What Students Say

Carol: One huge silver lining that came with the global pandemic and lockdown –  Bay Area students got Yiwen back as our teacher!

As I age, I appreciate more and more Yiwen’s emphasis on alignment and stability, absolute essentials for a safe, sustainable practice.  Her yoga sessions are an “anti-ageing” program designed to build strength, endurance, flexibility, and balance.  Yiwen’s hope is that students will maintain functionality for as long as possible.

Her evening classes are my personal favorite.  They take me out of my comfort zone, challenging me to work to my full potential.  I leave exhausted, but energized and already looking forward to the next class. 

This is not the type of yoga class where students simply “follow” the teacher.  Nor is Yiwen’s teaching style like most yoga teachers–she gives a lot of verbal corrections.  Her classes demand more discipline and commitment than you would expect.  If you just want to make shapes with your body to loud music, then Yiwen’s classes are not for you. However, if you wish to learn how to practice yoga safely while improving your overall physical condition, then take advantage of all that Yiwen has to offer.

Monica: When I first met Yiwen, I had been practicing yoga off an on for a few years, though with little progress or awareness of correct posture. I made more progress with Yiwen in six months then I had in all of my previous years of yoga. For the majority of my life, I have struggled with body awareness. I often felt clumsy and insecure about my ability to engage in physical activities. Yiwen quickly and correctly identified my challenges with propreocetion and was able to help me improve body awareness from the ground up. Throughout this process, she was firm,  honest, patient, and empathic. As a result of her guidance, I now hold myself with confidence and no longer fear trying out new activities or adventures. This has positively impacted my relationship to myself as well as with others. I feel so grateful to have Yiwen as a teacher.  My experience with her has been nothing short of life-changing!

Mary Lou: I came to yoga as a beginner at the age of 68, knowing that I needed to improve my balance or suffer  consequences in my “Golden Years.” Six years later, I am certain that I have more strength and endurance and better posture and balance than I had when I was 40. 

I think there needs to be a new, specific name given to Yiwen’s form of yoga.  Her unique focus is on correcting the weaknesses produced by the years of postural misalignment accumulated during our sedentary lifestyles. Her teaching differs from others by its use of body weight and steady intensity, without relying excessively on props. I’m especially grateful for her emphasis on maintaining strength, flexibility, balance, reflexes, and proprioception as we age. She takes the time to correct each student, and to offer individualized paths to achieving our goals. Her patience seems endless, and she provides her assistance with respect and kindness. 

Erica: I’ve noticed so many positive changes in my body since beginning practice with Yiwen in 2018 — from strength, flexibility, and balance to a greater awareness of unnecessary tension and misalignment. I really appreciate that she has multiple ways to cue an adjustment, and she’s not afraid to give corrections. Yiwen also strikes the perfect balance between challenging her students and encouraging us to listen to our bodies when it’s time to back off. Yoga with Yiwen isn’t just 90 minutes of going through the motions; it’s a lesson in how to move and breathe with intention, and why that’s so important to overall health. “It’s a practice, not a performance.” 

Iyo: The impact Yiwen’s teaching had on my health and well-being is tremendous, and I cannot thank her enough. She is a truly gifted yoga teacher whom I felt honored to call “my teacher”. She opened the door for me to experience my own body and mind through a completely new way. Her teaching on yoga philosophy and emphasis on achieving balance through pairs of opposite helped me beyond yoga practice. For me, her teaching had so much implication and application to life outside of the studio.

After learning from Yiwen, I realized what I previously called “yoga” was rather simply making shapes than yoga practice. Her keen attention to detail and subtlety help students learn ways to achieve balance. She is one with much discipline and truthfulness in her teaching, and she would not hesitate to correct us in a very practical way so we can improve our practice in a safer manner. She used to tell us in class “I am not feeding you with candies, but with vegetables”. This was very true—she knew what would serve us better in a long run rather than what make us feel good in that particular moment. I am one of her many passionate followers in the Bay Area, and above are few of many qualities which differentiate Yiwen from other teachers.

Tiffany:  I’ve been practicing yoga for 15+ years and have spent many hours in studios across the country, primarily in Boston, Ann Arbor and San Francisco, taking part in workshops & classes run by the likes of Baron Baptiste, Ana Forrest, Jill Miller, Manouso Manos, Sianna Sherman and Shiva Rea (yep, those big names in the vinyasa and Iyengar worlds), and some not-so-famous but amazing Iyengar/alignment-focused teachers like Brian Hogencamp (SF) and Ana Hough (Ann Arbor). Yiwen ranks way up there among the teachers I can say, without a doubt, as excellent. She has been teaching me new things/fixing old messed up things at each class I’ve attended, and I dare say I’ve been around the yoga block more than most! She pays great attention to each and every student in her class, offering verbal cues and physical adjustments while encouraging them to do the best they can without risking injury. Her classes could be described as a slow or methodical flow, without overemphasizing vinyasa for the sake of vinyasa (seriously, how many yoga push-ups do you need to do a day or each week?!) and a focus on getting into/staying in/getting out of postures with focus, strength & integration. 

