Carla Koopal

I have been taking yoga classes led by Carla for more than seven years. Carla is a fantastic teacher! She has enabled this 68-​year old male to stay flexible and strong at an age when most have given up. Give her a try. I take my classes at the Fitness SF location on Grand Avenue in Oakland.

This review is for Carla’s restorative yoga teaching.
I take her morning classes at Fitness SF and while I am usually sleepy-​eyed and grumbly when I arrive, I leave her class feeling so good. She has a lovely voice and smile, and brings a wonderfully wide range of practices and poses from various forms of yoga. She is deeply knowledgeable both for the various styles of yoga, as well as the physical (medical) workings of the body (she’s also an RN). She points out which muscles are doing what during a given pose, which I really appreciate. Her scholarly yoga is so enriching (joints, muscles, fascia, and centeredness), it makes other practices feel myopic or narrow in their focus. I know her teaching makes me a healthier person, and I’m grateful to her.
If you have access to her classes, which are on her website, I really recommend going.

(Update 12÷15÷13)
Although I did get a massage at my house, (Carla came with her massage table and was a trouper and brought it up my spiral staircase – not an easy task!) and the massage was great, this review is mostly about her yoga class, which I take 2−3x/week.
— — — — — — — — –
I have taken Carla’s yoga class at Fitness SF (was Gold’s Gym) 2 – 3 three days a week (7 – 8 AM, Mon/​Weds/​Fri) for more than three years. I started as almost a complete beginner (I’d taken a few classes over the years but not made much progress). Carla’s class has helped my flexibility and also been useful to manage my depression and anxiety.
One of the issues I’ve had with yoga classes in the past is the price. I simply can’t afford to take a $ 10-​$ 15/​class more than once a week, and it’s hard to make progress as a yoga student if you’re only going once a week! Because all classes at this gym are included in the monthly gym membership (I pay $ 30/​month), Carla’s classes are an extremely good deal. I use my gym membership almost solely to take Carla’s yoga classes and since I take ~12 classes a month, I pay about $ 2.50/yoga class – try to match that anywhere in the East Bay!
Carla has been studying yoga since she was 16 years old – that’s over 30 years by my guess. She’s certified to teach 15 styles of yoga and has studied 26 yoga modalities and she often brings into class things she learned over the weekend at a yoga or bodywork seminar (once it was from «laughter yoga»). Even though I see her smiling face three times a week, she keeps me interested and enthused enough so I continue getting up early for her class three times a week.
During the past year I have also taken some classes at other yoga studios, (Mountain Yoga, Loka Yoga, Namaste Yoga,) but Carla’s morning class at Gold’s has been the rock in my yoga schedule. She’s given me a great foundation and routine and my physical and mental health are so much better for her calming and influence.

Carla travels with her massage table to your home, and gives awesome, healing, massages. I love that she has an extensive medical background, and uses this to explain things during the massage or yoga class. Her massage was deep, and focused on my neck and shoulders, where I have a lot of tension. I would trust Carla to work on my injured ankles.
In addition, I love her yoga classes! It is a healing yoga, where Carla focuses on balancing the body, and undoing the daily postures that cause pain. She also gives a discount for buying 4 classes at once, which is awesome if you’re gonna go anyways!

Carla does massage treatment at home. She did 1.5 hours hard work on my poorly shoulder and it helped a lot. She was also willing to lug her massage table up the 8 flights of stairs to my apartment, what a star!
Carla also does yoga classes at Piedmont Yoga and yoga in your home.