YOGA BLOG

What Moves Us…..

Nest Yoga 7/21/25 Nest Yoga 7/21/25

Nest Community Feature - Maggie Zebrine

Tell us about yourself, Maggie.

Howdy! I’m Maggie and I’ve been teaching movement based practices for over 10 years. I teach yoga designed to shake the dust, luxuriate in the experience of living in a body, and have fun doing it. I believe in joy and find a way to experience it each day. I feel it when the sun and hits my skin, every time I cook a new recipe, when I connect with strangers in unexpected places, in my weekly Taoism class, and when I’m eating a really good snack.

What do you love the most about teaching yoga?

I love playing with language and metaphor to invite students to engage imaginatively. It’s an incredible gift to witness students get out of their own way to get curious and playful. I also love how communal the experience of class can be— we learn from each other along the way and we move through it together.

What is your favorite yoga pose?

Supported virasana for pranayama— my true favorite part of practice.

What is your least favorite yoga pose?

Virabhadrasana 1 (Warrior 1) is revealing of many of my habits so we have a complicated, yet necessary relationship.

What is your favorite place to visit?

My favorite place to visit is an island in Greece called Syros. My husband is half Greek so we are lucky to spend some time there each year. The Aegean Sea is pure magic to me. The slow lingering days, the vibrant sun and the salty water, figs straight off the tree— it’s where I can take the most potent exhales.

What is your favorite quote, or your favorite piece of advice?

Most recently I’ve been digesting this:

“Do you see this glass?” he asked. “I love this glass. It holds the water admirably. When the sun shines on it, it reflects the light beautifully. When I tap it, it has a lovely ring. Yet for me, this glass is already broken. When the wind knocks it over or my elbow knocks it off the shelf and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, ‘Of course.’ But when I understand that this glass is already broken, every minute with it is precious.” — from one of my favorite books, The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully, by Frank Ostaseski

What else would you like our community to know about you?

I just adore being at Nest! Y’all are simply the best— inquisitive students, incredible teachers, and thoughtful staff. This community shines bright and I feel lucky every time I get to take or teach class.

Nest Yoga 6/5/25 Nest Yoga 6/5/25

New Community Feature - Zahzah Love

Tell us about yourself, Zahzah.

I’m Tirzah Love, a chef, wellness facilitator, pleasure priestess, and mama. After more than a decade feeding bodies as a private chef, I now also nourish souls through yoga, movement, and ritual. I teach Yin Yoga and Sultry Stretch as pathways to embodiment, sensuality, and deep rest. I’m passionate about helping people return to themselves; through breath, stillness, sound, and movement. My work is rooted in softness, soul, and self-liberation.

What do you love the most about practicing yoga?

Yoga is where I come home to my body. It reminds me that I don’t have to earn rest, that pleasure is a birthright, and that stillness can be just as powerful as movement.

What do you love the most about teaching yoga?

I love guiding people into their pleasure, helping them drop out of their heads and into their hips, their breath, their longing. When someone allows themselves to release, to moan, cry, smile, or sigh. I know something sacred has happened. Being trusted to hold space for that is a true honor.

What is your favorite yoga pose?

Supported butterfly, hips open, chest soft, heart wide. It feels like an altar I can rest on.

What is your least favorite yoga pose?

Plank. My wrists have a very vocal opinion about it.

What is your favorite place to visit OR a place you’d like to go someday?

I recently fell in love with Paris, but I deeply long to visit West Africa—Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria—to honor my ancestral lineage and experience the land firsthand.

What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

I used to cook for NBA players and Fortune 500 execs, and now I’m a barefoot mama teaching sultry stretch in a candlelit room with Sade playing in the background. I’m also a pole hobbyist, it’s one of my favorite ways to celebrate my body and reclaim joy through movement.

What is your favorite quote, or your favorite piece of advice?

“Your softness is not a weakness. It is your superpower.” I teach this. I live this. I believe in the power of softness, especially for those of us taught to be hard.

What else would you like our community to know about you?

