“Hi David,
I just wanted to share with you how powerful and transformative the work you did with me today was. My shoulder felt so much more relaxed, my heart soft, tender and open, and fear and sadness moved through in a sweet and gentle way for quite some time after our session. I’m grateful for this healing, your presence and wisdom. I so appreciate who you are as a teacher and healer, and I’m excited for you to continue to offer your gifts to me and others.” – Lori G
“I could go to hundreds of public yoga classes but not get anything close to how your private classes help me with the physical, energetic and healing wonders of yoga.” – D. K., CFA, CPA
“I had been on a search for a yoga teacher for several years when I stumbled into
David’s class. After studying with the same teacher for 12 years in San Francisco, I
was ready to end my commute and deep inside I knew I wanted a different style of
teacher. In one class, I knew that I was in the right place. David teaches from a deep
place of love. It’s not about the look of the pose or even, is that the perfect alignment,
but where is your breath, is their joy and ease in the posture?
I began working with David privately with the intention of getting to the core of the
stomach issues I have carried for years. It was truly an amazing experience to work
so closely with someone so present and compassionate. I have learned so much
about myself. I’ve learned how to tap into my strength, trust that who I am and what
I do, are not necessarily the same thing. I’m learning to be patient with myself and
have the understanding that a lot of the tightening/holding on I’ve been doing for
years comes from a source of self preservation, not weakness.
David has shown me that vulnerability is a form of strength.
I began my work with David three or four months ago and since that time, my
stomach issues have calmed considerably. I found a focus for my work and began
working on a business. I highly recommend David’s Life Coaching work and I believe
that I am home with my new Yoga Teacher and have made a new friend.
With loving gratitude,
Joan Ellis”
“It was really helpful, [I} needed help with opening my chest, it really helped and I felt so much better… even if you think you can’t I think you should try having a 1-1 session once in your life.. so different from 25people,. individual attention helps tweak your practice in a good way. When classes are full of other students they can’t necessarily see everything you’re doing, and it’s very helpful. You’re a very good listener and it was kind of like therapy for me. It was wonderful, and you’re really really good at reading people and so intuitive. It was really great.” Ani
“Just want to say Thank You again. I feel like I’ve just had an amazing swim in the ocean — a little sweat, a few tears — and have come out feeling alive, refreshed, relaxed, open. Thanks. ” Frances Wocicki
“Just wanted to thank you for some teachings of yours that were really helpful to me on my current path. In class last week, you challenged us to watch our thoughts while we tottered in balancing poses, and to consider “falling into ourselves”. This phrase really captured for me what attracted me to your teaching when I encountered you at East Bay Ecstatic Dance. That is, I feel that you create in your classes the safety to be great, to risk greatness! It’s funny, because I feel that what initially drew me to yoga over ten years ago was the safety to fail, and the message that I am still okay even when I fall. Now, I am resonating with teachers who say to me, yes, you are okay if you fail, but why fail, when you can fly? You are one of those teachers.
Thank you for challenging me as a teacher to realize that even when I feel I am falling, I am actually still standing. I will take that one with me as I begin my next chapter” Jessica Tartaro
“Thank you so much for a great class this morning. i was just reflecting on the last 4-5 weeks since i began taking your class, and i feel so much appreciation for the wisdom and inspiration you so generously share. i really feel like your yoga classes are a new force in my life for transformation, healing and heart-opening! what a gift.” Caitlin Sislin
“Over the years, David’s support and teachings have extended way beyond the borders of the classroom walls. His wisdom has brought a lightness and a curiosity to my mind, and a strength and assurance to my poses. Though he may not know it, his teachings have helped me through many of the bumps and hills of my life. David’s knowledge of yoga, anusara, philosophy, and anatomy runs deep like the stones at stream’s bottom, which are constantly being tumbled and worn and tested by the running waters, only to emerge smoother and older and wiser from the journey. His emphasis on anatomy and alignment lifts me from an instinctual fear of going further — David’s classes guide me to relax these preconceived notions, and have made my own understanding of bodily and mental cause and effect much clearer. I often feel as though my breath is transformed from his class, like it is traveling through more of my body, instead of being stuck in the upper register of my lungs. I am physically and emotionally enriched by David’s teachings, and ever so grateful.” Helene Poulshock – cultureconsumer.com
“I wanted to let you know that your classes have been a major healing force in my life during a difficult time of transformation and growth for me. Today in particular I was struggling with letting go of some things that I’ve needed to let go of for a while. Your approach to the practice of finding your edge while also finding bliss has been very, very helpful to me.
“I sometimes have a hard time finding the balance between stretching myself and pushing too hard. I have discovered some new ways of approaching this balance in your yoga classes. Thank you for helping me to remember to use my smile to gauge my efforts. It has been a powerful tool for me.
