Offering private yoga classes
I offer private yoga classes in your home in central or south Austin or in my large vintage Spartan trailer in the Manchaca area.
If you’re interested, please call, text, or email me to set up an initial meeting so we can interview each other and decide whether to proceed.
I’ll want to know what your goals are.
- Are you a beginner wanting to develop some confidence before joining a studio class?
- Do you want to develop or improve your home practice?
- Do you value the convenience of having a teacher come to your home?
- Is learning in privacy important to you?
- Do you want to get more out of each pose?
- Do you want to manage your stress levels?
- Are hands-on adjustments welcome?
- How often and how long do you want to meet?
- How will we know when we’re done or when it’s time to reassess your goals?
You might have questions for me. Just so you’ll know this up front, I’m a seasoned, experienced yogi (read below for styles, teachers, philosophy) with a lot of compassion. I love how yoga gets into your body with practice, how coordinating movement with breath changes your brain’s stress response to give you more equanimity off the mat. If you are wanting advanced asana coaching or a harsh taskmaster, please find another teacher.
I like our sessions together to include a mixture of challenge and ease.
If we agree to work together, each class will be designed to help move you toward your goals. I check in with you at the beginning of each class to find out what’s happening with your body and your energy. Depending on your needs and goals, I may incorporate more flowing sequences, breathing exercises, or restorative poses into a session.
My rates are $50 for an hour or $75 for 90 minutes for classes in my home. Add $10 for classes in your home. Rates for small classes of 2-4 are also available.
Please call me at 512-507-4184 or email mareynolds27 @ gmail . com if you have any questions or would like to set up an initial meeting at no cost.
Testimonials
A private yoga student was kind enough to write the following testimonial:
Mary Ann is a generous, patient, and experienced yoga instructor. She is flexible in her approach and can accommodate the needs of complete newbies and [more] advanced students, adjusting poses for different experience levels, body types, degrees of flexibility, and health issues. She modifies poses using props, and she substitutes alternate poses that stretch the same muscle groups in a different way for more or less advanced individual students.
Mary Ann encourages her students to challenge themselves, always reminding them to listen to their bodies and learn when they can safely push their limits, and when they should pull back. Her feedback is helping me to be able to feel when I am performing a pose correctly and to understand what movements instructors are trying to elicit when they say things like “draw down your shoulder blades” or “tuck in your tailbone.” Mary Ann believes that yoga can make us all healthier, more energetic, and more flexible in our minds and bodies, and she shares her passion with an infectious enthusiasm and an empowering pragmatism.
Quote from my cousin after her first restorative yoga class:
I’ve had insomnia for years, but I slept really well after your class last week.
Quote from a 5th grader doing a seated side bend for the first time:
Hey, ma’am! This feels good!
Quote from a yoga novice after his second class:
I am glad we are doing yoga with you too. I got up this morning very stiff and sore. Started a little weight lifting at the gym yesterday for the first time in about a year. I did a little yoga and most of the soreness went away. So thanks. It is already being valuable.
Qualifications
Yoga practitioner since 1982. Yoga teacher training with Eleanor Harris, 2010. RYT-200 with Yoga Alliance.
My primary yoga instructors have been Paula Weithman (Iyengar, Dallas, 1998-2000), Sandra Gregor (Integral, Austin, 2000-2002), Pamela Brewer (Hatha Flow/Vinyasa, 2002-2004), and Eleanor Harris (Iyengar, Austin, 2004-2010).
I’ve taken classes with some of Austin’s best studio teachers and done workshops with internationally known teachers Frank Jude Bocchio (Zen), Shiva Rea (vinyasa flow), Judith Hanson Lasater (restorative), and Leslie Kaminoff (anatomy and breath).
I’m currently taking an Anusara focus-on-form class at Castle Hill Yoga with Brigitte Edery and a sweaty vinyasa flow class at BFree Yoga with Gioconda Parker. I drop in on other classes at other studios occasionally.
My yoga bio
Why do you want to teach yoga?
Yoga has made a big difference in the quality of my life, and I’d like to be able to pass that on to others who are interested. Even though yoga uses the body, I see it as primarily an awareness practice with the serendipitous side effect of having tremendous health benefits. You can’t really separate them! You focus your attention, coordinate your movement, listen to your body, and expand your awareness. You deepen your self-knowledge and self-compassion. You tune into yourself and you feel better. To paraphrase Shiva Rea, after a while, you don’t just do yoga, you are yoga.
How long have you practiced yoga?
I’ve lost track. At least 16 years of active practice. I started learning yoga from a book and watching Lilias on PBS back in 1982 to de-stress, create energy, and improve my mood. I began working steadily with teachers in 1998 to heal after a car accident. I’ve worked a lot with Iyengar-trained teachers and have some Integral, vinyasa flow, and Anusara experience, in both Dallas and Austin.
I have a home practice currently based on slow, mindful sun salutations with variations to keep it lively and challenging.
My own biggest challenge is holding all types of balance poses. I practice to increase my stability and sometimes work with a functional movement trainer.
What is your favorite benefit from your yoga practice?
The level of overall well-being I feel from practicing yoga regularly, especially the freedom, spaciousness, and joy I experience in my body. It keeps my body feeling stronger and more flexible than it would feel otherwise.
What do you have to offer as a yoga instructor?
Observation of your current capabilities, because we work from your starting ability and grow from there. Empathy, because I’ve been a beginner too, and I’ve had injuries and body issues as well. Experience, from studying and practicing and working with different teachers and styles for many years. Delight, because it is profoundly awesome to see students open up and become more aware of themselves with yoga.
How would you describe the way you want to teach?
I base my teaching on the student’s needs. I use diagnostic poses to determine where to focus as well as ask students what they’d like to work on. I aim to give students a sense of safety and progress as they learn yoga.
With permission, I may gently adjust students with soft hands to help them experience a pose when words are not sufficient.
