Yoga With Erika Van Gemeren

Erika’s classes and retreats are like her: sexy, fun, playful, personal, and spiritual. She’s a soulful rocker hippy yogi goddess. I feel so grateful to have her as a teacher!

I have been going to Erika’s Tuesday afternoon class at Yoga Tree Potrero for almost a year now. I keep going back for more because I usually end up feeling so present that I don’t even notice how much I’m sweating. Erika works with the subtle body a lot which makes me feel alive and connected to myself. She’s definitely a badass!

I stumbled across Erika through Fitmob/​Yoga Flow SF — Ocean during my temporary stay in the Bay Area. I’ve taken a smattering of yoga classes with no certain regularity or cadence in multiple cities/​states over several years. I suppose you could call me a spiritual tourist or more aptly, a vacuous vagabond. I have had no loyalty to any specific studio and my Type A personality tends to gravitate towards Bikram for the discipline and rigor of it all. However, lately, I’ve been wanting to incorporate more fluidity into my life — quite metaphorically and literally.
Erika stood out to me for multiple reasons and I found myself even considering moving closer to the studio during my temporary stay so I could attend all of her (and others) classes. This is weird, guys. Stalkerazzi status and yoga aside, she is hilarious! This is coming from me, the Unofficial Queen of Comedy! She’s humble too, and I don’t know anything about that one. ;) She doesn’t take herself nor the practice too seriously, yet, she imbues the practice with gravitas. There are people who make jokes or bring humor into serious things, and you can tell it’s out of discomfort. Erika’s humor comes from a natural, convivial spirit and doesn’t detract from the soulfulness of every second. I’ve never taken a class before where I’ve chanted, sung, met my neighbor, «dropped it like it’s hot», reaped spiritual pearls of wisdom, and learned names of poses in Sanskrit. Oh wait, and her music taste is superb! Bob Dylan, Massive Attack. .. in one class? Why would I even go to Coachella anymore?
She also makes modifications and adjustments and I SWEAR after she laid her healing hands on me, I FINALLY was able to do a downward facing dog with my heels planted down, and my azz proudly up! I had been struggling with the flexibility and could never fully touch my heels on the floor — but her gentle force jolted my body into pushing beyond what I had constructed as self-​perceived limitations. If only Erika’s touch could work for shattering the glass ceiling. .. or. .. can it?

Beyond yoga. If you’re going to do private lessons, you need to work with someone who has three qualifications at minimum:
1. At least a decade, or 10,000 hours, of practice. Read Malcolm Gladwell to understand why clocking this amount of time is important on any profession or expertise.
2. Any yoga professional worth their Warrior 2 pose has practiced under the Indian moon and sun. If your instructor doesn’t know one word of Sanskrit, keep looking.
3. Unbelievable bliss, gratitude, and light.
After my first session, I realized I would be seeing Erika for a very long time. Create you own Top 3 criteria for your yoga mentor, then search. If your criteria is like mine, call Erika. Then you too will add criteria # 6 – 9. She’s that evolved.

Meeting Erika four years ago I was taken by her sweet and soulful countenance. What i most love about her is the transformation she undergoes when she leads yoga. She steps into such a full strength position-​her voice deepens, and her directions lead me ever closer to myself as i experience the sometimes challenging and always profound changes of each yoga pose. Erika’s devotion to her craft is self evident in the way that she teaches. Her commitment to her meditation and personal yoga practice bring deeper acuity to her facilitation. Whether you are looking for a group style class or a private teacher, Erika will give you both what you seek, as well as so much more. She will help you step ever further towards the edges of yourself and embrace whatever is ready to be held in the heat of your muscles and the breath of the practice. I have deep respect and love for this lady-​and you will LOVE working with her!

Erika is THE best yoga teacher out there. After doing a countless number of mindless sun salutations, I was thrilled to find a yoga teacher that teaches the most amazing moves (challenging but at your own pace and comfort); constantly teaches something new; and flows at a good, sweaty, fun pace. Her classes are so relaxing (yet invigorating), I leave with my voice two octaves lower — her classes are that good!!! In addition to an awesome physical workout, Erika continues to inspire with her genuine warmth and gems of wisdom for a soulful exercise.
Yes, I am a total fan! I have tried classes by other teachers, and while they are lovely in their own right, they don’t hit that spot of total tension/​stress dispersion or reach the point of total uplift (if that makes sense). I go to Erika’s classes at Glow Yoga, and if I could, I would go to all of her other classes at Yoga Flow and Yoga Tree too.

Finding an excellent yoga teacher is like dating — you have to experience a lot of bad ones to find and appreciate the good ones!
I am so lucky that I found Erika. I’ve been a loyal follower for almost a year and a half now, and she still keeps it fresh and exciting. Each class is challenging, unique, and her sequences keep me guessing and smiling. I leave feeling so relaxed (and sweaty!) and looking forward to her again. Her class structure flows effortlessly, her words of wisdom inspire, and her gentle touch/​adjustments during savasana are exactly what I need. Thank you Erika for sharing your gift!
Erika also put together a fabulous yoga retreat in Mendocino recently. Everything, from the location, the food, the yoga, and the people made it a beautiful and loving experience.
Take one of Erika’s class and you wont’ want to go anywhere else again!

Erika is an amazing yoga instructor! After taking her classes at YogaFlowSF, its hard to go to anyone else. Her sequencing is always creative and dynamic. It feels more like you’re doing a flowing dance or a moving meditation than simply going through the motions of repetitive, strung together moves. Her choreography comes effortlessly, and she always seems to say exactly what you needed to hear at that moment.
You can immediately tell how passionate she is about teaching, but she makes sure the class is also lighthearted and fun. I have always left her class feeling better — mentally, physically and spiritually — than when I entered, no matter how my day had been going. She has a loyal following of students for a reason, and I would definitely recommend taking her class!