Xiaowan Lai

I first moved to the US from China about 11 years ago, and first discovered yoga as recovery therapy from an ankle surgery. From that experience and my body's natural resistance to flexibility have helped me develop patience with myself and to develop creative workarounds for many poses which have helped me help others with similar issues. I find great joy in meeting people from many backgrounds and working on personalized workouts for those I teach.

My favorite classes to teach are cat yoga at a local cat cafe. It is a monthly class where families come in and see the cats they might potentially adopt and do some yoga in the meantime. I also teach puppy yoga at pet shelter every two months for the same purpose; lots of children and laughters! On the other end of scale, my weekly classes are morning senior class where I lead gentle movement/meditation and Sunday night yin yoga to help busy people start the week right. I also mentor a teen yoga program to use mindfulness as a tool to navigate life.