“Thank you for sharing your insights, joy and self. You have made a big difference in my life. : )”
Toshi Hoo
“I just wanted to say that i’ve really enjoyed your friday noon classes. … i appreciate all the levels that you address in your teaching, with so much humor, gentleness, and room for everyone. those qualities are ones that i also strive to impart in my own classes, so it’s good for me to feel how i’m affected as a student when the teacher (you) is including all of my experience. i love how the class goes very deep, even though it’s a short practice. ” – Rachel Shaw – yoga teacher
“You are an excellent yoga teacher for me — your words and encouragement help me to let go of blockages and move deeper into postures where beautiful insights are revealed…
I offer you my deepest gratitude for everything I have experienced in your classes — extraordinary considering I could hardly touch my toes six months ago!” – David Rose
“I found David while on a road trip down to an Acro Yoga Teacher Training. I had been nursing an achy shoulder for a year, while gritting my teeth through inversions.
David went beyond the “good instructions” of an advanced teacher. He instantly zoned-in on my shoulder and gave me hands on instructions in multiple poses, having me feel it and own it, and feel ‘not-that’, then feel ‘that’ again.
David presented me with the gift of an open breathing heart. And that was just the bonus bi-product of feeling no more shoulder pain! For Real! In ONE class! He held the space as I found it for myself. He saved my shoulder and saved my Acro Yoga teacher training! The day before I left for the training! Coincidence?
Maybe. But now I feel my open heart and my soft and strong shoulders in all my yoga, and even while standing in line at Trader Joe’s.
David you Rock!” ~ Sandy Ames – open hearted strength mama
“Thank you for wonderful class Thursday evening at Namaste. You are clearly “in the dharma’ of life, truly gifted you are!. …what a surprise to have you lead the class to discover the possibility of bliss!! Yeah.” Cynthea Denise – yoga teacher
“I’ve been going to David Schlussel’s yoga classes for over a year now. I’ve taken yoga with dozens of different teachers, but David’s are really something special. Not only does he make it easy, playful, fun and engaging to explore your body’s potential, but he leads his classes from a truly grounded, heartfelt love for yoga’s ability to stretch your body and being into unimaginable new forms and levels of spaciousness.” Damien Jones
“The first time I took David’s class I saw something that was absolutely unique in how he approaches yoga. I have practiced for many years and left yoga for dance because I felt like it challenged me in a different way. The challenge I was seeking was to express myself fully with the vehicle of my body. In David’s classes he discusses not only the ancient traditions but shows you opportunities to find yourself in the practice- that was what I was looking for but realized it is not the practice, it is the teacher I was searching for. David’s classes bring your life to the mat and you have an opportunity to explore your limits in life during your practice of yoga. After leaving class I feel like I have received a massage for my heart because David’s classes do not just effect my body, but my soul as well.”
– Kim Adams
“I really enjoyed your class last week. It motivated me, in fact, to come back again this week , . . . and that’s not so easy to do! Only today there was a young lady there with a completely different Yoga style to offer. A perfectly fine one in fact, it just didn’t leave me, for whatever reason, feeling the same way I did upon leaving yours. I’m not sure I can even describe to you what exactly the diffence was. I only know that when I arrived back at work soon after your class that my body had this wonderfully stretched out feeliing, as though the tension and stress of life that had been building up in my muscles and joints had just fallen away. Dave, I’m over 50 yrs. old and have been doing exercising vigorously my whole (well almost anyway) life. I’ve been training daily in a rather strenuous form of aikido for the last 10yrs. but I’ve never done anything that left me feeling as invigorated as your class did. Admittedly, it slowly faded along with the setting sun, but nonetheless, it left me with a deep desire to capture that feeling again!
