Lisa Ray
Lisa first experienced the benefits of Yoga in 1973 at the age of thirteen. A genuine interest and curiosity led her to explore the art of Yoga. As a teenager, Lisa studied with various Yoga teachers and a Ballet teacher who incorporated Yoga into her dance instruction. The grounding effect of Lisa's Yoga practice during her challenging teenage years, led her to pursue the study of Yoga into adulthood.
She is a graduate of the 18-month Advance Studies 2004 program at Piedmont Yoga Studio in Oakland, CA, where she studied with Rodney Yee, Richard Rosen, Clare Finn and Maritza. She studied Restorative Yoga with Chris Hoskins, Clare Finn and JoAnn Lyons. She is also influenced by the work of Angela Farmer and most recently, Carrie Owerko.
Lisa began teaching Yoga in 2003, working with adults, the disabled, seniors and teens. Since 2005, she has taught group classes at the Claremont Club & Spa in Berkeley, Ca., classes for young athletes at USTA events in Santa Clara, Ca. and women’s legal groups in Oakland and Berkeley. She also teaches one-on-one classes throughout the Bay Area, New York City, Texas and Western Europe. She does extensive work with cancer patients where she incorporates Restorative Yoga, and finds that this work demonstrates Restorative Yoga’s profound healing power and effect on overall wellness.
In 2022, Lisa completed the Play It Forward Teacher Development Program’s evidence-based seminar series for teachers of Yoga and multidisciplinary movement with Carrie Owerko. This training emphasized the benefits of play and movement optimism, and led Lisa to experiment with many new approaches in her teaching. This has infused her work with a greater ability to meet her students where they are and encourage them to venture beyond the known into fun, unusual movement and play.
In 2022, she also completed special training with Carrie Owerko in Pietrasanta, Italy. In this intensive, she learned many new ways to implement Restorative Yoga and wellness practices that deepened the effectiveness of her work.
Lisa integrates Restorative Yoga, wellness, play and movement optimism as essential elements of her personal practice and teaching. She is a lifelong learner and is excited to bring her years of teaching experience to a new chapter as the Co-Director of DeepDrop Wellness.