Yoga and Life with Lisa Denise Velasquez
By Laura Goodreau
Lisa Denise Velasquez is a local yoga instructor here in the Bay Area. If you’re looking for an expert who is truly passionate about yoga then you must check out Lisa Denise on Instagram @lisadeniseyoga Where she offers lessons, advice for building a yoga practice, and “how to” videos giving more detailed instruction on specific poses. She takes on private sessions with individual clients even from the comfort from her home. Even Covid-19 can’t stop her from practicing, she has adapted to a virtual platform. Lisa Denise is a true advocate for yoga trying to share it as much as possible with the public in an intimate way. She not only shares lessons on social media, but also offers one-on-one sessions through zoom only asking for donations in return.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Lisa Denise about her practice and later participating in one of her one-on-one zoom sessions. She is such a lovely person to work with and is a fantastic instructor to live from.
You can watch our interview by clicking HERE
And to check out the Lisa Denise Yoga Session click HERE
Lisa Denise Velasquez
Not only is she passionate about her own yoga practice but she really is an advocate for wellness who wants to share that love with others. She offers free to affordable options for those who want to practice yoga but may not otherwise have the resources to do so. After our interview Lisa Denise invited me to join her in a one on one session later that week and I was excited but nervous. I had never had a one on one yoga session with a professional instructor before. Though I’ve enjoyed yoga classes or videos over the years, I’ve never had a regular practice, I always enjoy it but usually feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. Plus I am relatively new to Zoom and had never used it to workout with someone before. But my worries were quickly put to ease thanks to Lisa Denise who made sure I was comfortable.
Zoom was relatively easy, even for someone like me who identifies as technologically challenged. And Lisa Denise was a wonderful guide, before the session she had given me all the details I needed to get started. She began our time together by assessing my wants and needs, what my skill level was and what kind of work out I wanted that day. She was incredibly flexible, open to a calm relaxing yoga sequence, a strength training workout, or anything in between. She checked in on my goals for my practice as well as what my body needed at that moment. Since I really need a little more activity in my life she taught me a sequence that I could do from home. It was an engaging and challenging workout. She combined yoga poses, strength training exercises, and even a bit of cardio, all from the comfort of my home. She even offers to record the sessions and send them to you so you can use them as a reference to begin your own home practice.
Photo by GMB Monkey on Unsplash
It was everything I liked about taking yoga classes and everything I liked about yoga videos without all the things I don’t like about them. No more wondering if I’m doing what they’re doing on the screen, she’ll tell me. No more trying to find the right spot in the room so I can see the instructor, I’ve got the floor to myself. Plus Lisa Denise brings a calming and positive energy that seems to fill the space without her physically entering the room. With everything going on in the world right now it was lovely to take a break to take care of my mental and physical health. It was also a great reminder of how connected we can still be in our community while keeping physical distance. I truly enjoyed getting to meet her and I loved learning from her. I highly recommend joining in with @lisadeniseyoga on Instagram and make sure to reach out to her for private sessions! Whether you are brand new to yoga, an expert wanting to deepen your practice, someone looking for a good workout, or maybe you just like to try new things, a one-on-one session with Lisa Denise might be just what you need!
Edit to Video Interview:
***Since our interview some of Lisa Denise’s details have changed. She now has free live class offerings once a week and posts the schedule in her Instagram bio it differs week to week depending on her schedule. She now offers a few yoga pose per week on IGTV and her classes change week to week and will always be posted on her bio most likely it will be one day a week now that I’m busy with private clients. She is still offering a complimentary session, but in those sessions the first 30 minutes is a consultation about goals and experience followed by 30 minutes of it is physical practice to assess where the person is at. Please DM her to schedule a session.***
Lisa Denise has been practicing yoga for 23 years and was certified to teach in 2011. She has studied a wide range of Hatha yoga practices and philosophies. Her central belief in her practice and teaching is that balance and power come through the harmony of opposing forces working together. Therefore, she teaches two styles of yoga, HIIT Flow yoga which uses traditional yoga postures adapted into dynamic exercises to improve cardio vascular health, tone the muscles and increase flexibility and Hatha yoga which focuses on proper alignment and static holding of poses to increase flexibility, tone the muscles and encourage a drawing in of the senses from the external to the internal world. Follow her IG and IGTV @lisadeniseyoga for info on her free weekly classes, yoga poses and yoga basics videos. All offerings on Instagram are free but she will gladly take donations, 10% of all donations go to @SFglide an organization dedicated to helping those experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.