Til next time!” – Mark Collins
“Its a really safe space and a powerful hour for me every week” Laura Woltag
“I finally felt my poses as offerings and it changed my relationship to yoga” Michelle Barton
“I go to your class because you push me to stretch my heart and mind and my body while still really taking care of myself and honoring my limits… you encourage us to question them and to honor them. I know that when I come I will find a new lens to look at my life through, you are an ever flowing stream of lessons, kind words, wisdom, you know that this practice is about the deepest essence of our lives and you speak in a way that really makes sense to me. I appreciate your efforts to make safe space for tears and noises and to help us connect with each other in a world that doesn’t also support this. In addition to all the spiritual guidance I am so grateful for the many instructions I have incoporated into my physical self that have helped me reduce the chronic pain I have lived with for almost 20 years now. I am obviously still on this path but it is incredibly valueable… you refresh your ways of giving the same instructions, new analogies, examples, ways to get in and out of poses, you speak to differnt parts of me at different times and I find myself surprised to learn more and more about this body I have lived with for so many years!” – Suzanne Pegas
“I think your greatest gift as a teacher is perhaps the simplest . . . your presence. You are passionate without being dogmatic, encouraging without being invested, lighthearted without being shallow. You are also skilled at accommodating multiple levels, something that is an ongoing challenge for most teachers. Some manage the challenge better than others, and it seems quite natural for you. I don’t just mean that you offer modifications but that students feel included, accepted, and acknowledged whatever their level of skill or effort. If these things didn’t matter to our human psyche we wouldn’t bother with class at all. You remind us of possibility – something we haven’t considered or experienced before. During one of my first backbends in your class you said something like “consider that maybe you’ll go deeper than you ever have before,” and it was wonderful, empowering language. I also appreciate the emphasis on bandhas and broad philosophical perspective you interject throughout the practice. Your adjustments are informed and compassionate.” – Angela Norwood
“I am just returning from your yoga class and feel compelled to write a note of thanks to you. Your simple trick of helping me move my arm/shoulder where I was stuck for almost a year is such a gift! What a relief! What liberation! Thank you so much! I look forward to more classes with you.” – Eva Ruland
“I’m enriched by your teaching abilities and presence as well as the ambience and stillness of the morning time. You are so genuine in your search for truth through yoga. It is very inspiring and i enjoy being your student.” – Tomi
“I enjoyed your style immensely and had more moments of clarity during your yoga class than I have had with others teachers. It was an amazing experience, thank you…I hope to learn more from you. Thank you so very much, I didn’t realize how amazing a yogic experience could be!” – Michelle Jeffalone
“I always feel like I learn something profound after your classes.” – Angela Beeck
“i have been listening to [teachers] talk about mula bandha for over a year now – and sunday i finally figured out exactly what it is!!! After class I also noticed that I was very relaxed yet energized… …and working with my breath this week has given me a much steadier stream of energy which is in high demand in my life these days! Our exercises did very much remind me of hypnobirthing…and knowing now how everything works, that makes sense. Thank you for your excellent class.” – Charity Ellis
“I have found my yoga doesn’t just stop when class ends, it’s everywhere and along comes your insight/voice into my daily living. I can see and feel my body changing daily and opening to be explored & experienced in most cases for the first time, it’s totally awesome. It’s absolutely great that the universe has blessed me by allowing me to learn from such a gifted teacher.” – Laura Weddle
“You are my favorite yoga teacher I’ve so far experienced. I love the level of care you demonstrate in class through your personalized attention and adjustments. I love how available you are to your students before, during, and after class. Thank you for that. Of the yoga teachers I have experienced thus far, you definitely provide the most detailed instruction and teaching. This has helped my practice immensely. I have grown so much through your tutelage.” – Rosie Turner
“You encourage your students to own their yoga, to be open and ask, and you learn from your students. It is relaxed and easy that way. If the class naturally moves into a pose, you go with the class. If someone rather modify, you encourage it. You are open to what your students want and need…I think you are super knowledgeable.
In my 4 years of practice I have had some specific challenges. I have asked many teachers for suggestions. I have gotten some feedback but nothing that really helped. You have been so helpful. For example, your suggestions on my hamstring have totally made a huge difference. Thank you.
I also really like yoga to be spiritual. I find that hard to find as well. … It really is about union of mind, body and spirit for me. I also really like your positive attitude and spiritual suggestions and thoughts and how you weave it into the class. There is always the danger of being hallmarky if over done but you do it graciously and genuinely. You really try to teach and pass on love and happiness and it shows.” – Firuzeh Mahmoudi
“There’s a fun aspect of your teaching style. I appreciate your expertise in body mechanics and alignment. This was something that really impressed me when i first started coming to your classes, and continues to. It’s a typical anusara type thing, but you are just SO GOOD at articulating it in all the poses and raising students awareness of their body mechanics through ongoing verbal instruction and your gentle and Very liberating manual adjustments.” – Amanda Nube
“Wow! what a new sensation – my hips and legs are really feeling alive after yesterday. Thanks for your help.” – Charity Ellis
“I came to your class initially because it was offered as a community yoga class and it worked with my schedule. However, as time went on I came to rely on the way you were able to offer a challenging and simultaneously supportive and gentle class. I felt like you were genuinely accepting of all people, at all levels, in whatever way they came to your class.
I was a heartbroken, sad, non-exercising, smoker when I started coming to your class. What was really “wrong” with me though was that I was way too hard on myself and I had a lot of anxiety. Sometimes I would cry, in both frustration and release, while we were in the postures. Yoga, and your class specifically, helped me relax and accept where I was at on a particular day and even at a particular time in my life. It also was a steady reminder of how one can be graceful and brave simultaneously.
