and studio settings, teaching at Yoga Del Mar, Vinyasa Arts, RISE Prime Wellness, and leading family-friendly classes at the YMCA. I currently teach at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, offering classes to members and guests in an intimate setting by the ocean.
My yoga teacher training emphasized correct alignment, injury prevention, and personal responsibility in practice and teaching. Asana was studied in the context of the mind-body relationship, exploring the ways that trauma lives in the body, how breath can facilitate healing, and the advances in neuroscience that support this understanding.
My classes are rooted in mindfulness, bringing loving awareness to the body and breath. I offer gentle and restorative practices for beginners as well as deep vinyasa flow classes for more experienced students, creating space for each person to find the inner rhythms to guide their practice. I am also an avid dancer and enjoy welcoming ecstatic movement into or after a more structured practice.
If you’re interested in private yoga, please feel free to contact me through the above contact form.