Testimonials
I have been going to Soma Center for over 20 years. I have always enjoyed the yoga classes.
Last year, I was diagnosed with cancer. I was frightened. When I told Bobbie, she offered her support
but told me she would help me through the chemotherapy sessions by offering some private sessions
with her. I did not know what that meant but I welcomed it.
Bobbie and I met for meditation, breathing techniques , and some body work. I owe much of my spiritual and emotional well-being to our private time together.
In another time, Bobbie would be considered a local wise woman or healer. I say this because that is what she was to me and what I believe. Bobbie was an integral part of my professional and personal support throughout my chemo treatments. What a wonderful gift Bobbie gave me.
I hope I will continue to heal. Daily, I still use some of the techniques Bobbie taught me. I am thankful for Bobbie’s support.
DM
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My Yoga journey began 15 years ago, I almost instantaneously knew it was my life purpose at the very definition of the word... A friend mentioned Yoga and I asked "what is Yoga?". She said "oh it's like stretching exercises and spiritual practice". Even with that very vague description, at that moment it was though I had peered through a veil, able to perceive something that I was unable to ever grasp before, it was my calling and thankfully I trusted and acted upon that moment of clarity without further question. I immediately began to look through the phone book for Yoga, no google at the time and I found the Soma Center in Highland Park NJ, the closest one to where I lived in Staten Island. I called to inquire about their teacher training program and spoke to Bobbie and she asked "how long have you practiced yoga?". I replied, "well I have never tried a class but I know I will love it". She advised me to take at least a class and then come to the intro evening which was a week later. I did as she advised, loved it as expected and signed up for the teacher training the next week, ecstatic that at 28 years old I had finally figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up.
I did not expect the transformation that I was about to encounter. First of all I was physically ill diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, suffering with severe Acne and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. From the moment that I met Bobbie, I knew I was in the presence of a very deeply knowledgeable and compassionate person who was ready to show me the way of healing through Yoga. I knew I was finally in the right place, not in a medical doctors office, but in a spiritual doctors office. The shifts literally began immediately and I surrendered. I was indeed brave enough to allow the shifts to ripple through me moving into the past, present and future even though at times it felt like a volcano of emotional upheaval. The process taught me how to heal and how to support others through their own healing process. I learned what it truly means to connect mind and body and by the end of 9 months I felt transformed within my nervous system, that I vibrated at a much higher level. I received the most impeccable Yoga teacher training and after 14 years of teaching I still recognize that experience as rich, foundational and deeply authentic for truth is timeless. I opened my first studio only 2 months after I completed the teacher training and I am so profoundly grateful for heading the call, for being guided by such an amazing teacher as Bobbie and for the way it empowered me to become who I am today, a happy, healthy, successful and loving Mom and Yoga Teacher.
Michele Wolf, ERYT-500
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Feedback from virtual classes: I watched a bit of one of our videos last night and got absorbed in how fully you seem to inhabit your body with such grace and fluidity. Just want to let you know I noticed and know the thousands of hours of practice it takes to be so embodied.
RR-bodyworker
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Between their yoga offerings and their guidance with meditation, Bobbie has made a big difference in my quality of life. I've been able to use yoga to compliment my cycling, and my meditation is far more effective than it was before I started working with Bobbie.
Neil Fein - Musician, Highland Park, NJ, USA
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Bobbie, I can't thank you enough for your one on one sessions. Your knowledge, professionalism & compassion regarding my neurological challenges have allowed me to function far greater than I ever imagined. I highly recommend you to anyone who has muscular or neurological issues or any type of physical circumstances.
The facts are plain and simple YOU ARE AMAZING! Thank you
Nanette C, Highland Park
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When I look at your picture, I feel such deep gratitude. Past, present, future all changed from the moment I started the teacher training with you. I healed my past, I learned to live in the moment and heal and I set a new course for my future. The level of dedication and honor that you gave to us was absolutely amazing! I will be forever grateful in my heart to you. I will definitely come to yoga the next time I come to NJ. I moved to FL 9 years ago and if you come this way I would LOVE to see you.