Those two qualities together have helped me to pursue what I have always wanted: to live in a calm, quiet community and study Literature. I started my MA in Literature at SF State two weeks ago and I just moved into my new place in Moss Beach yesterday. I quit smoking several months ago. And I’m definitely no longer heartbroken. Although I have to find a new yoga teacher now, I am calm and not worried about it. .” – Susanna Williams
“I have really enjoyed your classes, on so many levels—you are an amazing teacher!—I wish I had discovered your classes sooner, my practice has really grown through your influence, and I will surely be back on my mat in your classes when I return.
“And because I know how eager you are for feedback, here are my thoughts—I really appreciate your desire to connect w/your students, your desire to INSPIRE and it is very clear how much your own practice radiates into all aspects of your life, a very shining example . . . I especially enjoy your wild, philosophical musings and empowerments, and I especially love the practice we have been doing lately of vocally setting our intentions—that has really carried me through my days sometimes . . . and your adjustments are heavenly!” – Jules Bogdanski
“I love your classes and teaching style.
I really appreciate all the excellent and wise instruction you provide that helps so much to attain the optimal benefit of all the different poses. It really makes a big difference despite the fact that they are often very subtle changes.
What is more, you deliver these messages in the context of an overarching theme that is so rich and wise, I often carry it into my daily life on both a physical and a personal/spiritual level.” – Barbara Griesau
“David’s classes are lively and very inspiring. After a couple of weeks, I found myself waking up in the morning wanting to do yoga.” – David Jenkins Ph.D.
“I like your teaching because you seem to have minimal fear, you don’t seem to be about ego, you’re funny, fun, and provide a killer physical and spiritual workout and workin. Other stuff too.” – Pay Rose
“When I am in your classes I am able to shut all the other students out and concentrate on my practice. It’s like their energy is there, but it’s in the background and your voice is the the foreground. I hope this makes sense; it’s kind of hard to explain. I think this has to do with your presence and instruction. Second, you make the atmosphere comfortable to grow and improve, and ask for help or ask questions, but not so that these interventions become distracting. Third, it is always a challenging class, in different ways each time. I first started coming to your classes because I was having problems with depression. The pressures of grad school were getting to me, among other things, and your classes had a significant role in helping me lift out of depression. The key to that, I think, is that you give just enough guidance so that one can do the work one needs to.” – Jessica
“From a very young age I used to be dancer, that was my love and passion. I performed in a dance company as a teenager and during that time I pulled my hamstring and injured something….. I didn’t have time to properly heal or attend to it as I had to get back up and perform. I ignored this injury and in college became a dance major, dancing hours every day, until at some point my body gave in to the injury and forced me to stop. I had extreme back pain for a long time and had to give up my major.
I never went back to dancing, and gave up on my body on some level, feeling that it had failed me and disappointed me at the deepest level possible. I found other outlets, I took up Taiko drumming for a few years, but never really felt like I could inhabit my body again. Truthfully, I didn’t really want to. My body failed me and it was in my way and I had to go on with my life managing it and keeping it out of my way.
It was only 5 months ago that I decided I needed something more than the workout I was doing and decided to try yoga. I walked into David’s yoga class without any real expectations. I had some curiosity about yoga (which I only took a few times before) and a little bit of hope that my body will feel a little better. To my complete shock and surprise David’s classes have given me a new perspective on my life, my mind and my body.
This was beyond anything I dared to hope for or want for myself-healing! David has restored my faith in the power and capacity my body has. For 20 years I walked around feeling that my back injury is a permanent condition which limits me and I have to come to terms with-that it is part of me. I no longer feel that that is true I feel that healing is possible. David has a way of encouraging me to explore beyond the edge of what I think I can do and then beyond that, showing me that my minds stops me where my body is ready to go further. He often talks about the benefits of gong straight into the places where we most fear and avoid and feel the edge right there-so we can achieve healing. This has worked for me. David has changed the way I view my ability to heal as my back has already changed so much and the discomfort I have experienced for so long is also changing.
David creates an environment that feels very safe and supportive so experiencing myself at my limit feels possible. He is right there to catch me if I fall, (literally and figuratively). His philosophy, wisdom and support creates a space for me to feel challenged, capable and powerful and walk out into the world feeling hopeful about the healing that is happening.” – Lara Heller
“backpain=gone” – Julian Steinberg
“One night recently I was in a level 10 pain from sciatic nerve damage that starts low in my back and runs down my right leg. I was unable to sleep properly the night before which left me endlessly tossing and turning with no comfort even with doctor prescriptions.
During the day before David worked on me I was unable to sit, stand, or lay on the floor without constantly adjusting myself to try to find a more relaxing position.
That afternoon David worked on me for around 30 or so minutes putting my leg back into alignment through exercises that also strengthened my lower torso altogether. By the end of that session the level 10 pain I had was lowered to a 1 or 1.5 at the most. I was able to get a deep sleep without any medications that night and I cancelled my doctors appointment the next day because of his skills.
With a deep bow of respect for you David.” – Rob Noel