About Me
Welcome To My Website!
My name is Raminderpreet Elisa and I’d like to start by sharing a little bit about myself. I first discovered Yoga in 1998. From the very first class I took with world-renowned yogini, Shiva Rea, at UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures Dept., I became very curious and inspired by it’s therapeutic qualities. Over the years, this curiosity has led me to explore the access this practice provides to mind/body connections and it’s link to the breath for our health and well-being.
My own personal practice, academic studies, and work with clients, are fluid and have continued to evolve over the years. I feel I have gained powerful experiences, knowledge, and insight, which have proven beneficial to me both as a human being and as a therapist.
I have had the privilege to share my own love of Yoga in a variety of settings, though it is my work with cancer patients which stands out for me as the greatest opportunity for learning of Yoga’s healing benefits. After years of working with, and listening closely, to what works I have developed the LifeSkillsYogaProgram©2020 as a process to integrate and awaken those aspects of ourselves where wellness always resides.
It is this work that has led to my continued curiosity to understand more deeply the precise physiological and neurological changes that occur during a mindful practice and, which in turn, helps to influence our overall health and well-being.
In a project I began in 2011. I set out to interview the scientists, researchers, and physicians who have been investigating the specific changes which occur in the brain during Yoga and Meditation, the ways these changes influence the various systems of the body, and how they directly affect both our physical and emotional balance and health.
I digitally recorded these interviews and compiled them into a documentary, completing the project in 2017 – Your Brain, Your Body, Your Breath: The Science Of Yoga Therapy ©2017.
I have been offering screenings in a workshop format and presenting in health care facilities, yoga festivals, in teacher training programs, and studios. I also have had several several Zoom screenings where people from all interests can watch and practice one of the highlighted meditations in the film. If you are interested in viewing my film, please email me at raminderpreet@urbanyogini.net.
I have been fortunate in my life to do what brings me joy, fulfillment and satisfaction and am eager to share with you the information, and the processes, which can empower anyone to discover the path toward improved health and well-being.
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As a wife, and mother of a toddler, I began my studies in 1996 first as a Dance Major at Santa Monica College, where I earned an AA degree as well as a $200 scholarship award. I transferred to UCLA World Arts and Cultures/Dance Dept. in 1998 where I discovered my passion for Yoga and became committed to exploring the therapeutic qualities it offers.
Upon graduating with a BA in 2000, I immediately began my professional Yoga Teacher training at Yoga Works under the direction of founders Maty Ezraty and Lisa Wolford.
The foundation of my yogic training and practice has been focused on the IYENGAR tradition, which emphasizes breath and alignment as the principal aspects. This form of yoga also utilizes bricks, bolsters, blankets and belts as ways to safely adapt any posture to most people’s needs and abilities.
After several years of managing and teaching in studios throughout LA, I desired a more comprehensive knowledge of the mind, recognizing the strong connection between the yoga practice and mental/emotional well-being. I found this a necessary part of my training when I found so many of my clients experiencing a wide range of emotions during a class, particularly crying.
It was in 2003 when I began my graduate studies in Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica, earning my Master’s degree in 2005. These studies provided a strong foundation from which to create my LifeSkillsYogaProgram©, which explores the intersection of both mind and body through a variety of meditation techniques, lifestyle habits, breath, and mindfulness to both mental habits as well as physical discomforts, illness or injury.
Since then, I have become certified as a Pa’Kua Black belt in Pa’Kua Yoga in 2016 at Pa’Kua HB, studying with Master Liz Filleti in Huntington Beach, CA.
Later, I became certified in Kundalini Yoga. I have practiced this form of yoga since 2005, usually taking my children with me. When my daughter expressed interest in becoming certified in 2016, I jumped right on it and registered us both for teacher training the following year. We studied under Guru Singh Khalsa at Yoga West in Los Angeles, CA, completing our certification in 2017.
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I have continued to expand my knowledge with studies in chair yoga techniques, which first opened the door for me to work with seniors as well as with cancer patients, in a variety of settings.
I earned a trauma-sensitive yoga certification while participating at the Sedona Yoga Festival in 2018. Most recently in 2021 I took an advanced continuing education workshop with Dr. Shanti Shanti Kaur Khalsa in Elements and Alchemy (GuruRamDass Center for Health and Humanology). This program highlights the relationship of yoga to the meridians and its use as a form of acupressure for conscious health and well-being.
All of these forms of yoga inform not only my own practice, but how I work with clients.
I am a member in good-standing, classified as an expert, with Yoga Alliance (YA-e-RYT200 1000+hrs).
I was “grandmothered” in as a certified Yoga Therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists (c-IAYT) in 2017. I was awarded this designation the first year they offered such certifications based almost solely on my work with cancer patients.
Growing as a certified Yoga Therapist, I continue my studies through attending IAYT conferences regularly, where I am able to collaborate and learn about the latest research studies and practices in which Yoga therapy is being used successfully.
I am a member of International Kundalini Yoga Teachers Association since 2017 (IKYTA).
I recently earned Adept status, their highest qualification, with Yoga Unify (YU-QP4). This is a peer-reviewed designation based on my decades of practice, commitment, dedication and contributions to the yoga community.
In May of 2022, and as an alumnus from UCLA, I was recognized and awarded the Bruins Business 100 designation for my efforts as an entrepreneur, working to help improve the lives of others through the wisdom and knowledge of Yoga.
My documentary film has been awarded two film festival laurels in 2017: - Awareness Film festival@ LALive!, honorable mention LA Underground Film forum.
I am also an active member of the Holistic Chamber of Commerce.
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Over the years, I worked at numerous studios and medical institutions throughout the LA area including, but not limited to:
Medici Apartments, DTLA; Goda Yoga in Culver City; Bally’s; LA Fitness; USC School of Occupational and Physical therapy; White Memorial Hospital-Christina Gonzalez de la Hoya Cancer Center; Glendale Adventist Therapy and Wellness Center (aligned with cancer center); City of Hope; UCLA-Sylmar cancer center; manager at Bashtet Yoga, DTLA.
I have also volunteered hundreds of hours at WeSpark Cancer Support center as a yoga therapist, as well as having been involved with their many, many fundraisers over the years.
More recently I have taught workshops at studios and festivals to include Olive Yoga, Long Beach; Huntington Beach Yoga Festival (2018); Sedona Yoga Festival (2019), just to name a few.
In January of 2022, I launched my new website: http://LifeSkillsYogaProgram.com from which I offer a variety of classes as well as my signature program of the same name.
Additionally, I regularly add my own videos to the site with the intention of educating viewers on the physiological benefits of yoga and works to dispel the myths as yoga for healthy bodies, recognizing that yoga is for everyone, provided one understands all that entails.
