Hi! My name is Samantha Okumura, I’m a 500 E-RYT, Yoga Teacher Trainer and Reformer Instructor at the Well Studio. I found my way here, like many of you, through my connection with Stacy, who was a guest instructor in my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training in 2014 where she left a huge mark on my personal yoga practice. I grew up in Pleasanton, lived in Las Vegas for 8 years and after my daughter was born in 2022, moved back to Pleasanton with my little family. My husband Gy, toddler Penelope and I love living in the Tri-Valley, it’s a special gem that I didn’t appreciate AT ALL as a teenager LOL.
I found yoga in 2010 a few months after the passing of my mother, who we lost to breast cancer. Grief and mental health struggles during that period of my life were heavy and felt like they defined me. The yoga room was such a sanctuary and I immediately fell in love. I learned how amazing it feels to be in my body and how I can manage my own grief, stress, anxiety or whatever came up by separating from the busyness of my mind and connecting to breath. Wherever I was, I could find my little sliver of peace with these tools. I remember feeling so empowered and thankful for this tool that I desperately needed.
After college, I started working in a specialized training facility for individuals with neurological injury or disease that impaired their mobility. My clients were paralyzed, many of them in wheelchairs. Their pre-injury experience of mind-body connection was taken from them and they were fighting every day to be in control of their body again in big and small ways. They were grieving the loss of their bodies as they knew them and learning a new nervous system and a new way of being. I knew yoga could be a tool for them so I started incorporating techniques into our sessions and offering private yoga.
The yogic movement principles, breathwork, and philosophy tell us to meet the body where it’s at and that’s exactly what we did. All bodies can practice yoga and all bodies can carve out a space for peace. Whether you are quadriplegic, healing a hip replacement, sick or a contortionist, yoga can step in and provide tools for self exploration at all stages of life. While I love the physical side of this practice, I know the magic is in the holistic approach. Mind-Body-Spirit. My classes are designed from this perspective, we can all be in our bodies, we can all find subtlety and ease, we can all take a deep breath. And sometimes that’s all it takes, one deep breath, to find your peace.
