When you walk into one of Michelle Kronenberg's yoga classes the first thing you will notice is her infectious energy and how her presence commands her student's attention. Any of her students will tell you what makes Michelle unique, is her devotion to yoga and her innovative and spontaneous teaching. As she likes to say, “There are so many possibilities in the way to teach. It is this creative unfolding that ignites my passion and keeps my enthusiasm for teaching and studying yoga.”
Michelle has always been a free spirit. Introduced to yoga as a child by her mother, and encouraged by her aunt, a student of Advaita Vedanta philosophy, Michelle began her path of self-inquiry at age 19. Profoundly affected by a ten-day silent vipassana retreat she attended, Michelle found a path for which she had been searching and which she has been exploring ever since.
Eager to continue her Buddhist Vipassana training, Michelle traveled throughout Southeast Asia. Ironically, fate led her to Java, Indonesia where she spent several months studying in silence in a Hindu temple practicing their esoteric rites and rituals of concentration, prayer and meditation. It was out of her devotion to her meditation that her love of yoga was born.
When Michelle returned to the United States, she traded the east coast for the west coast and moved to Malibu where she currently lives and teaches at Malibu Yoga and Jiva Yoga in the Pacific Palisades. It was here in Los Angeles that she studied Iyengar, ashtanga and kundalini yoga and began her passion for teaching full-time. Michelle was formally trained at Yoga Works and is primarily influenced by her mentor, senior Iyengar teacher Lisa Walford.
In the years since then Michelle has continued to study various aspects and styles of yoga; she frequently travels abroad where in recent years she studied with the likes of Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyenger and Dona Holleman. In addition, Michelle has drawn inspiration from a host of other world class teachers including Lisa Walford, Erich Schiffman, Richard Freeman, John Friend, and Guru Singh. These influences create her dynamic teaching style that blends the precise alignment and the holding poses of Iyengar yoga with the flowing movement of Ashtanga yoga.
Michelle brings to her classes a sense of lightness and joy. Always challenging and focusing on precision, every class has different sequencing, which Michelle believes is an art form. Her classes are also laced with humor and Michelle can often be heard urging her students to, “go deeper, soften, and feel the quiet inside.”
As a devoted yoga practitioner for the last 16 years, Michelle believes her path is one of self-discovery. She admits it is not always an easy path. “The body for me has been a great tool, a clear reflection to see where I am in the moment and where others are as well. Using this awareness to help others is my life's work,” she says.
Michelle's teaching ranges from beginners to advanced level students, including celebrities and athletes. She has a particular devotion to teaching yoga therapy and restorative yoga to the seriously ill. As a certified body therapist, her extensive understanding of anatomy combined with her intuitive healing energy helps her tailor her teaching to fit the needs of all her students. As one student put it, “Michelle's classes are always different; it's almost like she reads the energy of the class each day and creates exactly what your body and spirit need.”
As for her teaching, she notes, “I love to teach. I love the detail. I love seeing people wake up and come into their bodies. As a teacher, I see people start to breathe consciously and feel more alive. For me, studying, practicing and teaching yoga awakens a sense of presence. When I am more present, I live from my heart and I feel greater compassion for myself and others.”
To contact Michelle, email harijiwan@earthlink.net.
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