Kathy is great. She really understands alignment, muscles and is very focused on correct form…read more She makes sure that she understands your fitness goals and customizes the workout for your needs. She also challenges you - you get a great work out but one that is sustainable and you are not a wreck the next day. She adds new and different exercises. I definitely feel a distinct and positive difference in my body and posture. Great personality with a focused professional approach.

Kathy is AWESOME. I started seeing her for private sessions as part of recovery from a knee injury…read moreafter my physical therapist insisted I add Pilates reformer to my workout. The rate at which I improved after seeing Kathy was really remarkable - in fact, after just two months (maybe less?) my PT said I didn't need to come see her anymore as long as I kept up with Pilates (which I definitely did!). In addition to my knee feeling better, I developed some legit muscle definition in my abs, legs and arms :-) She takes a careful and thorough approach, ensuring that you are building strength and getting a good workout without overdoing it (and thus potentially making the injury worse). As a classically trained dancer, she truly understands form and technique and does a remarkable job translating that to her clients in real-people speak, especially since Pilates form doesn't usually come naturally to people. This makes it even more important that your instructor knows how to explain things to you in a clear way. Kathy does. She also has a great personality and makes the workout fun - I always left my sessions with her in a great mood, feeling confident and happy. This was even when I went into some sessions feeling kind of sluggish and "meh." I was lucky enough to see Kathy on a weekly basis for about six months before I moved from San Francisco to Dallas and am in the process of trying to find an instructor as great as she is...wish me luck because she's definitely set the bar high! I will also make a point to try and schedule sessions with her when I'm back in town. She's that good. If you're looking for a Pilates instructor who understands proper form, understands how to help you recover from injuries, will do whatever it takes to help you achieve your fitness goals and will make the workout a truly positive experience, go to Kathy. I rarely do Yelp reviews but Kathy is so great that I had to in this case :-)

After noticing that Lin teaches a yoga for back care class, I contacted her for private yoga…read moresessions. I had injured my back from sports a few years ago which had stopped me from doing yoga and I wanted to start up again. The yoga sessions are awesome! Lin gave me exercises that both help my back and increase my flexibility -- she came up with modified versions of yoga poses I could do without further injuring my back. And was she organized! She brought two sheets of exercises with hand-drawn informative (and adorable) stick figures to make the exercises easy to remember after class, and related yoga DVD's and books for back care. I'm glad to have Lin reign me in when I want to do more than what my back allows. I mean I can't do a bridge without my back hurting afterwards and I wanted to learn the crow. Amazingly she was able to do that! First she taught me exercises that led up to it, modified versions lying on my back. Methodically, step-by-step, I learned how to do the crow in that class, without hurting my back. And in the same class, she taught me walking meditation. I've done four private classes so far and all of them have been as organized, well-structured, and packed with useful exercises and information as the first one. What I like best is that Lin is genuinely helpful and loves to share what she knows; she has a sunny personality which makes all her classes really fun. I always leave with a big smile on my face. Namaste! Namaste! Namaste! P.S. It doesn't hurt that her rates are very good.

I am just wrapping up my first month at folk yoga and I have nothing but good things to say about…read morethis studio. as a lifelong yogi and practitioner, i find myself selective of studios and classes. I have been in San Francisco for two years and have tried out a few places in the community but wasn't able to find a place that I felt like an extension of my personal practice, until I came to folk. the selection of class types is expansive, and each teacher i've been guided by have reconnected me with different parts of my own practice I had felt distance with. Roy helped me smile with my playful side again, Justin has led me back to flowing with the cyclical nature of life, and Audrey's presence and instruction has become a light in the lantern i carry towards my deepest healing (Roy's pigeon coo as well). I am so grateful each time I walk up and down the stone path beside Nopa studio, the people are kind, and I have felt safe in whatever energy I enter with.... and that energy always feels better as I leave. Also shoutout Katherine at the desk!! Big fan of you!

Loved the full experience from the start to finish. Folk yoga really feels like a friendly,…read moreapproachable neighborhood yoga studio with friendly teachers and lots of regular students. There is really a sense of community and it is welcoming to new students. The classes are generally challenging but doable for most levels and I like that the flow is relatively predictable so you can catch on. The class is warm and friendly, allowing you to voice what you wanna focus on without being 'too strict.' Yoga mat are available to rent for $3 and you can store your mat at the studio if you're a member as well.

I've been practicing yoga with Rosy Moon pretty regularly over the past year. Prior to that I…read morespent 13 years exploring different teachers and styles. Living in The Bay Area and at a yoga retreat center in Hawaii has exposed me to a wide range of celebrated instructors. But studying with Rosy has been one of the pivotal experiences in my life. When I joined an intensive series in which she teaches Primal Core yoga, I was healing from a major back injury and surgery. It was almost like starting yoga from scratch to practice post surgery. Rosy always approached me with care and helped modify poses to make them appropriate for me. I was inspired to explore the boundaries of my body within the safe container of her class. After a couple months I found myself able to get into a full wheel pose! A full back bend was impossible at the beginning of the series. Rosy's compassionate but firm teaching style is a wonderful way to challenge yourself from a place of love in order to find your true strength. Approaching the body as Rosy instructs facilitated major healing in my body, my heart and my mind. Warning! Beware of the Transformational Power Breath if you want to stay in the same ruts you have been in. If you are ready to bring about positive changes in your life, come take class with Rosy. You will sweat, breath deeply, stretch, strengthen, laugh, meditate, release and maybe even shed a tear.

