Aatma Yoga with Nanci Tudish

Nanci Tudish, R.Y.T., C.M.T., has been passionate about yoga since discovering it on a meditation retreat in 1990. She began her yoga studies in Los Angeles with Rod Stryker, Shiva Rea, Ana Forrest, and especially Bryan Kest. Moving to San Jose in 1998, Nanci continued to study with teachers Kent Bond, Robin Sale, Joyce Anue, Paul Grilley, Scott Blossom, Arturo Peal and Cheri Clampett. Nanci is certified in Whole Birth Yoga and in Therapeutic Yoga. She specializes in Hatha yoga, focusing on breath awareness, alignment and relaxation. She understands that the health of the body begins with the health of the mind. Nanci currently teaches at various locations in the Bay Area. She instructs students of all ages and stages of life – prenatal yoga, mommy and baby yoga, couple's yoga, gentle yoga, therapeutic yoga, and flow classes. Nanci leads various yoga workshops in San Jose throughout the year. She also travels with Vaidya Priyanka, an ayurvedic practitioner from a 714-year old lineage of ayurvedic experts, to teach yoga at Aum Ayurveda retreat centers on the East Coast.

Her interest in Ayurveda started her on the healing arts path. In 1995, she became a Certified Massage Therapist. While studying yoga, she simultaneously trained in Tae Kwon Do and Hapkido. Nanci believes that the focus, the balance, and the inner-core strength of yoga helped her achieve her Black Belt in martial arts in 1996. She taught martial arts for Master David Park in his studio in Encino, California, teaching adults and children. Moving to the Bay Area in 1998, Nanci left behind her entertainment career as a legal assistant to continue her massage studies. In 1999, she worked as a Massage Therapist at Watercourse Way in Palo Alto, and became a First- and Second-Degree Reiki Practitioner. Ayurveda continues to play an important role in her life and her teaching.

Her passion for yoga grew, and she dreamed about teaching yoga. She got the opportunity when she was pregnant with her daughter, Giavanna. In 2001, Nanci became certified in Whole Birth Prenatal Yoga with Robin Sale, and certified in Postnatal Yoga with Robin Sale in 2002. She attributes her easy pregnancy to staying active in her yoga practice. Yoga and motherhood seem to go hand-in-hand for Nanci. Being a mother is one of the most important things in her life. It is the truest form of self discovery. Nanci compares parenting to yoga since we must give up any attachment to the illusion we may hold of being in control of anything or anyone. We only have control of our efforts.

The lesson of detachment was presented when Gia was barely two years old, Nanci was diagnosed with cancer. It was not a pleasant experience, but through that experience she has become a more compassionate teacher who understands about limitations and challenges her students may have.

Nanci was enrolled in a teacher training when she was diagnosed with cancer. Rather than put her teaching dream on hold, she was able to go through her cancer treatments and have two surgeries while she continued her yoga education. It was especially sweet when Nanci completed her Yoga Educational Seminar teacher training (Y.E.S.) with Joyce Anue in 2003-2004. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher and a member of Yoga Alliance as well as a member of Bay Area Birth Information (BABI) (www.bayareabirthinfo.org). In 2009 she became certified in Therapeutic Yoga and feels this newest credential has had a profound effect on all of her teachings. She believes that to be a good yoga teacher, one must remain a student of yoga and incorporate new-found knowledge into one’s teaching.

Although Nanci takes her teaching very seriously, her classes are light , fun and full of variety. All levels are welcome. No prior experience is necessary. Yoga is available to anyone who wishes to connect with his/her own body. Nanci believes yoga can make positive change possible. Her goal is to instruct each student so that he/she can create and maintain balance. Yoga is not so much about flexibility, but about the lightness you achieve by creating freedom from within. Yoga is about the breath and how each pose feels. As you create space in your body and breath deeply, you can achieve a lightness that helps you move more freely through all aspects of your life.