.png)
my background
15 years teaching yoga and meditation
5 years as a teacher trainer, founding and orchestrating Circle Yoga’s basic and advanced teacher trainings
Founded the Realization Process Teacher Community (rpteachers.org) in 2023, currently serving as Director (Pro Tem)
Advanced certification in Yoga (E-RYT500) and full certification in the Realization Process (Embodiment, Healing Ground, and Meditation certifications)
Additional training / study including anatomy, Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement, bodywork, prenatal yoga, qi gong and nei gung, mindfulness meditation, and Trauma-Sensitive Meditation
7 years teaching at UCLA, including their first-ever classes on the environment in American literature and on ecocriticism as a field
Academic degrees from Yale (B.A., summa cum laude) and UCLA (M.A., Ph.D.) studying Humanities and English literature, with awards including a Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies
I value diversity and accessibility, and I'm honored to teach and learn from adults from all walks of life.
I believe in my students' capacity. I know that everyone who dedicates themselves to practice will find their own way to deeper and deeper realization.
I value my students' autonomy. It's my job to offer suggestions, but your practice is always your practice.
I believe in acknowledging the origins of the practices that I teach. I am grateful for the Yogic and Buddhist teachings of Southeast Asia, especially India, and for the teachers who have developed variations and new practices in the West, including Judith Blackstone, who developed the Realization Process.
I also believe in recognizing historical and structural injustice. Both contemporary Yoga and my home city have been profoundly affected by colonialism and racism. I try to honor the fact that I live and teach in 'Chocolate City', Washington DC, on the original land of the Anacostan people of the Piscataway tribe.
my values
what I teach
The Realization Process is a set of 50+ practices to heal and refine your body, heart, and mind. Each of these practices can help you feel more balanced, more peaceful, and at the same time more vibrantly alive.
The 'realization' part happens gradually, as the practices work layer by layer to unveil your true nature. Eventually you know yourself as both the water and the ripple, the still ground of being and your unique individual self.
It sounds complicated, but when you get there, it feels like home.
the
realization
process
Yoga is complicated: it’s movement and stillness, discipline and freedom of body, mind, and spirit, a whole ancient and ever-evolving tradition of poses and prana (energy) work and mantra and meditations –.and even that’s not the whole of it).
And Yoga is simple: it’s whatever you do to come back to yourself. Just an hour-long public class or a few minutes on your mat at home can be a gorgeous way to have a moment of union with your body and mind and to cultivate a kind and lively relationship with yourself and your world.
.png)
yoga
what clients say
"I have been practicing yoga with Bonnie for about seven years. I've taken general classes as well as various workshops. I am currently a regular student in her Yoga for a Healthy Back class on Sunday evenings. Bonnie's strong understanding of anatomy underpins the structure and flow of the class, and she conducts the class with close attention to the needs of individual students as well as with joy and a gentle sense of humor. I always leave class more comfortable in my body than when I arrived. And this sense of well-being lasts through the week because of the practical tips she offers on protecting the back. I highly recommend this class." - Barbara, Washington D.C.
what clients say
"Bonnie assists clients in the embodiment of consciousness through the deep healing of trauma held in the body . Her compassionate presence invites clients to experience the ground of being and attune to wholeness available within the subtle core of the body. She is adept in meeting clients where they are, tailoring and sequencing Realization Process practices for unwinding somatic trauma patters and resolving fragmentation. Bonnie’s gentle humor and lightness is a gift to experience. Profound healing is available if you chose to work with her." - Lakshmi, Chicago IL
what clients say
"Bonnie is a wonderful yoga instructor. I felt at ease from the very first time I attended one of her classes, now many years ago. Her combination of strong technical skills and smooth interaction with participants, including an occasional dose of humor, put me at ease but also challenged me to do better from the very first class. I was very new to yoga when I first attended her classes, but I was quickly "hooked" by her ability to lead me to both the physical flexibility side of yoga and the mind relaxing side. I've now been taking classes with Bonnie for many years and will definitely continue to do so." - Ted, Washington D.C.