Testimonials

Walking into the Yoga West studio 3 years ago was the best decision I made in my life – not only did it change my life, it changed my lifestyle, the way I look at life, people, it changed my health, my spirituality – everything. The practice of yoga has come to be a part of who I am and who I am to be in this life. It has done so many things for me physically, mentally, spiritually, the list is endless. On top of that, I have met some of the most amazing people, the instructors and fellow students – all of whom are beautiful, wonderful, gracious individuals – to know that we all share the wonderful energy of the gift of yoga is incredible and very hard to put into words.

Thank you Yoga West for all you have given to me, to the other students, to the community……I am so grateful to have taken that courageous step 3 years ago by walking into your studio – not knowing what would happen. Thank you for the space, the friendship, the serenity…..for giving the Katy area a wonderful place to practice yoga. – Gina Carter

♥  Although I was extremely unhappy about moving to Houston and leaving our dry climate, 4 gentle seasons, view of the mountains home in 2000, I readily admit that Houston has been extremely good for me.  The first 2 years were rough; my husband traveled weekly and I was often alone.  Adjusting to sub-division living, traffic, crowds everywhere and all the time, the climate and the COMMUTE – it all took a toll. My mental and physical health deteriorated and by 2002 my family confronted me with the fact that I had a drinking problem. (Really?  I hadn’t noticed how noisy and heavy all the empty wine bottles were when I dragged the trash to the curb twice a week.) 

 So I quit drinking, spent 2 years in therapy, finally quit smoking, began meditating and quit my job to make a go of it on my own.  Great!  Now what?  I was much happier and healthier, but I still spent most of my time alone and felt there was a missing piece, more like a gaping hole in my life.  Then I walked in to Yoga West and found out that the Universe really does sometimes answer “YES!”. 

 At Yoga West the atmosphere of kindness, acceptance, sharing and community was overwhelming.  I’d dabbled in yoga for several years via health club classes and DVDs but I never understood the true magic of a yoga practice until Yoga West so graciously came into my life.  Never having loved myself enough to risk being a part of anything, I almost effortlessly became a part of Yoga West; this community, this practice, loved me until I learned to love myself. 

 Yoga completes me; through my yoga practice and the continuing support of the teachers and students at Yoga West my life now has a sense of ease. I’m finally comfortable, calm and serene in my body, mind and heart.  – Judith Deeds

♥  I just wanted to tell you how much I love Yoga West and especially Gina’s classes.

For the past several weeks I’ve been driving from Montrose to attend your Saturday morning Yoga Essentials class with Gina.  There are numerous yoga studios much closer to home, but I haven’t found one that compares to my experience at Yoga West; I love Yoga West!  The studio is beautiful, warm, inviting, calm and just the right size; personal, not intimidating. The instructors are there for the students and share their love of yoga.  It’s amazing how the instructors can teach an entire class, yet I feel like they were there for me alone.  I always leave class feeling uplifted!

I’m looking forward to taking even more classes at Yoga West. – Debbie Dunn

♥  I have never been athletic, in fact, in order to improve my coordination; I was enrolled in dance classes as a young girl.  I was very slim (without any effort) all the way through the birth of my first child.  Then, my metabolism began to change and I had to be more careful of my diet but still kept my “girlish” figure by walking three miles a day.  About 15 years ago I had a rare illness that required prolonged steroid treatment.  Three years later, when I finished my therapy, I was about 35 pounds heavier than when I started and many attempts at dieting and increasing activity only led to a 10-15 pound loss. 

 I managed to maintain that weight until two years ago when severe plantar fasciitis prevented me from participating in my favorite form of exercise, walking on the treadmill.  The pounds piled on with my enforced inactivity and my frustration increased with the weight gain.  It seemed that everything I tried to do caused me incredible pain in my feet, even riding on a recumbent stationary bicycle!  After foot exercises, multiple painful injections and very expensive, unsuccessful ultrasound treatments, a new doctor gave me a series of foot stretches that decreased the pain in my feet.  He told me they were derived from yoga. 