Olaf: I came to Yiwen to get therapeutic help with recovering from an injury. I’m very impressed with Yiwen’s knowledge, compassion and care. She is very knowledgeable in physiology, movement and healing. She has been very patient with me, but also encouraging me to work at my recovery. I’m always greeted cheerfully, and I feel welcomed. Every private session has been thorough, and I’m learning lots about how to move, balance and breathe.

Sudha: I started my yoga journey with my guru Yiwen. I was trained by her for over 2 years and I see myself growing in my practice each and every time I am on the mat. The way she provides instruction on the alignment and various yoga postures are still deeply ingrained in my mind that it helps me keep up my self practice as well as practice with other teachers. You will never hear about the importance of “Spine” from any other teacher and so many times! She is one of the very few teachers who would like to see her students progress with mindfulness and always encourages and motivates us to get to the next level with her guidance. It’s very hard these days to find a gem like Yiwen who dedicates all her time for the well being of her students and fellow yogis. I highly recommend Yiwen and you will see yourself getting addicted to her classes as time goes on!

Leslie: If you are going to dedicate time to a yoga practice, it makes sense to get the most out of it. You’ll get the most out of yoga with Yiwen. Yoga is not making shapes with your body. It is strengthening, lengthening and aligning your body. After over 10 years of yoga practice, I studied with Yiwen. She corrected my most basic poses. I had been, unfortunately, doing these poses incorrectly. Doing them correctly now, I’m deriving maximum benefit.

Yiwen has a master’s understanding of body mechanics. She has a solid reason for body positioning, weighting, and energy. Yoga is Yiwen’s calling. She loves sharing her yoga knowledge with all her students. It is a privilege to study with her.

Narges: Getting to know Yiwen and her Yoga classes has been one of the biggest gifts in my life. She opened a new door to yoga and meditation for me, that changed my life for better and helped me in my journey on the path of inner peace, wisdom, and spirituality. Her Yoga class goes beyond building physical fitness. She provides the instructions, and environment in her classes for awareness, mindfulness, and holistic practice. She pays deep attention to the practice of each individual in her class and helps each and every student, where ever they are on their path – to take their next steps.

I am a busy executive in Silicon Valley and attending Yiwen Yoga classes helped me to be much more grounded and balanced in my life and work. She also taught at our company and encouraged many of my colleagues to pursue yoga.

Yiwen has a special gift in healing as well. I observed this myself as she helped my mother who was suffering from cancer. Her healing sessions brought so much energy, peace, and well being to my sick mother. My mother always said she does not feel the pain and fatigue of her illness for many hours after Yiwen’s healing sessions.

Yi: Yiwen was my go-to yoga teacher at Prajna for three years. Her teaching has been life changing for me. Yiwen’s classes are always challenging and I definitely sweat. But it’s so much more than a gym workout. Her knowledge about human body anatomy and alignment-based approach makes me more mindful about my body, my breath and how I feel. It’s not about making pretty shapes, like she always says. Yiwen is such a beautiful person and a bright spirit. She built Prajna as a community of love and care. I miss her so much but feeling blessed every time I’m on the mat practicing yoga Yiwen style.

Emily: It has been over ten years since I began practicing yoga with Yiwen. Since the pandemic, our classes have been held via Zoom, but the quality and consistency of Yiwen’s instruction remain just as high as her in-person classes. She watches students onscreen with a discerning eye and provides productive feedback for improvement. In addition, her classes integrate yoga elements with anatomy and physiology so that students understand the reasons behind her precise and detailed instruction. My practice has improved through Yiwen’s patient teachings, especially with balance, which has always been challenging. I intend to practice with Yiwen as long as she continues teaching. It has been a transformative experience for me, both on and off the mat.

Zake: Yiwen is the best yoga teacher ever. She can see your energies and nuances of alignment. She knows the nature of each Yoga pose and can breakdown to you how you can train to access the pose more deeply. Every class is different, with interesting variations and sequences. Yiwen always takes time to delve a little deeper into some related topic area, give a mini lecture, constantly expanding our knowledge of the yogic realms. Yiwen knows her stuff; she’s able to help answer most any question on the physical, energetic, mental, emotional, or spiritual. Yiwen inspires you to put the work in.

Linda T: I feel very fortunate to be a part of Yiwen’s yoga community.  I appreciate Yiwen’s style of teaching with her intricate attention to detail for each student allowing us to use proper body alignment.    Her discussions have helped me to understand the concepts of body mechanics and breathing and have been able to transfer it in my everyday life.  With her knowledge and guidance, I feel grateful that I am the best yogi I can be and look forward to continued growth and strengthening in my practice.

Wim: First of all, I have to admit that I was very skeptical about yoga before I started a few months ago, mostly because I have always been into fast paced sports and I tend to have a very short attention span. Anyway, because my stress levels were way too high, my friend convinced me to give it a try and we scheduled private classes with Yiwen. Now, after about 3 months, I can honestly say that yoga is helping and I have found an appreciation for it. In fact I was just telling a colleague at work about how it helps me manage my stress. Yiwen has been fantastic, she obviously knows her stuff incredibly well, she’s been a great teacher and even though I started from absolutely zero experience or knowledge, she patiently pushes forward. I like the combination of increasing intensity every week but also the sharp focus on form and technique. I love the fact that doesn’t just say how and make corrections but she also explains the why. From a total novice and non-believer, I can say Yiwen has been awesome.