Rebecca Bergstrom founder of Yogadesha has been interested in the mind body connection since she was a teenager. She studied human biology and psychology at Stanford University in Northern California where she also "grew up". Well, at least she lived in California between the ages of 9 and 21. The real grown up part of her life began in NYC, where she studied dance at Martha Graham School, and began to delve more deeply into yoga and body therapy techniques. Integral yoga on 12th street was one of her favorite yoga sudios. The calm centered approach at Integral sooothed her soul, especially after the sudden death of her young husband. It was during this time, that pre-natal yoga became something of a lifesaver as she navigated the uncharted territory of her grief and hope as a widow expecting her first child. Always connected to the spiritual side of life, Rebecca found that yoga deepened, and more importantly, expanded her concept of what it meant to be a conduit for the life-affirming force of the universe. Thus, she embarked on the journey of becoming a yoga teacher.
Rebecca holds the highest possible level of certification offered by the Yoga Alliance: E-RYT500. This means she has completed advanced teacher certification programs totaling over 500 hours, and has taught over 4500 hours of yoga.
Rebecca is especially known for being able to work with many people who want to learn about yoga, but are not quite sure if yoga will work for them. Rebecca has helped those who suffer with bad backs, anxiety, ms, als, arthritis, fibromyalgia, cancer, pregnancy, injury, food issues, high blood pressure and depression. In fact, in the beginning of her yoga teaching career, Rebecca focused on gentle yoga. Later, she became a dedicated student of Anusara Yoga, studying with John Friend and other senior Anusara teachers. This led her to explore the more muscular side of yoga and to integrate the strengthening qualities of yoga practice with the soft and more flexible aspect of yoga.
With a commitment to staying open and not getting stuck in one school of thought, Rebecca has plunged into every kind of yoga, and body - mind therapy she can find. She loves Breath-Centered yoga, body-mind-centering, vinyasa, Ivengar, Ashtanga, Kripalu, contact improvisational dance, African Dance, and social dance. An avid student of philosophy, nature, and art she hopes to inspire others to think deeply, and live fully as their true self.