Bio/Yoga Therapist Susana Laborde-Blaj/Yoga with Susana/Belmont, California

About

Susana Laborde-Blaj C-IAYT, E-RYT 500

As a kid I would see my mother practicing yoga all the time, standing on her head with her legs in lotus. Life brought me to gymnastics at a very young age, and then to become a professional dancer in 1979, when I was 16.

I loved to dance, but my body kept getting injured, and I was very unstable in mind and heart. Loving yoga postures, which we did before ballet class when I lived in Paris, I sensed that yoga would help me to be happier and find inner peace, and back in Mexico I began to practice consistently in 1993 and then got my first certification in the lineage of T. Krishnamacharya in 1996, with Federico Enriquez, a student of Indra Devi.

Teaching and practicing yoga became my life, and I continued teaching and training. Now I hold a certificate as a Yoga Therapist, recognized by the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and various Yoga Teacher Certifications, 200 hours with Sarahjoy Marsh, then 500 hours with my teacher Gary Kraftsow, who also trained me as a yoga therapist, and an additional 300 hours with my teacher Chase Bossart, plus other certifications such as Yoga for Parkinsons.

Teaching dance since 1982, an additional joy is that after I got my bilateral knee replacement, I could dance again, now with a less rigorous, more fun and yet healing approach. To share this, I created a dance class format accessible to all that I call “JazzLatin Dance”, in which I teach basic steps of various Latin Dances, plus basic Jazz Steps.

Many teachers have helped shape the way I practice and teach, and I’m very grateful to all of them. I feel so much gratitude for Gary Kraftsow, Chase Bossart, Baxter Bell, Mary Hilliker, all the Faculty at the American Viniyoga Institute and of the Yoga Well Institute, my Ayurveda teacher Elizabeth Cunningham Bossart, my anatomy teacher Leslie Kaminoff, Virginia Filip, Sarahjoy Marsh, Liz Eisman, who taught me how to weave Poetry into yoga, and many more.

My practice and teaching are constantly evolving, and the students are a big part of that. Teaching for me is a constant conversation with the student and the community, a precious deep listening to hearts and minds, and I am in awe of the many students that I have encountered throughout the years, which reminds me of the words by Rama Dass:

“We’re all just walking each other home”.

I speak English, Spanish and French.

- Susana Laborde-Blaj

Yoga Education:

1996, Mexico City, Mexico: Yoga Teacher Training with Federico Enriquez, Indra Devi's student, in the tradition of T. Krishnamacharya

2008, Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.: 200hr Yoga Alliance Certification with Sarahjoy Marsh. 1 year of apprenticeship with mentors Sarahjoy Marsh and Liz Eisman

2012: I began to study with Gary Krafstow

2015, California, U.S.A.: Completed 500hr Viniyoga Teacher Training with the American Viniyoga Institute (AVI), a 500hr Yoga Alliance Certification

2018, California, U.S.A.; Completed Yoga Therapist Training with the American Viniyoga Institute (AVI), certified by the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT)

2020 I have been a student of Chase Bossart since March 2020

December 2023, Completed the 300hr Yoga Alliance Certification "Deepen Your Yoga Program" with Chase Bossart, Yoga Well Institute.

Dance

I danced professionally from 1979 to 2008, began to teach dance in 1982, learned Jazz while living in Paris, France in the 80's, and later enjoyed teaching Jazz in Mexico City and Oaxaca, Mexico, until approximately 2005. After almost 2 decades of teaching only yoga, I created a class that I call JazzLatin Dance, putting together basic Jazz steps, accessible to all, and Latin Dance steps, including bachata, salsa, merengue & cumbia. I like to explore music from all over the world and encourage students to enjoy movement, music, and being themselves!

Gratitude

Very grateful for being a private student of Chase Bossart, I also thank my yoga teachers Gary Kraftsow, Mary Hilliker, the AVI Faculty, Federico & Cristina Enriquez, Baxter Bell, Leslie Kaminoff, Virginia Filip, Sarahjoy Marsh and Liz Eisman, my Ayurveda teacher Elizabeth Cunningham Bossart, and my dance teachers, Natalee Garay & Randall Daley.

I especially thank all my students and clients throughout the years, you all have been an inspiration to me.