Valerie grew up skateboarding, listening to underground music, and playing with microscopes, she’s not your stereotypical yoga teacher and believes in making yoga accessible to every body.

Valerie discovered yoga during her first semester of college back in 2001 and took the practice with her during her many years working with underserved communities in East Africa. During this time, she began using the mat to process the beautiful and emotional life lessons she was experiencing; her mat became her temple and still is to this day. Recently, Valerie has gone back to these early roots and has begun working to bring yoga and mindfulness education to at-risk communities. She is an ardent supporter of The Prison Yoga Project and teaches twice a week at the Coast Guard Gym here in Alameda.

Valerie is known for her light-hearted and loving demeanor, her deep understanding of the mind-body connection, her inventive sequencing style, and the welcoming space she creates. Through her somatic coaching and yoga classes, she teaches people how to overcome the pitfalls of the mind and return to the body so that they can access their body’s innate intelligence, love themselves entirely, and experience more freedom in their lives.

Valerie most commonly teaches Vinyasa Flow but you may notice elements of Shadow, Forrest, Kundalini, Taoist, Tai Chi, Yoga Nidra, Yin, Pre/Post Natal, and Restorative yoga styles. In addition to teaching Yoga, Valeries is also a certified Somatic Coach and a Reiki practitioner.