Namaste Bobbie.
M.F. - Soma Yoga Teacher
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In 2010, I started getting migraines when I began graduate school. I believe the stress of attending school part-time and working full-time caused the headaches. I would get a migraine at least once a month. Every time I wouldget this severe headache, it would take three days to a week to subside. There were times when my migraines would be so intense that I would become nauseous and all I could do was sleep it off.
In the beginning, when I got a migraine, I would take over the counter medications to ease the pain. Then in 2011, I was vacationing in Florida when I got an intense headache. I was taking different over the counter medications for about a week but was unsuccessful in soothing the pain. Finally, I went to the emergency room where I was given medication and I felt better within an hour. When I came home from Florida, I went to my doctor who prescribed me a medication to help with the pain. The pills did help me most of the time, but I did not like taking them because it would cause my muscles to tighten causing a little discomfort, which was a side effect of the medication.
This summer, I decided to start practicing yoga with Bobbie to see if it would help control my migraines. I attend class once a week on Saturday mornings with Bobbie. Since, I have been going to class I have not gotten any migraines. I have been learning how to handle the stress in my life through meditation. The breathing exercises we do in class have proven to be very beneficial to my health and well-being.
T.B.
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Thank you for a great meeting/class/dive into self/reconnect with self/restore self and return-process to joy and harmony.
I thank you for just being a grounded welcoming mature presence. Yours is a most healing approach, since we all need time and acceptance, a rare commodity. I left your class with a warm feeling. Just to know that teachers like you are strongly present in our world is very inspiring!
V.V. - Movement Teacher
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After many years of mental and physical stress and the resultant emotional and physical injuries, I finally (should have listened to my mother years ago) came to yoga. I was only 50 years old, and my body was totally closing in on itself. My thought processes were cloudy, and personal relationships were progressively injurious to my emotional health. I was angry much of the time. My once strong, resilient, and aerobically fit body was a mess. I was unfortunately typical of the teeming masses, trying to get through every day so that I could do it again tomorrow. Then I found the Soma Center. It’s hard not to gush with enthusiasm over how my life is changing since I’ve started practicing yoga here.
I will gush succinctly:
Perspective – I’m learning to see every experience as a work of art.
Balance – it’s about being grounded with the ability to bend, sway, and flow – physically and every other way.
Strength and flexibility – I’m using muscles in new ways; the pain I’ve endured for so long in so many areas is dissolving.
Forgiveness –the best benefit of all: I don’t have to be perfect and am forgiving myself for being hard on me. The anger is dissipating.
No judgment – it’s about what feels good, taking my time to get to the next level, and appreciating what’s happening in the moment.
Connection – I trust the instructors, so am able to open myself gradually.
Clarity – taking time to nurture myself in a nurturing environment clears my mind: I’m becoming more confident in my relationships with others.
Briefly: I love feeling better! Thanks, Bobbie.
T.C. - Elementary Education
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With the gift of Embodied Mediations for Women, I needn't drive to the Ocean, for, I relax, breath and find it inside!! I truly attribute the word: "Guaranteed", to your cd! At least for mySelf. Once I am finished listening, to your simple yet wise guidance, I am an "Embodied Woman"! My body undulates, spirals from root to crown, my senses are awakened and my perception inhabits the space around me as well as deep inside. Such places, touched with awareness, come from being led to slow down and bringing attention back home through the breath and an inner eye. Thank you for such a beautifully crafted gift of love and wisdom. And the Gayatri, I listen to over and over again. Blessings on your creation of love!!
Rosalind
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Bobbie creates a sacred space that has offered me a sense of deep inner exploration through the practice of Yoga and Continuum Movement. Over the years, I’ve practiced with many wonderful teachers that have guided and encouraged me through my journey as a student and to become a Soma Yoga teacher.
I first came to Soma Center to strengthen and lengthen my body and found the experience of Yoga to be profound. I began to see myself and my ability to relate to those around me with a new awareness of openness and compassion
D.N. - Graphic Designer & Soma Yoga Instructor