About the same time, I started a new diet plan that gradually reduced caloric intake (as opposed to being on a set, low calorie count).  After a month, I had dropped 10 pounds and the pain in my feet had gone from excruciating to moderate.  Since I still could not walk for prolonged periods of time without severe discomfort, I had to find a low impact form of exercise.  Remembering that the feet stretches that were helping me were derived from yoga, I decided to try yoga for all of my body.  I checked out classes at several different studios and was very disappointed with the way I was treated — no attempt to help someone new to yoga, disdain for an overweight person trying to do yoga, a “keep up or get out” attitude.  Then, I found Yoga West’s website and thought I would give it a try. 

 I dropped in to Mary’s Restorative Yoga Class and was immediately welcomed, guided and assisted as the class moved through the different poses.  What a difference!  This is what yoga was all about.  I started going to class almost every day.  I continued on my diet plan and each week, the pounds came off and I grew stronger, more flexible and felt better — physically, mentally and emotionally!  I am now 50 pounds lighter, my plantar fasciitis is well-controlled, and I am in better shape than I was 20 years ago.  The support, care and friendship of all of the instructors at Yoga West has changed my life.   – name withheld

♥  Yoga West has been there for me since the very beginning.  Years ago, I had been dealing with panic attacks for some time, and I wanted to handle my attacks with no drugs.  That’s when I discovered yoga.  I tried a few classes near where I working, but when I heard about a yoga studio in Katy, Yoga West, I immediately switched to taking classes there.  I was able to work with my panic attacks by doing yoga at first one time a week to three times a week.  My panic attacks finally went away.  By then, I was a true student of yoga, and Yoga West became my safe place where I could go and enjoy the classes, practice with the friendly and helpful instructors, and feel the stress just melt away.

I have been a student of Yoga West for nearly ten years, and I always look forward to coming to class.  There are many interesting and informative workshops to attend, well-known yoga teachers that stop by to teach and share their knowledge, and of course the Yoga West family of teachers who are eager to help you relax, relieve your stress, and make it a fun and safe place to practice your yoga. - Nicole Olson

♥  Dear Kristin,

First I want to congratulate you on your wonderful new studio. I wish you and your business all the best in the years to come.

I wanted to share a little about how Yoga changed/saved my life. On April 30, 2008 I had what I though was going to be a normal hysterectomy. All went fine and I felt good. On the day I was discharged, May 3, 2008, my doctor came and advised me that I had cancer and that he had to take “everything” out. The poor man cried when he told me; he has known me since 1986 and delivered all three of my children. The only way I can explain how this felt is: “It’s like driving 70 miles an hour and then hitting a wall”. The next couple of months were very tough to get through; but I had promised both myself and everybody around me that I was going to beat this. If it was not possible to beat it I was going down yelling and screaming all the way down.

After 6 rounds of chemo I saw that Yoga West had a class for recovery and I went right away. At Yoga West, I met a wonderful lady Mary Oppermann, and she helped me one lesson at a time. What a wonderful program, and it is flabbergasting to me there were not more people attending when I think about how many people suffer from cancer.

From that first day I changed my life in so many ways; I come every week and it is something that I seldom miss. It has been such a privilege to have a yoga instructor like Mary, she understands “seasoned” ladies that no longer can bend like a pretzel. I so enjoy the smile we get from her when we finally can do a down dog correctly, etc. What an inspiration she is to us all.

Yoga helped me get me back into shape. It is a lot harder when you are older, and I am definitely not there yet but have come a long way. I learned how to take care of my mind through both yoga and meditation. I have taken some of Eddie’s classes with Energy Medicine and that was exactly what I needed. These classes I believe paved the road to January 31, 2011, when I found that I am cancer free. I know it can return any day but with help of energy medicine, yoga, meditation and the right foods I believe that my life will be longer, and I will feel wonderful living my live to the fullest.

In early May 2008 my doctor told me that I had a 40% chance to live 5 years. My question to her at that point was: “What do I need to do in order to be in those 40%?” I am doing those things and I am coming up on my 3 year mark. What a wonderful feeling!

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for having such a wonderful program, studio and instructors available to all of us.

Namaste – Mette Miller