In 2008, Veronica aspired to create a welcoming environment to introduce the profound health benefits of yoga to the diverse communities of Silicon Valley. In the Spring Equinox 2009, Downtown Yoga Shala opened its doors in the SoFA District of Downtown San Jose, CA, and the vision that enabled a yoga community to grow organically over the years continues to this day.
Veronica is a certified yoga instructor, having completed Teacher Certifications in Ashtanga Vinyasa from Larry Shultz (SF It’s Yoga), Power Vinyasa from Baron Baptiste and Ashtanga Teaching Certifications from Tim Miller and David Swensen. As an Ashtanga practitioner, she continues to study with many senior teachers in the Ashtanga lineage and with Sharath Jois in Mysore, India. Veronica currently teaches Mysore-style Ashtanga, Half-Primary and Led Primary Series, Intro to Ashtanga, Ashtanga Vinyasa and has occasionally taught Vinyasa Flow variations including Baptiste Power Vinyasa, Rocket Series, Vinyasa Krama, Matthew Sweeney’s Moon Sequence. Apart from her personal Ashtanga asana practice, she also has a pranayama and meditation (TM) practice.
Her yoga journey began very early in her youth, as a the eldest daughter of a UN diplomat whose close-knit Catholic family of 8 spent time living in Kathmandu, Nepal, amongst a Buddhist faith tradition. She felt resonance with Eastern spirituality and could reconcile essential truths from her own Catholic upbringing, beyond ritual and tradition. The profound and lasting impact over the years as a seeker of spiritual truth, continued as she immigrated to California to pursue higher education, grad school and a high-tech career. Her desire to balance work life and health led to training for marathons, triathlons, other charity events in the Bay Area and other locations. Her social circles in the corporate world and multi-sport communities made her realize how much these communities can benefit from yoga practice, including pranayama and meditation.
Veronica infuses her classes with warmth, sincerity, kindness and compassion. She encourages a mindful practice through deeper breath and body awareness, while honoring the inner teacher that resides within each of us.
