About Elaine
Elaine is one outrageous lady. She is a wise and gentle soul with a unique teaching style. She can be peppy as a cheerleader (she was in the 60’s!), or her quiet and calm self, acquired through a meditation practice, which began in the late 70’s and continues today. The blend is refreshing. Classes are never the same and when students come into the studio they look forward to being surprised with the different directions her classes take – lunges to drumming, or meditative breathing to harps and flutes. Workouts are sometimes rigorous, sometimes gentle, sometimes both… but, gratefully (we hear) always inspiring and renewing.
Elaine can never say enough about yoga. The benefits are endless and she is backed up by scientific data that continues to inundate magazines and journals. “I love the idea and am so grateful that I can do this for the rest of my life.” A Certified Yoga and Fitness Instructor, she has helped school districts, hospitals, senior centers and individuals achieve a more balanced approach to health through her simple and effective techniques. One of her favorite “gigs” is teaching the patients at Austin State Hospital. “I am never the same after those classes... They warm my heart beyond words and I am humbled,” she reports - “a good place to be!”
Her yoga studio – YOGA for YOU is tucked into a small corner in Cedar Valley Plaza off of Hwy. 290 West and appears from the parking lot to be hardly bigger than its doorway. But walk inside and you’ve entered an expanding universe.
Past the foyer, the yoga studio is spacious, open, and serene. The low lighting reveals simple furnishings with plenty of yoga props lining the back wall.
At 5’2” with a voice like a flute, the yoga pro is a walking contradiction. Nicknamed the “velvet hammer” by one of her students, she is lithe, strong and able to take her class through a deceptively smooth progression from simple opening stretches to deep core-building yoga postures, finishing off with a total relaxation cradled in yoga blankets.
She works with people from all walks of life. Some are athletes who need deep stretching to balance their strength or grandparents who just want to be able to sit on the floor with their grandbabies. Then there are golfers who want to improve their game and equanimity; cancer patients who are in recovery working with compromised bodies and immune systems; and many who just want to relieve the stress in their lives. Of course, there are those who simply want to improve the basics: strength and flexibility and just look and feel better!
Elaine completed her Yoga Certification training at the Houston Yoga Institute and in 2002 opened YOGA for YOU in Austin.
For those that want to include a practice at home, she has produced a Yoga DVD called “Simply Stretch” which guides you through gentle, but powerful stretches. Her CD - “Stress Break” – combines simple breathing and visualizing techniques that help relieve tension, promote deep relaxation and instill peace of mind. Elaine has that perfect voice – strong enough to hold your attention yet perfectly calming. Both are powerful tools for enhancing body/mind/spirit wellness.
Also teaching at the studio are three other instructors, each offering their own individual style of yoga. “Each teacher has something unique to offer –but they all strive to maintain a balance between vigorous and relaxing training, depending on their particular class.”
YOGA for YOU also offers private sessions catering to individual needs. “People get just what they need with hands-on help and a personalized program.”
Elaine can be reached at 512.301.YOGA (9642)
