Rowena Mittal Yoga
Rowena Mittal Yoga
Vinyasa | Power | Bhakti | Align | Restore
About
Rowena is a yoga student and teacher offering yoga education through private coaching sessions, on-site corporate wellness programs, private yoga celebrations, and public classes and workshops in San Francisco, CA.
She teaches bhakti flow yoga -- a blend of vinyasa, ashtanga, power, yin, restorative and bhakti yoga. This school of yoga is guided by an 8-limbed approach that includes meditation and philosophical principles outlined in historical yoga texts. Emphasis is placed on acknowledging the teachers in our lives. To Rowena, yoga is a way of life and a daily practice which rebalances the mind & body so we can continue doing our best work off the mat.
Half Indian and with a PhD in biomedical engineering, Rowena's understanding and passion for health, wellness, and her cultural roots gives her unique tools for teaching yoga intelligently. Rowena shares yoga with all bodies, ages, and levels of experience in the students' language.
Follow along at
Instagram @rowenamittalyoga
Facebook @rowenamittalyoga
Venmo @rowena-mittal
For Business Managers: Link to Resume
Offerings
Workshops
Workshop Series 2 of 2: Release Your Hips and Pelvis
at Yoga Flow SF Noe (map)
Join Gregory Harty, CMT and I to gain yoga and bodywork skills to regularly maintain function and comfort of this “ground zero” area of your body. The hips and pelvis are a bellwether for imbalances and compensation patterns in the rest of the body. Exaggerated tilt and rotation in this area has ripple effects up into the cranium and down to the toes.
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Learn basic anatomy of the region
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Practice and experience MFR through partner work
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Practice and receive a yoga sequence for self-maintenance of the hips and pelvis
No prerequisites, all levels of experience are welcome. You can come as you are or with a friend (friend must also register). Wear comfy clothes you can move in, bring a mat, water bottle, and if you wish, a writing utensil and journal for notes. We hope you’ll join us!
Myofascial release is a type of manual therapy that employs long, sustained holds, releasing constrictions in the fascia–an uninterrupted network of connective tissue that winds and wraps around every structure throughout the body. In this workshop series, we will review basic anatomy of the region as it relates to common pains and compensation patterns. We’ll partner up to practice MFR techniques and experience release of the fascial system for ourselves.
Yoga asana, or physical posture practice, is one of the eight limbs of yoga that helps us achieve ease and comfort in our bodies so that our minds can stay clear and focused. In this workshop series, we’ll learn yoga poses that increase mobility, strengthen muscles, and release fascia in the body. We will practice ergonomic transitions that work with rather than against our anatomy. Walk away with a yoga sequence that you can add to your routine for self-maintenance of the body.
From this workshop series you may learn how to manage back pain, alleviate pain from working at a desk or computer, manage hip pain, low back strain, bulging or slipped disc, piriformis syndrome; foster hip mobility, improve ergonomics and posture, alleviate sciatic pain, and relieve embodied stress.
Private Coaching & Classes
Gift Yoga Lessons to Self & Others
Learn skills that last a lifetime of yoga practice on and off the mat.
Practice at a beautiful, clean private all-inclusive yoga studio at one of four locations in Noe Valley and the Mission in San Francisco, CA.
Celebrate you and yours. Great for personal growth, dates w a friend or loved one, gifts, vacations/staycations, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, bachelor/ettes, reunions, holidays.
Meet your yoga goals in the time that you have. Offered in 60 minutes or 30 mintues formats. Yoga refers to any or all of the following: physical pose practice (asana), breath control practice (pranayama), meditation (dhyana), or self-reflection and coaching on the yamas (social, ethical practices) and niyamas (self-disciplines).
Public Schedule
For information on what to expect from public classes, visit FAQ.
Mission
Lotusland Yoga SF - 24th/Valencia
Unheated. Mat rentals.
Complimentary herbal chai and cookies.
Noe Valley
Yoga Flow SF - 24th/Noe
Heated. Mat and towel rentals.
Onsite showers.
Locations
“I attended my regular yoga class back home in Pacifica and felt SO much better in my chaturanga! Thank you.”
Becky P.
“The playlist was on point!”
Mritthika B.
“The breathing cues throughout practice were so helpful because I'd realized I'd stopped breathing and it helped me regain the breath.”
Susan H.
“Thank you for an incredible class! Can't wait for the next one :) ”
Joy L.
More testimonials here and at Yelp or Google Maps
Story
A teacher is always a student and students are always teachers.
Half desi (Indian) or ABCD (American-Born Confused Desi), I became a certified yoga instructor in 2014 with my teacher Rusty Wells for 200 hours at Urban Flow, a studio where I had been practicing in San Francisco, CA since 2011, to demystify the western practice and share my discovery of yoga with my community while respecting Indian roots and scientific minds. I’ve been teaching ever since.
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My yoga practice began in 2008 after being diagnosed with chronic pain, inflammation, and shallow breath due to stress. Stress accumulated over years and exacerbated by graduate school demands, as well as also physical stress from years of dance and athletics. Skeptical, as scientists can be, and hopeful that I could leave prescription medication as a last resort, I gave yoga another chance per physician recommendation.
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With regular yoga and physical therapy practices, I became a chronic pain survivor. I truly discovered yoga thanks to the welcoming teachers at Yoga Flow, Pittsburgh, PA who spoke my language. A practice that I formerly associated with painful and egotistical poses became pain-free and philosophy-based. Within a few weeks, I noticed nodes between my physical therapy sessions and my yoga classes from the term "fascia," to diaphragmatic breathing exercises, to modifications of physical postures for each body's unique range of motion. Both my yoga teachers and physical therapist noted that not all yoga poses or practices are for all bodies. After months of practice, I noticed my mind shift towards equanimity. I started processing challenges on and off the mat with ease, calm, breath and grace.
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To me, yoga is a joyful, life-long study -- one of non-judgement & non-harming guided by anatomy, physiology, science, and philosophy in both a historical & modern context. An MIT-trained scientist & engineer, I've built products which sense and track single cells, genetics, and blood chemistry to diagnose disease. In the laboratory, I have differentiated stem cells to form muscle or bone for regenerative medicine. This understanding of human physiology, first-hand experience with physical therapy, and passion for health & wellness gives me unique tools for teaching yoga. I obtained a BS in Chemical Engineering from MIT and an MS/PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University. My yoga teacher training (RYT 410 hours) includes chair (seated) yoga, basic prenatal yoga, injury prevention, and the art of physical assisting.
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My goal in offering meaningful, purposeful classes and coaching sessions is to give all yogis – from first-timers to the well-seasoned – the yogic tools to find and maintain balance and equanimity to live their potential on & off the mat.
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Rowena (RYT 410 hours) is strongly influenced and deeply inspired by teachers Rusty Wells, Jason Crandell, Neil Wadhawan, Wah!, Nichol Chase, Susannah Freedman, Catherine Middlebrooks, Dominque Ponko, and Susanna Barkataki.
