Teachers

Renee Downing, E-RYT 500, YACEP, owner

The first time I tried yoga I thought it was stupid. As an NASM and IFPA certified personal trainer at the time, my life was all about lifting heavy weights and spending god awful amounts of time doing cardio so I could manage the symptoms of fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition I have had since age 12. Another very high priority at the time was to try to look like all the other bikini clad hotties in Huntington Beach. I took one yoga class at the gym, and, not knowing at the time just how incredibly in depth and diverse yoga is, my ego wrote it off as “not hardcore enough.”

5 years later, still under the false impression that heavy weight-lifting and exercise bulimia would make me happy, I hit my first rock bottom with alcohol. Slowly crawling out of the depths of the hell I had created for myself, I embarked on a journey to replace drugs and alcohol with a connection to something greater than myself. My new-found thirst for spirituality led me back to yoga with a completely different mindset.

I tried out several different yoga studios near me and never felt like I was getting anything other than physical work, until I found Yoga Shakti in Huntington Beach. The studio had such a calmness to it- a feeling I could rarely find on my own at the time. Each teacher had a gift for creating space in each class for me to just breathe and be. I cried often in class as layers of trauma started peeling away, began to get little glimpses of my true Self, and started feeling connected to other people in a way like never before. Plus, with specifically labeled levels of intensity, I could choose classes that met my physical needs, which meant I could take the harder level classes when I needed a challenge, and the easier level classes when I was in pain. I completed Yoga Shakti’s 200-hour program in 2011, and shortly after, their 300-hour program, training under Diana Pipaloff, Jyanana Nanda Bharati, and Valerie Worthington (Fowler). I have also had the privilege of training with Leslie Kaminoff,

Yoga has literally saved my life in more ways than one. Growing up a free thinking, heavy metal, art obsessed goth girl in Delavan, myself and others like me didn’t have many options for things to do. So, when I decided to move back to Delavan in 2015 to make up for lost time with my family, the only thing that made sense to do with my time was to open my own yoga studio to try to give this community the haven that Yoga Shakti gave to me at a time when I needed it most. Yoga Hohm started out as simply a yoga studio also offering massage. It still includes those services, but the business has evolved into so much more throughout the years, and especially since Covid.

When it comes to physical fitness, I use many different modalities for myself and for my clients, depending on each individual’s present moment needs and short- or long-term goals. Sometimes it is Asana, sometimes resistance training, sometimes physical therapy, or some combination of them all. I also offer nutritional counseling to those who seek it.

My expertise lies in body alignment, injury prevention, injury rehabilitation, blunt honesty, and getting to the root of emotional/psychological blocks (we all have them). I have worked with countless different injuries and conditions such as fibromyalgia (I’ve had it myself since age 12), joint replacements (more specifically hip and knee replacements), amputations (leg above and below the knee), rotator cuff injuries and surgery rehabs, degenerative disc disease, fused spine, broken bones, super common and oh so fun sciatica, neuropathy, mental illness, children, pre- and post-natal, and on and on. I also have a lot of experience working with a broad range of levels of athleticism and flexibility, ranging from healthy, active bodies to completely sedentary ones.

At age 21, I dedicated my life to learning about health and helping others find the courage to practice self-care. Now, at age 43, I finally feel I have not only the knowledge, but also plenty of experience. If you’re willing to put in the work to be a better you, you are my ideal client.

Reach out for more information on personal training lessons 714-932-6479