Wow. This woman is a wizard. I hadn't done yoga in *years,* but a friend recommended that I try a…read moreone-on-one session with Rosy to help with some of my foot and knee problems. Because I am pretty picky, I wasn't sure I'd be into it, but 6 years of knee pain made me willing to try. Rosy taught me some ways to work with the alignment of my feet, knees and hips that I'd never seen before, even after working with 3 different physical therapists in the past. At one point, my knee started hurting, and she was able to simply and quickly move my leg around and get my joints back in sync. Rosy's style is so warm, compassionate and accepting, I felt really good in her presence and inspired to get stronger. Now I am back on track with exercise and credit this change in large part to Rosy. If only I could get myself to wake up early, I would try her boot camp for sure!

I had never done yoga, and initially was hesitant about going, especially considering I was nursing…read morea minor leg injury. But I'm very glad I went. I was able to get good instruction and felt that I had gotten a good workout after. Susan made sure that I didn't do more damage to myself (as well as for others who were in a similar situation) through ample warning, and easing us in with certain poses that would help beforehand. Speaking with her afterward, you can tell she is genuinely passionate about yoga, and really is doing it to teach and spread the art. Definitely recommend.

I'm new to Yoga and a bit intimidated by the positions, but Susan made me feel completely…read morecomfortable. I felt great at the end of the one hour session; I got a workout but also felt stretched and relaxed. I really liked having input into the objectives of the practice, and she was very patient with my stiff muscles and lack of experience. We experimented with partner positions, and Susan made sure we were all getting the most out of each pose. I'm more of a pilates person, but Susan's class has made me consider yoga as a compliment to endurance training. Overall Susan is a patient, engaging instructor and I highly recommend her classes.

Shelly Ross is hands down the best Yoga teacher in the Bay Area. She has the ability to connect…read morewith every student at all levels in a gentle and supportive way but also encouraging you to take your practice to the next level. I have been taking classes with Shelly for the past eight years and have attended two of her epic local retreats. I started taking Yoga at 58 and was very apprehensive. Shelly taught me that Yoga is just not mastering the poses but connecting with your body, mind and spirit. If you have a chance take a class from Shelly you will not be disappointed.

Shelly is amazing! She teaches to a room packed to full capacity several times a week, and still…read moremakes each student feel noticed, cared for, and connected. She keeps everything light but goes very deep. Shelly also has this incredible ability to teach to all levels at once, challenging the advanced students while encouraging the novices. I've had many yoga teachers over the years,but only Shelly makes each class feel special and unique. I highly recommend attending any of her classes.

I am a yoga teacher who hires other teachers (including Michelle!) for my yoga travel company, I…read morehighly recommend Michelle for both beginners and advanced yogis--as she has a strong knowledge of alignment and asana, her adjustments are excellent, her own practice is beautifully impressive, she teaches with easy competence--and she brings serious heart and joy to all of our practices!

UPDATE: As of January 8, 2006, Nikki is no longer teaching in San Francisco. I guess only having…read more15 folks in the class is not such a good thing after all. Yogi nerd alert...if you don't do, like or want to hear about yoga don't read this, run away, run away as fast as you can. But if you do like yoga, and you're in the market for a teacher or just looking to try something new, read on... So here's my yoga story (mystical time travel fog rolls over screen) I'm 8.5 years younger and on the verge of having an early-life crisis. I am looking for any way to escape the insanity that is, what we now call "the dot-com bubble" and having the following conversation with a good friend Good Friend: "Hey, you are really stressed out and I'm worried about you. Maybe you should try some stress relieving activity, like yoga" Me: "Yoga? Are you kidding me? I may be from Fairfax, but I ain't no, hippie! Let's get another round of Seven & 7's" A few weeks later, noticing several things not working quite right with my body, I make a series of doctors appointments. During which, I have the following conversation, not once, not twice, but three times, with three different doctors to boot: Doctor: "The (insert symptom here) that you are experiencing, appears to be caused by stress. Have you thought about taking part in some stress reducing activity, like yoga?" Me to Dr. #1: "No, I don't DO yoga" Me to Dr. #2: "No, I really don't think yoga is for me, doesn't drinking reduce stress? Me to Dr. #3: "Well...maybe I'll look into it, on my way home from a bar or something" Hence, despite my hippie-averse ways, several weeks later I wander into a yoga studio that has recently opened in my neighborhood and into the the classroom on Nikki Estrada (McClellan at the time). I then proceed to get my butt kicked by one of the most challenging workouts I had ever experienced. I was hooked Alas, after a couple of years, the studio closed and Nikki started teaching exclusively in Marin. I soon found myself in regular attendance with Rusty, but after five years found that, although my spirit loved it, my body couldn't handle it (still miss him tho'). I took it down a notch with Steph (who I still see and love) but the damaged state of my hips and knees will not allow for such vigorous flow more than once a week. So I found myself in a yoga rut. Then joy of joys, Nikki returned to the city on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, with the opening of The Yoga Studio San Francisco. And even better, her teaching has evolved to the level of my practice. Nikki now teaches a Level 3 Vinyasa Flow that is vigorous, yet meditative, strong but slow, exactly what this (somewhat broken) body was looking for and as an extra, super, bonus there are never more than 15 people in the room. So, here's where the revue actually happens, if you are looking to do seventeen Sun Salutation A's, then B's in 30 minutes, then this is not the class for you. If you want to wow the folks around you with your full version of eka pada rajkapotasana, then this is not the class for you. But, if you are looking to deepen your practice and your breath, in a well paced meaningful way, you might want to check her out. Nikki is a real gem, who is loving and knowledgeable and may just offer something unexpected.

nikki is perhaps the best teacher i've ever had. she is fabulous. go to marin to see her, and…read moreexpect to move slowly and mindfully through a rigorous (but self connecting) flow class. she actually teaches YOGA ... doesn't use yoga poses as the format for an aerobics class.