I’m not here to teach you how to be flexible. I’m here to help you feel: pleasure, presence, power. As a pleasure priestess, I believe embodiment is a form of prayer. Whether I’m guiding breath, stretching hips, or sharing a meal, my mission is always the same: to help you come home to your body, your truth, and your joy.

Nest Yoga 5/2/25 Nest Yoga 5/2/25

Nest Community Feature - DeShauna Anderson

Tell us a little about yourself, DeShauna.

Hey, hey - I'm DeShauna. A Berkeley native, who enjoys spending time with my family, "day ones" (friends), traveling, riding my bike and being near the ocean. I'm a former Marriage-Family and Forensic Therapist and currently work as a Wellness Educator, Mindfulness Coach and Yoga Instructor. I've been teaching yoga since 2015 and currently partner with a bunch of orgs nationwide to provide wellness and somatic practices. I love learning, so I'm always enrolled in some kind of program because I believe that it's important to always be a student. Oh, my favorite color is purple AND I'm Gemini Sun, Virgo Moon and Capricorn Rising.

What do you love the most about practicing yoga?

What I love about practicing yoga is always discovering something new in my practice. I could do the same sequence 1000x, but there's still something to learn. I love the consistency of what's possible, so I can consider it off of my mat.

What do you love the most about teaching yoga?

What I love about teaching yoga is the extension of others and their journey. I also learn a lot from my students about my own practice. As a yoga teacher, I love providing safety and inclusivity to my students. I recognize that everyone's journey is different and I hope to hold space in a way that honors that.

What is your favorite yoga pose?

Crow Pose

Least favorite yoga pose?

Crow Pose

What's a place you'd like to go someday?

Panama

What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you?

I love learning about neuroplasticity and our brains ability to adapt to change or reorganize. So dope!

What is your favorite quote, or your favorite piece of advice?

"No mud, no lotus" -Thich Nhat Hanh

Nest Yoga 4/10/25 Nest Yoga 4/10/25

Nest Community Feature - Ellen McCoy

Tell us a little about yourself, Ellen.

I'm Ellen, a fashion-obsessed, yoga enthusiast. I have a background in pattern drafting, apparel development, and production. But these days, you're more likely to find me on my mat than behind my sewing machine. I received my yoga teacher certification at Nest in 2023. Working with many of the same teachers, I continue to expand my awareness and understanding of what yoga can offer both on and off the mat.

What are some other fun facts about you?

When I'm not on the mat, you're likely to find me at the beach or on a hike. I'm a certified California Naturalist. My favorite movie is The Big Chill. I love dad rock. I have a tortie-point siamese cat named Esme, and she is full of "tortitude." I traveled often when I was younger but haven't had as many opportunities in recent years. If I could get on a plane tomorrow, I would want to visit Greece.

One of the best pieces of advice I've received is, don't worry about filling someone else's shoes; you wear your own big girl shoes when you walk into a room.

What is your favorite yoga pose?

My favorite yoga pose is Half Moon. I enjoy how big of a pose it feels with energy expanding in all directions.

What do you love about teaching yoga?

One of my favorite parts of teaching yoga is watching people chat before and after classes. I stopped seeing yoga as just a form of exercise years ago when another student asked if a few of us regulars would like to bring a pot-luck breakfast into the gym one morning. A week later, after class, we set up some tables and enjoyed breakfast together, welcoming anyone who wanted to join us. We got to know some of the people in the class as well as some of the people around the gym. While no long-lasting friendships were formed, after that point, we were all able to recognize a friendly face and say hello. It's one of the main reasons why I note after my morning classes that there is hot water for tea available. I enjoy seeing the community that is formed around the people who show up to practice yoga.

Nest Yoga 3/17/25 Nest Yoga 3/17/25

Nest Community Feature - Bertha Solorio

We recently had a lot of fun doing a yoga challenge at Nest. We like to think everyone who participated was a winner - including Bertha, who came in second as far as how many yoga classes she attended during the four-week challenge!

Tell us a little about yourself, Bertha.

I’m a salon business owner on Piedmont Ave. I have 2 kids (Naomi 25 and Chris 21), and they are the most important people in my life. I have a lot of cats but am not considered a crazy cat lady and 2 dogs. I love yoga, to dance and to cook.